The Base Exchange on Ramstein Air Base. (Facebook/Ramstein KMCC Exchange)

An incident involving a civilian employee arrested for brandishing a knife at the Ramstein Air Base exchange Wednesday afternoon turned out to be a “misunderstanding,” according to German police. A disagreement ensued after the chef at Popeyes inside the food court bought a knife at the exchange during his break and began using it in the restaurant’s kitchen, German police said in a statement Thursday morning. When the employee’s boss noticed the knife, “there was an argument because the boss did not agree with the use of the private knife,” the statement said. An employee reported the incident, which led to the misunderstanding of the situation, German police said, noting in their statement that at no time was there a threat or criminal offense committed. The employee with the knife was detained by base security by the time German police arrived and was later released. An 86th Airlift Wing and German Polizei joint investigation concluded the incident was not hostile in nature. The KMCC Mall remains secure and open during normal business hours.