Yesterday, on Independence Day, six Tempe Police Officers were asked to leave the Starbucks on Scottsdale Road and McKellips, in Arizona. The employee who asked the officers to leave claimed that a customer felt unsafe with the police presence. The employee then asked the officers to either move out of the customers sight, or leave. The officers left the establishment.

After the incident Tempe Officers Association’s posted a photo to Facebook, that read “dump Starbucks” and wrote:

We take offense with Starbucks at McKellips & Scottsdale Rds for asking our Tempe Officers to leave the establishment on July 4th after paying for coffee and taking a pause while working to protect the freedom so many take for granted…like enjoying a holiday with friends and family. Several of those officers asked to leave are veterans who fought for this country.

Zero Respect…

See Facebook post below:

The Tempe Officers Association followed up the Facebook post with a statement, writing:

A statement from the Tempe Officers Association on The July 4th incident and Starbucks’ treatment of police officers:

Yesterday, on Independence Day, six Tempe police officers stopped by the Starbucks at Scottsdale Road and McKellips for coffee. The officers paid for their drinks and stood together having a cup of coffee. They were approached by a barista, who knew one of the officers by name, because he is a regular at that location.

The barista said that a customer “did not feel safe” because of the police presence. The barista asked the officers to move out of the customer’s line of sight or to leave.

Disappointed, the officers did in fact leave.

This treatment of public safety workers could not be more disheartening. While the barista was polite, making such a request at all was offensive. Unfortunately, such treatment has become all too common in 2019.

We know this is not a national policy at Starbucks Corporate and we look forward to working collaboratively with them on this important dialogue.

See statement below: