***BREAKING Philly police commissioner says he "failed miserably" in Starbucks arrests messaging***

[BumRushDaShow]

PHILADELPHIA (WPVI) --The commissioner of the Philadelphia Police Department says he "failed miserably" in his message after the controversial arrests of two black men at a Starbucks in Center City last week.

Commissioner Richard Ross staunchly defended the arrests in the days afterward. However, in an apology delivered during a news conference on Thursday, he said he was not aware of the Starbucks business model, that people "spend long hours in Starbucks and aren't necessarily expected to make a purchase." He said it's reasonable to believe the arresting officers didn't know that either.

Philadelphia Police Commissioner Richard Ross apologizes for messaging around Starbucks arrests. Watch his news conference from April 19, 2018.

"I should have said the officers acted within the scope of the law and not that they didn't do anything wrong. Words are very important," he said.

He said that the issue of race is not lost on him and that he shouldn't be the person making things worse. Ross said the police department did not have a policy for dealing with similar situations, but does now, and it will be released soon.

http://6abc.com/police-commissioner-says-he-failed-in-starbucks-arrests-messaging/3366099/

Link to tweet

TEXT

The Associated Press
✔
@AP

The Latest: Philadelphia's police commissioner apologizes to two black men who were arrested at a Starbucks, says he "failed miserably" in the messaging around the arrests. http://apne.ws/CkbNSbq
12:30 PM - Apr 19, 2018

The Latest: Police chief apologizes to men from Starbucks
PHILADELPHIA (AP) — The Latest on two men arrested at Philadelphia Starbucks (all times local):

12:20 p.m.

Philadelphia’s police commissioner is apologizing to two black men who were arrested at a Starbucks in the city.

Commissioner Richard Ross, who is black, apologized to the two men on Thursday after he previously staunchly defended police for their handling of the incident.

Ross says that he “failed miserably” in the messaging around the arrests. He says that the issue of race is not lost on him and he shouldn’t be the person making things worse.

He says the police department did not have a policy for dealing for similar situations, but does now. He says it will be released soon.

https://apnews.com/9cbe4f4b44b940089892ac1cf4c5aeaf?utm_campaign=SocialFlow&utm_source=Twitter&utm_medium=AP

As I posted elsewhere, this was a textbook case of doing EVERYTHING wrong, from the receipt of the call all the way to the arrest/booking.

[hlthe2b]

1. I'm betting this Police commissionerhas gotten a well earned earful. Good.

and I agree "this was a textbook case of doing EVERYTHING wrong, from the receipt of the call all the way to the arrest/booking."

[BumRushDaShow]

2. Let's put it this way

The (white) Mayor just go elected in 2015 (after 16 years of black mayors), with a huge amount of black support as part of his "diverse coalition". This support was about to vaporize and notably due to the police.

Could Philly's progressive Mayor Kenney face political backlash from Starbucks arrests?

Updated: April 18, 2018 — 1:13 PM EDT

When video of two black men being arrested while waiting for a friend at Starbucks in Center City spread like wildfire across the internet during the weekend, Mayor Kenney said he was “heartbroken.” In a carefully worded statement, he quickly announced that the Police Department would review its policies and that the city’s Human Relations Commission would examine the company’s procedures.

In the eyes of City Councilwoman Cindy Bass — a member of the powerful group of African American politicians whose support was critical to Kenney’s victory in the 2015 mayoral election — that isn’t enough. “Having your heart in the right place, and sending out sentiments of such, does very little in the neighborhoods where people are affected,” she said of Kenney.

Political observers said the incident at the chain’s 18th and Spruce Streets store could lead to political fallout for the mayor. It could endanger Kenney’s progressive brand and potentially fragment his coalition of diverse supporters, many of whom staunchly disagree with one another, such as liberal activists and the Fraternal Order of Police.

In Bass’ view, the mayor ought to make major changes to the Police Department after the Starbucks arrests — namely, end the controversial crime-fighting strategy known as “stop-and-frisk.” “I can’t understand why it’s not already done,” she said. “The mayor, in one fell swoop, could fix this. So I say: Mayor, fix it.”

http://www.philly.com/philly/news/politics/mayor-kenney-starbucks-arrests-police-fired-20180418.html

[hlthe2b]

3. Good.. maybe some of that desperate need for accountability will be spread around.

[BumRushDaShow]

4. Agree!

(just in case we end up with a "long hot summer" here in Philly )

[blake2012]

5. no. Mayor performed admirably in immediate wake of controversy. Commissioner who is black has had

time to get a greater context and realize how fucked up his initial comments were. I'm glad he corrected the record. However, there's got to be even more review of why this is the way its handled. Two very polite young men in Starbucks for less than 5 minutes for a meeting and the cops are there? THese dipshit cops shouldn't always side with corporations and white people in these instances.

[BumRushDaShow]

7. I thought the mayor did well

immediately jumping out in front of it too. It really surprised and heartened me.

But apparently our City Council doesn't think that is enough - the main issue being that some of this is as a result of the draconian "Stop and Frisk" nonsense that is still apparently "on the books" here (although the stops have been reduced in half). I do not think they will give him any kudos until that policy is gone.

The problem, as is obvious now, is the cops have become taxpayer-funded bouncers for white neighborhoods. And sadly some DUers applaud their role in that, no matter the rights violated doing that!

[Blue_true]

17. I understand the economic reasons given Cop total pay in big cities can be good in

a lot of cases (salary plus overtime plus detail work). But the concept of mostly white cops patrolling majority Black, Brown or other ethnic group cities is completely baffling to me. The makeup of the police force should reflect the makeup of the population. A lot of cops, firefighters and municipal employees in big cities are legacy employees (generations in their families worked the jobs), most chose to make their homes outside of the cities that they work for.

[BumRushDaShow]

23. In this case, Philly is 60% white & 40% black

and the neighborhood where this Starbucks is located is only 3% black and is notorious for the "Stop and Frisk" mess that is still in place here from back when Nutjob was mayor. It was found to be the #1 area for unjustified stops and searches and arrests per the ACLU data gathered as part of the city's consent decree -

ACLU-PA Statement on Arrests at Philadelphia Starbucks

April 16, 2018


PHILADELPHIA - In a statement released today, the American Civil Liberties Union of Pennsylvania condemned the actions of the Starbucks employee and the Philadelphia police officers that resulted in the arrest of two African-American men on Thursday who were waiting to meet a business acquaintance, then held for hours before being released without charge. The incident, which occurred at the Starbucks at 18th and Spruce Streets in Philadelphia’s Rittenhouse Square neighborhood, went viral, thanks to video of the arrest that was captured by a bystander.

In its statement, the ACLU of Pennsylvania noted that Police District 9 (Center City west) and the Police Service Area in which this happened have the highest racial disparities in pedestrian stops in the entire city. The ACLU’s most recent report on stop-and-frisk from 2017 shows that 67 percent of stops in the police service area where the store is located are of African-Americans. Meanwhile, Black residents account for just three percent of the area’s population. In its statement, the ACLU of Pennsylvania called on District Captain Danielle Vales and Lieutenant Jeffrey Rabinovitch, PPD’s leaders in District 9, to correct these disparities and end racial profiling incidents like the one on Thursday.

The city has collected the data on stops and frisks annually as a result of a 2011 consent decree agreed to after the ACLU of Pennsylvania filed suit against the Philadelphia Police Department for racial profiling. More information about that case is available at aclupa.org/bailey.

The following can be attributed to Reggie Shuford, executive director of the ACLU of Pennsylvania: “Black Philadelphians face daily indignities when they are simply trying to go about their business. This incident shows that Black people can’t even ‘wait while Black.’

https://www.aclupa.org/news/2018/04/16/aclu-pa-statement-arrests-philadelphia-starbucks

[Blue_true]

31. Good information. nt

[Blue_true]

15. Businesses should post signage at their entrance on what their premises

use policies are. Cops do screw up enough on their own, but they should not be expected to understand the premises use policies of every business in the city.

[EffieBlack]

20. That's why they should have asked when they got there

They would have found out in less than a minute that the store had no such policy and, thus, the men weren't trespassing.

[Blue_true]

28. Yep, that would have worked also. nt

[BumRushDaShow]

48. The "problem" (for Starbucks) with that

is that a big sign of "Don't dos" takes away from the "welcoming" atmosphere that they are trying to cultivate and "sell" (along with their coffees, teas, and baked goods). But since they have some staff who consciously or unconsciously "pick out" patrons who they deem "trouble", then up pops those "unwritten" (or "written but not posted" ) rules that get applied in a disparate fashion that ends up being race-based.

I have seen some businesses really work at a balance for how to post "rules". Like "No Running but more smiling" or "Please be courteous and use your cell phone in the lobby and help yourself to some chocolates", etc.

[Eliot Rosewater]

6. Systemic racism comes out in a myriad of ways. So far these officials are doing great, including

the black commissioner and white mayor.

Not sure why the cops felt they had to HANDCUFF and arrest them, I call bullshit on that.

[BumRushDaShow]

8. They manufactured a charge on the spot

Macho alpha dog thing. Only thing they DIDN'T do was throw them against the wall, do a patdown and strip search, then drag them out in a choke hold and shove them into a police car (and "not gently" per their dear leader in the WH) so they could give them a nickel ride to the Roundhouse.

[dsc]

9. no they didn't

the manager said these two are trespassing and then they arrested them. That isn't making up a crime (at least on the part of the police it isn't).

[BumRushDaShow]

14. Here we go again.

The police are not personal bouncers.

Their police report charge was "defiant trespass" and that did not apply to this establishment whatsoever. To the point that per this OP's article, even the Police Chief admits that he had no fucking idea about how the Starbucks "cafe lounge" model worked and the department is now in the process of changing their policies. And this is why the D.A.'s office probably laughed in their faces.

They did everything, from beginning to end, completely wrong other than not shooting the 2 onsite, and MY taxpayer dollars here in Philly will most likely now be spent paying a settlement that didn't have to happen, instead of fixing up a playground.

[Blue_true]

24. The police are not personal bouncers, but they ARE expected to enforce laws.

And my guess is that Philly has laws on the books against vagrancy in public and private spaces. When the cops were called and a person in a position of authority told them the men were trespassing, they had and obligation to do something. Was the decision they made right, of course not, they should have tried first to mediate the situation, go tell the men that the manager said they were not buying anything and suggest the buy a couple bottles of water. Or better, ask the manager why she was not trying to toss out other people sitting in the coffee shop with no purchases. But the cops went into their typical alpha-dog mode and added to a mess.

[BumRushDaShow]

33. And to respond

The police are not personal bouncers, but they ARE expected to enforce laws.

And my guess is that Philly has laws on the books against vagrancy in public and private spaces. When the cops were called and a person in a position of authority told them the men were trespassing, they had and obligation to do something.

No, that's not how it works. You see, anyone can call "911" and claim anything they want. Children accidentally dial it or teens may do it as a hoax. So when the police arrive, they have a set of rules they are to follow that are listed here -

http://www.phillypolice.com/assets/directives/D5.23-InterviewsAndInterrogations.pdf

and they managed to NOT do that. I.e., they are to establish whether this incident was "Unfounded" or whether it had "probable cause" and when they were unable to do that - notably because not only did they not take witness statements to corroborate, but they never followed up on what the store policy was, which has nothing to do with the city "vagrancy" policy (amazing you think they were vagrants). So they manufactured a charge by giving an order for the men to leave multiple times, like the good little George Wallace wannabes they are, and boom! Philadelphia police embarrass the City of Brotherly Love and Sisterly Affection all around the world.

The DON'T have to do anything but broker a mutual solution when the circumstances don't warrant any "probable cause". That "solution" presented itself when the business associate arrived and offered to leave with them and that would have been the end. But no.

Was the decision they made right, of course not, they should have tried first to mediate the situation, go tell the men that the manager said they were not buying anything and suggest the buy a couple bottles of water. Or better, ask the manager why she was not trying to toss out other people sitting in the coffee shop with no purchases. But the cops went into their typical alpha-dog mode and added to a mess.

The "they should have tried to mediate" thing IS what they are supposed to do - especially the bike cops because they are there as part of "Community Policing". That is what funded their asses.

Bicycle Patrol

Philadelphia’s success with bicycle deployment in recent years demonstrates the value of bike patrols. Officers assigned to bicycle patrol perform the dual function of providing neighborhood - based community policing, while also contributing to tactical strategies for preventing and responding to violent crime. Bicycle patrol is particularly impactful, in that it maintains the level of officer presence and accessibility afforded by foot patrol, while providing enhanced navigability and span of coverage.

While bicycle patrol has been an essential component of tactical and community policing for decades, this year, the Philadelphia Police Department implemented an initiative, whereby a complement of police recruits receive bicycle training and certification prior to being assigned to street duty. Upon completion, these officers are assigned to crime-dense “hot-spots” and communities throughout the city. Philadelphia’s successes with bicycle deployment in recent years have demonstrated the value of bike patrols. Bicycle deployments are highly visible, mobile and increase officers’ engagement with people across the city. Bicycles have proven highly effective as well during gatherings of various sizes. Bike Officers have become a staple at outdoor events, ranging from community fun days and street
festivals to larger events like the Papal visit, the Democratic National Convention, the NFL draft, Welcome America and demonstrations. Other Police Departments have called to ask PPD leadership about its approach to the use of Bicycle Officers.

https://www.phillypolice.com/assets/programs-and-services/Gun-Violence.pdf

But they chose the macho way out and have now forced their "boss", the Commissioner, to start the great American "walk back" on behalf of his Keystone Kops, and have cost Starbucks tens of millions in training costs, as well as possible lawsuits for "false arrest" and other things that will cost the city.

But racists don't care how much it costs to oppress! They were willing to SPEND MONEY to build separate "White" and "Colored" water fountains and bathrooms, so the cost of their racism has never been a deterrent to them!

[Blue_true]

36. Effie gave a synopsis of what should have happened. I agree with what she wrote. nt

[BumRushDaShow]

38. Good because we have been tag-teaming it.

There are usually "other options" and egos must be put into check to implement them.

[Hassin Bin Sober]

37. Why would they buy water when they brought their own bottled water?

[EffieBlack]

43. The men were not arrested for vagrancy.

They were arrested for violating a very specific state law that prohibited “defiant trespassing.” The police had a duty upon arriving on the scene to confirm that they actually were violating the law before arresting them. They did not do that. They just took the manager’s word for it and it turned out she was wrong. They did NOT violate the law, which the cops would have known if they’d asked a couple of questions - you know INVESTIGATED before they took two innocent people to jail. The manager was wrong to call the police, but once there, they had a duty to establish they had probable cause to make an arrest. They failed. That part was on the cops, not the manager.

[EffieBlack]

18. If the police had simply asked the manager 3 questions, they would have known the men

committed no crime.

The burden was on the manager and the police to prove the men were actually violating the law.

1. Because this is a public place, the only reason you can ask them to leave is if they're not complying with some condition you place on the general public. What did they do wrong?

Manager: They didn't buy anything

2. Is there a rule that people have to buy something in order to be in here?

Manager: Yes

White Patron #1: NO NO NO! There's no such rule. I didn't buy anything and she didn't ask me to leave.

White Patron #2: NO! That's not true! I come in here all the time and don't buy anything and she's never asked me to leave.

3. Ma'am to you have that rule written down or posted anywhere?

Manager: No

Then, Ma'am, I'm sorry, but it looks like you brought us here for nothing. These men haven't done anything wrong, so you don't have any legal right to ask them to leave.

(Tips hat and leaves)

[Blue_true]

25. Yes, that should have been how it went.

But too many police departments hire the agressive alpha-dog type cops instead of more thoughtful types.

[dsc]

29. I am pretty sure they have the policy posted

even as they don't enforce it. I don't do Starbucks often so I am no expert but most food places have it posted on the door. I also don't think the cops can decide not to enforce the law because the manager applied it inconsistently. The manager bears the entire fault here at least until the friend showed up. I do have a huge problem with it taking 9 hours to release these people and for that matter them being arrested after the friend arrived, but I don't want police deciding not to enforce laws willy nilly. If I call and say a person is trespassing I want them gone though I wouldn't necessarily want them arrested.

[EffieBlack]

32. No, they did not

There was nothing to post because the store had no such policy.

I didn’t say the police should not enforce the policy because it was applied in consistently. My point is that the fact that the policy was not applied to other people or in the past is proof that there was no such policy.

And if there was no policy requiring a purchase in order to be in the restaurant, the men were not in violation of any condition the store required the public to meet in order to have access and, therefore, they were not trespassing and should not have been arrested.

[dsc]

53. I agree if that is the case

the problem the cops have is that the manager specifically stated they were trespassing. If the owner of a place or the agent of the owner claims a person is trespassing then at the least I think the cop has to make them go. The blame here is largely on the manager. I do think the notion that it took 9 hours to release these men is outrageous but I don't see how the cops wouldn't at least have to make the men leave. I do think the arrest was overkill once the friend came.

[EffieBlack]

61. No, the cop doesn't have to "make them go"

The cop can only "make them go" if HE or SHE independently confirms they are trespassing. They can't just take the manager's word for it.

In this case, the blame is shared between the manager and the cops. The manager called the cops and said there were men there who wouldn't buy anything and wouldn't leave. That, by itself is not trespassing and is not a crime. It is only trespassing IF they were violating a condition the store had set for the public to enter or remain on the property AND the manager had told them they were trespassing.. Neither of those circumstances were present here.

Not only did the manager not tell the men they were trespassing before she called the police, she led the cops to believe that buying something was a condition of remaining in the restaurant. The cops did not confirm that that she had put them on notice, they did not confirm that - or even ask whether - the no buy no sit rule was actually a store policy and, worse, they ignored several witnesses who adamantly told them that this was NOT the store's policy since they had not bought anything and had not been asked to leave - and never had in the past.

If this was not a store policy and there was no other basis for the alleged trespassing, the men did not violate the law and the cops should not have arrested them.

The fault does not lie only with the cops or only with the manager. They operated in tandem and the arrest would not have occurred without the complicity of both parties. Had the manager not called the police, the incident would never have occurred. And when the police arrived, if instead of just taking the manager's word, they had conducted even the most cursory investigation, as they were required to do before depriving a citizen of their liberty, they would have immediately known that the manager was either confused or lying and they would not have made the arrest.

It seems that they were determined to make an arrest - as if they hated to leave empty handed after going through so much trouble. In fact, when the men's friend suggested that they just all leave one of the officers said, "Too late for that" and arrested them anyway. So at that point, they goal seemed to be to arrest them, not just make them leave the premises, neither of which they had any right to do.

Let's put the shoe on the other foot. Suppose the two men had called the police and said the manager had threatened them with bodily harm, which constitutes a criminal assault under Pennsylvania law. I can't imagine anyone arguing that the cops should just show up and arrest the manager on the spot without even trying to verify there was probable cause to believe an assault had actually occurred. And if, when they arrived, the manager denied it and the other patrons said they didn't hear her threaten them and, in fact they heard her speak very politely to them an arrest for assault would have been outrageous, no matter how much the men wanted her thrown in jail.

The police are charged with protecting the ENTIRE public, not just businesses. They have as much duty to protect patrons from lying, arbitrary and possibly racist managers as they do to protect businesses from wayward patrons who have the temerity to remain in coffee houses without buying a latte within 2 minutes of entering the place.

[mcar]

60. And there you have it

It was really that simple.

Y'know, I'm a 59 YO white woman who grew up in lily white world and I get this. Why don't others?

I mean, this situation makes me so angry, because I have sat in freaking Starbucks for hours without buying a damn thing. I just don't get the apologists here and elsewhere.

[EffieBlack]

62. And these are supposed to be PROGRESSIVE DEMOCRATS!

Although I suspect, given how vociferous some of the trolling and pushback on this topic, some of these folks have a different agenda.

[mcar]

64. Progressive about what

One wonders.

[Eliot Rosewater]

10. I saw these guys on a TV talk show, they look like most millennial American men

as in harmless, non violent.

But, there is that skin color problem they have, isnt there.

I tell you thing, you wanna fix this? Start arresting white millennial males who clearly are not homeless and so on.

[BumRushDaShow]

16. They look almost like my nephews and are around the same age

and dress the same. Only difference was they didn't have their cell phones out (at least on the video at the store), although if they did, the phone would have probably been mistaken for a gun.

[Blue_true]

27. I read an article that said they were meeting the third guy to

complete a business deal and get funding. My guess is they have their funding now, if the people at Starbucks don't make sure that happens, then Starbucks deserves what is coming to it.

[EffieBlack]

13. And the new DA probably read him the Riot Act

"Don't you EVER bring me a bullshit piece crap arrest like this and ask me to charge it! I was nice this time, but next time I have to decline a prosecution you bring me because some ignorant racist weekend manager dropped a dime on somebody who didn't do a damned thing wrong, I will put you AND your punk-assed officers on blast."

Something like that ...

[BumRushDaShow]

19. The FOP hates Larry Krasner (the D.A.)

http://www.philly.com/philly/news/crime/da-district-attorney-larry-krasner-john-mcnesby-philly-fop-20180302.html

First thing he did after being sworn in was to fire 31 ADAs.

He is trying to do reform and it will be a big job.

[EffieBlack]

22. I'm sure they do.

He's a former civil rights lawyer and doesn't take any crap off of them.

[IllinoisBirdWatcher]

11. The part he needs to specifically apologize for...

I have highlighted the part of Ross' initial statement which smells the most to me:

"They did a service that they were called to do," Ross said of the officers. "And if you think about it logically, that if a business calls and they say that someone is here that I no longer wish to be in my business, (officers) now have a legal obligation to carry out their duties. And they did just that."

I still can't believe that in this day and age those words came out of a police commissioner's mouth.

My first thought was back to the days where racist store owners had "We reserve the right to refuse service to anyone" posted in their businesses.

So using the police commissioner's rationale, customers could be refused service for any reason at all, no matter how discriminatory, and police are obligated to arrest. That might have flown in the 1960's, but certainly not today.

His current statement is not much better:

...he said he was not aware of the Starbucks business model, that people "spend long hours in Starbucks and aren't necessarily expected to make a purchase."

Just look at the online comments of hundreds, if not thousands of people, relating their own experiences as customers spending hours and hours just chilling in Starbucks. What kind of bubble has the police commissioner been living in?

[zipplewrath]

35. So you escort them out

From all accounts, the men were not particularly resistive or hostile, so I don't really understand why the police just didn't say, "leave". I suspect they would have.

[subterranean]

39. The police did ask them to leave, and they didn't.

Later, the man they were waiting for came in, and said to the police officer, "So, we'll go somewhere else..." The officer would not allow it, saying "No, we're done with that. We asked them to leave the first time, and they wouldn't comply." Apparently he had decided at that point to arrest the two men no matter what. It's at 5:40 in this video:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=347&v=gegA9GsJ26A

[zipplewrath]

42. Well, and this is my issue

This is a rant far beyond this incident, this OP, or this subthread.

But my complaint for 40 years with the policing method in this country is that it is all about "power and control", not "diffusing".

Look, I'm sorry they didn't comply immediately with his request to leave. And yes, they probably should have. But "immediate" isn't really the goal, or at least shouldn't be. In all my interactions with the police, "immediate" wasn't their goal until they were ready. But apparently once they were ready, you should be too. Too many of these incidents occur because the police have no "patience", in the sense that they fear allowing the citizen to pace the rate of decision. If the police are called, there is a conflict. And that conflict resolution should be the goal. Even if the pace is not what they would like, want, or can even "justify". As long as the situation is moving forward towards a resolution, that should be sufficient to ALLOW it to move forward. Is there a pace that is "too slow"? Well, probably, but really it is more of a case of whether it is moving forward at all, however slowly, or is it merely dithering about a mean. If there is no real progress, okay, I get it, one has to "force" the issue. But if there is progress towards a goal, be patient.

I volunteered for a suicide hotline in my past. In the day, we'd also go out to people who were actively considering suicide to engage with them. The LAST thing we wanted to see there was the police. For one thing, they had no patience at all. In suicide prevention, patience is about the only tool one has. If they are talking, they aren't trying to kill themselves. Patience.

Police need to be more patient. If things aren't getting worse, then be patient. The police are supposed to be the professionals. The citizens are untrained for the experience. Give them time, be patient.

[EffieBlack]

44. I wonder what I would do if I was minding my own business in a coffeehouse and a bunch of cops

rolled up on me and told me I had to leave because the manager said I was trespassing.

I very likely would have initially told them no, that I had every right to be there so I wasn’t going anywhere.

And I suspect that most of the white people lecturing us black people about why these men should have “complied with the cops” would have thrown an absolute shit fit and refused to go anywhere if that happened to them.

[BumRushDaShow]

51. "What kind of bubble has the police commissioner been living in?"

I heard a blip from his news conference today and found out that he is 2 years younger than me (I am 56 and I believe he said he was 54). So he really IS in a fucking bubble! And I don't even go to Starbucks on any regular basis (have only been a few times), but you see the sofas and cushy chairs and tables and whatnot that are part of the "coffee bar"/"cafe" scene when you do go in there to maybe grab a coffee and leave.

[Initech]

12. You had one job, dude!

[Orsino]

21. So the failure was in messaging.

Messaging.

Riiiiiiiight.

[Johnny2X2X]

26. Here's where society distracts

Starbucks is not at fault here. The police in Philly are merely a symptom of the problem. And the manager who called the police is simply a victim of propaganda that can't even comprehend.

Repeat after me:
BLACK MEN ARE NOT DANGEROUS!!!
BLACK MEN ARE NOT DANGEROUS!!!
BLACK MEN ARE NOT DANGEROUS!!!

Seems simple and obvious, but the message every American receives 24/7 and 365 days a year is that black men are dangerous and should be feared. The entire country is suffering because of this message that is repeated in every form of media we consume over and over every day.

Now rather than address the root cause of this issue, society and the media will compartmentalize this to Starbucks and continue with everything else like normal.

[dsc]

30. How in God's name isn't Starbucks at fault here

they hired the manager who started this all.

[EffieBlack]

45. The complicity is joint.

The manager should never have called the cops, but once there, the cops should not have made an arrest.

[Atman]

47. Maybe the manager didn't check the "I'm a racist" box on his employment application.

How was Starbucks home office to know that the guy was a flaming racist until he acted out and did something which demonstrated his flaming racism. Most racists will deny their racism even as they're tying a noose to the old oak tree.

[dsc]

52. I have serious doubts that this is the first time this manager exhibited this kind of behavior

I would imagine most of the people she had asked to leave simply left but I also imagine that most of them weren't white.

[Atman]

57. You can imagine that, but we don't know, do we?

It's easy to speculate on what really happened. The tv news has interviewed everybody except the night watchman...and the manager who was fired. I'd like to hear from her instead of all the eye witnesses.

[EffieBlack]

63. There were apparently previous complaints about her treatment of minority employees and patrons

Cash said she was the only Black employee besides an assistant manager at the Starbucks and she soon felt the wrath of Hylton who cut her pay without explanation, had her demoted from a supervisory position, avoided dealing with Black customers and called the cops often on Black people.

“She always found a reason to kick Black people out, she was way more likely to ask them to leave over white people who hadn’t made a purchase,” she said.

And when it came to serving Black customers at the counter, she said Hylton would make them wait and tended attentively to white people first.

“She was cold and standoffish to everyone else and would say “they can wait”,” explained Cash. “She often made the baristas serve them so she wouldn’t have to. Holly was very attentive with all the white customers, always making sure they were happy and served quickly,” she said.

It’s because of this type of racial bias against minorities that Starbucks is closing all 8,000 of its stores May 29 to conduct racial-bias education training geared toward preventing discrimination in their stores, the company said in a statement.

https://thegrio.com/2018/04/19/starbucks-manager-racism/

Probably why Starbucks was able to fire her so quickly.

[tblue37]

56. The manager is a woman named Holly. nt

[Atman]

58. The pronoun is entirely beside the point.

How does it matter in the slightest?

[BumRushDaShow]

34. "BLACK MEN ARE NOT DANGEROUS!!!"

But people believe that they are a "Menace 2 Society".

[Demsrule86]

40. Maybe some good will come of this. I have been very concerned about modern Jim Crow since

my daughter began dating a very nice young man of color...I got to tell you I was shocked. As I said before, I thought for the most part the election of Barack Obama showed that racism had mostly ended...except for a few old folks in the South and of course Boston (it is legendary there). I was wrong.

[BumRushDaShow]

41. The young men seemed to want that as an outcome

Their generation is different - at least percentage wise. There are still Confederate flag-waving, Nazi-saluting young men out there. But if one can gradually change hearts and minds a few at a time, it helps, because you end up with people who ARE willing to "speak up and speak out" like the young white woman who posted the tweet and video that alerted us to this.

Oddly enough, the cultural conditioning meant that coming from her first, rather than from them initially, it was taken more seriously because it underscored that there is a racial overlay going on in this situation and she recognized it right away. But I guess one thing at a time.

[Demsrule86]

49. I agree...my daughter went to get her sister who's car broke down...when the police came it was

very tense when they saw T (her Black fiancee) but once they saw her and actually talked to them both, they were very police and nice. Had my daughter who is white not been there, it might have been different.

[Cha]

46. Wow! This is great that the PC is apologizing

for getting it wrong!

Should have a lot of RECS!

Mahalo, BRDS!

[BumRushDaShow]

50. Hey Cha!

Trying to get some justice one day at a time!

He's got some more work to do because any "healing" that was being cultivated between the police and the POC community was completely destroyed with this one egregious incident that went viral around the world, so now they'll have to start all over.

[tblue37]

54. What ordinary adult American is that clueless about Starbucks' business model?

[BumRushDaShow]

55. Here is an updated statement from the Mayor

Link to tweet

TEXT

Jim Kenney
✔
@PhillyMayor

It's been a difficult week for many witnessing & reliving the trauma of racial profiling. I want to apologize on behalf of the City to Donte Robinson & Rashon Nelson for the experience they’ve been through. I want to commit our city to healing together. http://bit.ly/2qQdwuz
5:35 PM - Apr 19, 2018

FULL STATEMENT -

Mayor’s Statement on the Starbucks Incident
For immediate release: April 19, 2018 Published by: Philadelphia Police Department, Philadelphia Commission on Human Relations, Office of the Mayor Contact: Mike Dunn [e-mail] [phone]

PHILADELPHIA – Mayor Kenney today released the following statement regarding the Starbucks incident:

“It has been a difficult week for many Philadelphians witnessing and reliving the trauma of racial profiling. I want to apologize on behalf of the City of Philadelphia to Donte Robinson and Rashon Nelson for the experience they’ve been put through. I want to acknowledge their pain and the pain of so many others, and commit our City to healing it together over the coming days, weeks and months.

“Sometimes courage is as simple as a willingness to evaluate your own words and actions, and to account for them. Today we saw such courage with the words of Police Commissioner Richard Ross. I applaud his ability to reflect on this very difficult week, and to articulate his changed perspective. It’s that courage and self-reflection that makes the Commissioner such an effective leader. The current realities of race relations and bias in 2018 warrant ongoing re-evaluations by each and every one of us.

“It is important to remember that this City has made substantial progress, under reforms instituted by Commissioner Ross, toward reducing the number of pedestrian stops and frisks made without reasonable suspicion in Philadelphia. Under this Administration, the number of pedestrian stops conducted in the City have dropped 50% from 2015 to 2017, along with a similar decrease in the percentage of pedestrian stops conducted without reasonable suspicion. The actions of the Administration and PPD since January 2016 have made a difference in how policing in Philadelphia is conducted and how it impacts the citizens of this great City. The Commissioner and I remain committed to working with the ACLU in the current litigation, with the oversight of the federal judge, to address any issues surrounding racial disparities in those stops.”

Updates:

The Police Advisory Commission is continuing to work with the PPD to arrange for interviews with officers involved and to access the data requested. PAC is also working with PCHR to identify and move forward on shared priorities throughout this process.

PPD: The Internal Affairs Division investigation should be completed by the middle of next week. The policy review determined that there was no specific policy regarding the crime of “Defiant Trespass,” aside from the PA Crimes Code and the PA Rules of Criminal Procedure. A policy regarding police response to calls for “Defiant Trespass” has been drafted, and is in the final stages of review. That process should be completed by the end of next week.

The Philadelphia Commission on Human Relations is in the early stages of its investigation. The Commission has issued a formal request for a series of documents from Starbucks regarding its policies and practices. The PCHR will analyze the information to see if there are intentional or unintentional discriminatory consequences to those policies and practices, and to determine what improvements can be made to ensure that such an incident does not happen again.

###


https://beta.phila.gov/2018-04-19-mayors-statement-on-the-starbucks-incident/

The bolded pretty much validates what I have been saying - they "manufactured" a charge on the spot to use for an arrest, whether it was applicable or not.

[mcar]

59. I give him credit for admitting it