A Florida police officer has been fired after threatening to take his time to respond to emergencies if he didn't get free coffee.

Lt. Major Garvin, a 15-year veteran of the Daytona Beach Police, told workers at a local Starbucks he would respond slowly to future emergency call-outs if he didn't get his free drinks.

Garvin would apparently go to the Starbucks up to six times in a night and spend up to an hour at a time there.

In one exchange between Starbucks manager Angie Cato and Garvin, the lieutenant said: "I've been coming here for years and I've been getting whatever I want and I'm the difference between you getting a two-minute response time - if you needed a little help - or a 15-minute response time."

Garvin emphatically denied the accusations but failed a lie-detector test he volunteered to take.

"There is nothing in my past that comes close to the accusations brought against me," Garvin said in a letter he sent to police. "I challenge the veracity of the accuser."

Deputy Police Chief Steve Beres said: "The behavior described in this investigation and Lieutenant Garvin's response is disappointing and embarra**ing."