An official investigation has denied previous claims that a Starbucks barista put a tampon into a drink ordered by an off-duty police officer. In June, a Los Angeles Police Department official claimed they found a tampon in his frappuccino, which they claimed was done deliberately due to anti-police sentiment resulting from continued civil rights protests.
“Based on the evidence available at this time, the item in the drink was possibly a cleaning cloth commonly used by store employees,” Sheriff Alex Villanueva said, according to TMZ. Since a cleaning cloth is an item in common use by most Starbucks employees, it was considered an accident and not a malicious act. The incident was initially investigated as “an incident of suspected food or drink poisoning” after a Los Angeles police officer allegedly found a tampon in a Starbucks drink late last week. The incident also occurred at a Starbucks inside a Target, and was initially reported by Fox LA’s Bill melugin
BREAKING: Sources tell me that an off-duty LAPD officer allegedly found a tampon halfway through his Frappuccino at a Starbucks at Diamond Bar on Friday. I was told that you used your debit card from the police credit union. The Sheriff’s Department confirms that they took a report and are now investigating. @FOXLA pic.twitter.com/HdLTreNuur
– Bill Melugin (@BillFOXLA) June 23, 2020
The officer claimed that he had used his debit card from the police credit union to buy his drink, only to discover the cloth he is now cleaning on his drink. Immediately afterward, the “angry” officer confronted the staff again and returned the mug to the employees. The Los Angeles Police Protection League even released a statement, calling the incident “a gross assault on a police officer by someone with hatred in his heart and lacking human decency.” He also asked that the person be “publicly exposed, fired, arrested and prosecuted for his cowardly and disgusting actions.”
Despite the allegations, Target conducted its own investigation into the matter and found no wrongdoing by staff. After reviewing the video from the store, Target said “they had found no suspicious behavior.” The statement also said they “await the conclusions” of their investigation into the matter. The findings were also celebrated by dozens of people on social media who rated the initial claims as dubious at best.
The incident made comparisons to similar allegations made by members of the New York Police Department, alleging that employees of a local Shake Shack attempted to poison them. New York Police Chief of Detectives Rodney Harrison shared details of an investigation conducted in June by the city’s Manhattan South department. That investigation also determined that “there was no criminality on the part of Shake Shack employees,” and instead, the cleaning solution was not fully cleaned on one of the restaurant’s machines.
.
