Starbucks CEO Apologises To Two Black Men Arrested For Literally No Reason

The CEO of Starbucks says he would like to meet “face-to-face” with two black men arrested in a Philadelphia store under the flimsiest of pretexts, after video of the incident sparked protests and an immense backlash on social media.

Footage posted online Friday shows officers surround the men at a table. A third man, later identified as their associate Andrew Yaffe, said the men were there to meet him. He repeatedly asked an officer “what did they do?” A voice off-camera said the men asked to use the bathroom, but were told by an employee it was for paying customers only.

The officers then cuffed the two men and walked them out of the café.

https://twitter.com/missydepino/status/984539713016094721

The New York Times cited officials who said an employee called the police when the men refused to leave the premises, and that the men were arrested on suspicion of trespassing.

Both men were released after Starbucks chose not to press charges. The Philadelphia prosecutor’s office also chose not to charge the men after finding there wasn’t enough evidence an actual crime had been committed.

However, Commissioner Richard Ross Jr. said his officers had also asked the men to leave before arresting them, and “had legal standing to make this arrest.”

In a statement, Starbucks CEO Kevin Johnson said “the basis for the call to the Philadelphia police department was wrong,” and that the store never intended for the men to be arrested.

He expressed the company’s “deepest apologies to the two men who were arrested with a goal of doing whatever we can to make things right.”

Regardless, protestors have gathered outside the café to demonstrate against the perceived racial bias that kicked off the incident.

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