Based on the evidence, investigators concluded that the item was possibly a cleaning cloth commonly used by store employees, according to the Los Angeles Sheriff’s Department, which investigated the case.
“The investigation failed to prove malicious intent on the part of the store employee,” he said Tuesday.
On June 19, an unidentified Los Angeles Police Department officer reported that he found the item inside his drink purchased from a Starbucks inside a Target store in Diamond Bar, about 30 miles from Los Angeles.
The 36-year-old man said he used a credit card that had “important characteristics,” implying that he was a police officer to buy the drink. He went to the bathroom while preparing the drink and returned when it was almost complete, according to the report.
Once he started drinking the drink in the vehicle, he tasted the “hairy cloth substance” inside his mouth. He stopped drinking it, opened it, and engraved the “tubular object … so it was inside his drink,” the report said. At the time, the officer said that what he believed to be a tampon was “intentionally” put into his drink because he was a police officer.
Target immediately released a statement and shared surveillance camera footage with authorities. “We take this allegation seriously. We have reviewed the video footage and have found no suspicious behavior,” he said shortly after the incident.
Starbucks was at a Target, and its workers are employees of the retail chain. Starbucks deferred all comments on the latest development to Target.
“This took place at a licensed Starbucks store inside Target, so they would own the investigation. They should also have more background on what happened,” a Starbucks spokesperson told CNN Wednesday night.
CNN has reached out to Target.
Investigators determined that a cleaning solution used to clean the smoothie machines was not completely clean and that it may have got into the officers’ drinks. The New York Police Department found no irregularities for Shake Shack employees.
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