Starbucks Protests And Boycott Grow After Controversial Arrest Of 2 Black Men In Philadelphia

The viral video of two black men arrested Thursday afternoon at a Starbucks in Philadelphia continues to draw criticism on social media with #BoycottStarbucks remaining a top trending topic on Twitter. The incident has also led to protests of the Starbucks location, with one slated for Sunday afternoon as well as a “Shut Down Starbucks!” protest Monday morning.

The two men were reportedly waiting for a friend and were denied use of the restroom because they didn't make a purchase. Starbucks staff later called 911 when the men refused to leave the cafe upon request. Police arrived and arrested the men for trespassing.

In the video, a white man, who was later identified as Andrew Yaffe, a local real estate investor, can be overheard calling the arrest “ridiculous.”

“What did they get called for?” Yaffe asks one of the six police officers on the scene. “Because there are two black guys sitting here meeting me? What did they do?”

A woman off camera can be heard saying, “They didn’t do anything. I saw the entire thing.”

In a company statement posted Saturday night, Starbucks chief executive Kevin Johnson issued an apology and said he wants to “offer a face-to-face apology” for the “reprehensible outcome."

Philadelphia Police Commissioner Richard Ross Jr. said in a statement Saturday that after reviewing the facts that the officers "did absolutely nothing wrong."

"[The police officers] followed policy, they did what they were supposed to do, they were professional in all their dealings with these gentlemen and instead, they got the opposite back," Ross said. "I will say that as an African-American man, I am very aware of implicit bias. We are committed to fair and unbiased policing and anything less than that will not be tolerated in this department."

Video of the incident has drawn millions of views, while sparking renewed debate about racial profiling.

A "Shut Down Starbucks!" rally Monday morning from 7 am. to 10 a.m. organized by the Philadelphia Coalition for REAL Justice on Facebook has drawn 181 "Going," 975 "Interested" and 452 "Shares."

On Saturday, #BoycottStarbucks became a trending topic.

Every__employee __in__here__needs__to__go. Not 1 stood up. Not 1 told the cops it’s not that serious. Not 1 showed these men the courtesy and dignity they deserved. I’m sure this is not the first time. @starbucks a gift card won’t fix this. #boycottstarbucks

— ItsJustMeElaine (@HavSommoCafe) April 14, 2018​