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Tribune News Service

Starbucks has issued a formal apology to an Arizona police force after six officers were kicked out of a Tempe coffee shop on Independence Day, an eviction that triggered a social media firestorm as #DumpStarbucks trended on Twitter.
The Tempe Officers Association said the officers left after a barista told them a customer “did not feel safe” because of the police presence.

Rossann Williams, a Starbucks vice-president, said on Saturday she wanted to “sincerely apologise” to the officers and the Tempe Police Department.
“When those officers entered the store and a customer raised a concern over their presence, they should have been welcomed and treated with dignity and the utmost respect,” Williams said in a statement. “Instead, they were made to feel unwelcome and disrespected, which is completely unacceptable.”
Williams said the company was taking steps to ensure such an incident never happens again.
Last year, a Tempe store manager called the police because two African-American men refused to buy anything while waiting a friend. Police arrested them for trespassing, but they were released without charges and Starbucks and the police department apologised.
In Tempe, the officers association said the officers were asked to move out of the customer’s line of sight or leave. They left.
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“This treatment of public safety workers could not be more disheartening,” the association said. “Unfortunately, such treatment has become all too common in 2019.”
The police department also weighed in, saying it hoped the confrontation was an “isolated incident”.
The #DumpStarbucks hashtag drew comments defending police as well as some trying to explain why someone would be uncomfortable around officers.


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Starbucks

Starbucks apologises for kicking out Arizona cops after social media backlash

A Starbucks sign. File photo: Reuters

FILE PHOTO: The signboard of Starbucks coffee is pictured at its branch in Tokyo, Japan August 13, 2018. REUTERS/Kim Kyung-Hoon/File Photo

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#DumpStarbucks hashtag drew comments defending police after six officers were told to leave one outlet because a customer felt uncomfortable


#DumpStarbucks hashtag drew comments defending police after six officers were told to leave one outlet because a customer felt uncomfortable .


United States

Starbucks apologises for kicking out Arizona cops after social media backlash

.css-1mniedq{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;}#DumpStarbucks hashtag drew comments defending police after six officers were told to leave one outlet because a customer felt uncomfortable

#DumpStarbucks hashtag drew comments defending police after six officers were told to leave one outlet because a customer felt uncomfortable