Medfield Starbucks barista accused of spitting into police officer's coffee says she was smelling cup
MEDFIELD - A Medfield Starbucks barista accused of spitting into a police officer's coffee said she was just smelling the cup, according to court paperwork obtained by WBZ.
Starbucks employee Kaitlyn Todd is facing criminal charges after a customer, Norfolk Police Lieutenant Eric Van Ness, accused her of tainting his beverage. She appeared in court on Friday.
The police were called to the Medfield Starbucks back in December. Van Ness claimed Todd spit into his drink while preparing it.
Police say the two did not previously know each other.
In new court paperwork released Friday, Todd says she was raising the cup to smell to see if the vanilla extract had already been put into it by another barista before she finished making the drink.
Her attorneys claim there is no reason to believe she would spit into the cup.
Todd was supposed to be arraigned on three charges including misdemeanor assault, but a prosecutor put that off so he could review some video of the incident.