TEMPE, Ariz. — A group of six police officers in Tempe, Arizona, were reportedly asked to leave by a barista at a Starbucks location on July 4.
The incident reportedly happened at the location off of Scottsdale and McKellips roads in Tempe.
A statement from the Tempe Officers Association says the officers paid for their drinks and were standing together inside the coffee shop.
A barista then approached the group, and said that they were making a customer “feel uncomfortable.”
The officers were allegedly asked to move out of the customer’s sight, or to leave.
The officers chose to leave the establishment at that time.
In a statement, the Tempe Officers Association says they know this is not a national Starbucks policy.
“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.”
In response, the Tempe Police Department said it had been in touch with the Starbucks corporate office about what happened.
"It is our hope that the incident which occurred at Starbucks was an isolated incident between one community member and a single employee rather than an entire organization," a department spokesperson said. "Starbucks stated they are aware of this incident and advised this interaction is not in line with Starbucks values and will continue to work in strengthening their relationship with law enforcement."
A corporate employee with Starbucks says it is looking into what led up to the incident and that the company has a deep respect for police and the service they do for the community.
This story was originally published on KNXV .
