Video Of 2 Black Men Being Arrested At Starbucks Goes Viral, Draws Outrage
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PHILADELPHIA (CBS) – The Philadelphia Police Department says an internal investigation is underway following the arrest of two people at a Starbucks this week.
CBS Philadelphia reports it happened on Thursday at a Starbucks located on 18th and Spruce.
@Starbucks The police were called because these men hadn't ordered anything. They were waiting for a friend to show up, who did as they were taken out in handcuffs for doing nothing. All the other white ppl are wondering why it's never happened to us when we do the same thing. pic.twitter.com/0U4Pzs55Ci
— Melissa DePino (@missydepino) April 12, 2018
"What did they do?" one man can be heard saying in a video captured by Melissa DePino.
"They didn't do anything, I saw the entire thing," another person said.
Video shows multiple officers arresting two men inside the Starbucks. Police have not said why they were arrested.
According to DePino, "they were waiting for a friend to show up, who did as they were taken out in handcuffs for doing nothing."
Starbucks tweeted to users who have been sharing the arrest video, saying they were aware of the incident.
We're aware of the incident on Thursday in a Philadelphia store with 2 guests and law enforcement, resulting in their removal. We're reviewing the incident with our partners, law enforcement and customers to determine what took place and led to this unfortunate result.
— Starbucks Coffee (@Starbucks) April 14, 2018
"We're aware of the incident on Thursday in a Philadelphia store with 2 guests and law enforcement, resulting in their removal. We're reviewing the incident with our partners, law enforcement and customers to determine what took place and led to this unfortunate result," said Starbucks in a tweet.
We are aware of an incident that occurred on 4-12-18 at the Starbucks Café at 18th and Spruce. The entire incident, including the actions of the responding officers, is under internal investigation. Once we gather all the facts, we will comment further.
— Philadelphia Police (@PhillyPolice) April 14, 2018
Police could not provide further information Friday night, only saying they will comment once they have all the facts.
"The entire incident, including the actions of the responding officers, is under internal investigation. Once we gather all the facts, we will comment further," said police in a statement.