Indeed this could have ended very badly. I’m so relieved no one was injured during the course of this police encounter. Even though the number of officers who responded to the call was excessive, they didn’t use excessive force. Why they felt compelled to remove the gentlemen instead of trying to resolve the issue to everyone’s satisfaction, though, is another issue. Even when the gentleman they were there to meet arrived and tried to explaine the situation, they were still apprehended. I wonder if Mr’s Robinson and Nelson were booked for trespassing at the police station. If so, not cool! An arrest record has negative consequences to one’s employment potential, especially for black males.
The DA declined to press charges that night.
It isn’t up to the police to figure out why someone should or should not remain on the premises when the person in charge of the premises has demanded that they leave. I thought I read that the employee was fired. Not that Starbucks needs to report the actual decision to the public as long as she is “not there anymore”.
The two guys were not charged with a crime. The police should not arrest people who have not committed crimes. What is difficult about this?
The property manager (at the time) wanted them off the premises and asked the police to enforce that. I don’t agree with any of it, but the police apparently thought the fact that the 2 men were still there meant they did not leave when asked and so they were arrested.
The police should not act as the enforcement arm for racists who want to keep black people out of public spaces. When they arrived at the Starbucks, they could have and should have quickly determined that the two guys were doing the same thing that white people do every day: waiting for a few minutes in a Starbucks. They had been waiting for less than ten minutes!
It is illegal to have a trespassing policy that applies to black people but not white ones. The police should have realized no crime was being committed, and left.
Look beyond this situation and decide how much discretion the police really have. Think of a situation where a property owner/manager wants someone gone even if they aren’t committing a crime. If you are asked to leave and you don’t, you are trespassing. I suspect the police thought these guys had been asked to leave. I’m not sure if they had been asked or not. If someone is sleeping off a big drinking night in your vestibule and doesn’t leave, the police are going to remove them if asked.
Clearly these two men’s presence (especially if it was for 5 minutes!) was in no way affecting business. They were not taking up seats that were needed for paying customers. They told the manager that they were waiting for a friend, and there was no reason to think otherwise. So yes, I doubt that a white customer would be treated the same.
But I am curious–what is Starbuck’s policy on people taking up tables for long periods of time? They might be customers who remain for hours or those just getting off their feet who need a place to sit and who never order anything. They can be the homeless seeking shelter.
Clearly it was wrong for the manage in Philadelphia to handle the situation the way she did. But I would imagine that this training session is going to have to address when it is OK to ask people to leave and what the proper protocol is.
Saturday night I was in a donut shop in NYC and my husband and I walked out because the only table available was next to someone who looked unkempt and was loudly muttering to themselves. Now as much as I have sympathy, I was not going to sit next to him and feel uncomfortable. So at times, managers are going to be faced with situations that may require them to take action.
The Philadelphia police commissioner gave an apology for the Starbucks arrest today.
http://6abc.com/police-commissioner-apologizes-to-men-arrested-in-philly-starbucks/3366099/
Which is why they are all morons. Any one of those people could have just said “lets do this” and deal with the situation as thinking people. But not these days. Who has time for this stuff?
Thinking cops would have asked them about their plans and suggested they either buy something when their buddy got there or leave and go to DD. Then run out the clock waiting for the guy. Not to bright.
O.K., I am glad the Police Commissioner apologized, but it’s a day late and a dollar short. I mean, I am confused why his officers couldn’t take a moment to assess a non-violent, non-threatening situation when the whole dang episode between the manager and the “visitors” was only 5 minutes. How could the police have been so tone deaf in light of current debates going on nationwide? Sure, arguably the two visitors were trespassing once they were asked to leave by the manager, but the cops should have thought it out by asking “how long have they been here? What have they done, etc.” Again, having SIX OFFICERS respond to the call makes it even worse and the Police Commissioner, a.k.a. Dr. Pangloss, should have figured that out from the get go.
BTW, I am waiting for the video of the Commissioner standing in line at a Starbucks in the past, a place he says he knows little about. Really, how can a major official of a major city not know anything about Starbucks in this day and age? Does he use dial up internet service, too?
Somehow the Philadelphia police managed to find the seven people in the United States who didn’t know that people hang out at Starbucks?
Someone is posting fake Starbucks coupons http://fortune.com/2018/04/18/fake-starbucks-coupons/ sad part is the racial slur embedded in the UPC code. Why do people Do this? http://www.sun-sentinel.com/features/deals-shopping/fl-bz-fake-starbucks-coupon-20180419-story.html
I’m kind of with they are all morons school. The guys could have ordered a little something while they were waiting for their friend. The manager certainly didn’t need to bring in the police. And the police were way over the top in their response. I’m glad that Starbucks is training their managers - but I think the police should put in some time for sensitivity training too.
I read some of Ross’ other comments. He justified the call for “back up” because the initial officers on the scene feared that ‘someone would get hurt.’ Huh? Commissioner Ross, please just stop talking…for a while at least.
@mathmom Why did they need to buy anything? Because they’re black? Many people hang at Starbucks without buying anything. That doesn’t make them morons.
@mathmom -Maybe they were waiting to meet their friend and then order a drink. Nonetheless they’re not “morons” for not ordering something. Disappointed in your response.
My initial impression was that they had been waiting a lot longer than five minutes.
But I don’t think Starbucks should have to provide free seating with no purchase for as long as anyone wants without a purchase. This came up sometime when my kids were supposed to meet college interviewers. I told my kids they had to buy something. The interviewers always had a cup of coffee. Obviously waiting for a few minutes should be fine. But I’m pretty sure if a manager had asked me to leave if I wasn’t buying something, I’d just have gone ahead and bought something. Or I’d have left in a huff and told them I’d support a different coffee shop. (Of course that probably would have made that particular manager happy since it seems the request was racially motivated.)
At the very least they should probably have their rules - if there are any - posted. Plenty of places have signs saying restrooms are only available to paying customers.
Here’s an article about a more concerning incident—LA Fitness and an apparent racial incident where police were called on longtime black member.