Given the repeated abuses law enforcement officers have experienced when visiting Starbucks coffee shops, it’s a wonder officers bother to darken the company’s doors.
The latest incident took place at an Oklahoma Starbucks, when a barista wrote “Pig” on the label for a police officer’s order — on Thanksgiving Day, no less.
Kiefer Police Chief Johnny O’Mara took to Facebook to share his frustration over the cup handed to one of his officers, who visited a Starbucks in Glenpool to get coffee for dispatchers working the holiday.
“So… one of my on-duty officers decides to do something nice for our dispatchers,” he said. “It’s Thanksgiving Day; our dispatchers are under appreciated as it is. My officer goes to Starbucks to get the dispatchers coffee as a thank you for all they do (especially when they’re working a holiday.)
“This is what he gets for being nice.”
O’Mara included a photo the label, which reads “Pig.”
“What irks me is the absolute and total disrespect for a police officer who, instead of being home with family and enjoying a meal and a football game, is patrolling his little town,” he added.
Starbuck’s spokesman Jory Mendes told Fox 25 News in a statement the incident is “absolutely unacceptable” and the barista was suspended pending an investigation.
“We have also apologized directly to [the officer] and we are working to connect with the police chief as well as to express our remorse,” the release said. “The barista has been suspended pending the outcome of our investigation into this matter. This language is offensive to all law enforcement and is not representative of the deep appreciation we have for police officers who work tirelessly to keep our communities safe.”
In an interview with ABC affiliate KTUL, O’Mara called the incident “gut wrenching.”
Bad Taste in your Mouth employee @Starbucks does this
🚔Oklahoma officer given Starbucks order with the word 'PIG' written on the label, police chief says
Here are Law enforcement working on Thanksgiving & treated with disrespect Glenpool, Police Department won’t be back 🚔 pic.twitter.com/gsjKWETW3g
— CONNIE’S CORNER (@CRRJA5) November 29, 2019
Chief O’Mara said on Facebook that he called the store and they offered to “replace the coffee with a correct label,” in effect, bring the cups back and they would relabel them, as he explained to KTUL.
“The proverb ‘Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me’ came to mind,” he wrote.
He also suggested that officers on duty looking for a cup of coffee “use a place where you pour your own and you’re certain of what’s in it.”
The police chief intimated that the insulting incident is “just another little flag” of the state of our society that leaves cops asking themselves more often: “Why am I doing this?”
“Just pour the coffee, please,” he concluded. “Are we at a point where a task as simple as pouring an exceptionally overpriced cup of coffee is so complicated that it cannot be accomplished without ‘expressing oneself?'”
Here’s a quick sampling of some of the responses to the story from Twitter:
I’ll never drink a Starbucks coffee again, they are a disgrace…. just another incident with Starbucks…
— B Crawf (@Wgcrawf) November 29, 2019
Boycott the store forever
— Inventor (@MarcErickson16) November 29, 2019
Lefty lunatics. Put a gun free sign outside and a cop free sign as well. See how that works for them.
— Monty Johnson (@MontyJo97287709) November 29, 2019
Fire them! Don’t appreciate people keeping you safe and feel you have the right to disrespect our good men and women in blue! Come on Starbucks this isn’t the first time! ??
— Naples Blonde??⭐️⭐️⭐️ (@CBockino) November 29, 2019
I could sit in a starbucks and make fun of hipsters all day. The person who put that on that receipt should be fired.
— Glenn (@g_geboy) November 29, 2019
Their coffee is overpriced and overroasted…won’t miss them when they’re gone.
— Scott Kinder (@scottatbc) November 29, 2019
The Starbucks Culture. Conservatives should drop them like a Rock.
— Rodger Lewis (@TrueTexan5859) November 29, 2019
Seems like Starbucks does a lot of apologizing. After awhile I would say don’t bother it’s meaningless ?♂️
— China Joe (@redwingbob) November 29, 2019
Any order for a police officer that your worker doesn’t put the name “PIG” on the cup. Oh, wait. No. I will never, ever spend $ at Starbucks. My daughter is going into the police academy in January to become a CSI. So ????. Hope your hate works well for you. pic.twitter.com/VS1al1DZrH
— karenmaxwell (@KarenMaxwell) November 29, 2019
DONATE TO BIZPAC REVIEW
Please help us! If you are fed up with letting radical big tech execs, phony fact-checkers, tyrannical liberals and a lying mainstream media have unprecedented power over your news please consider making a donation to BPR to help us fight them. Now is the time. Truth has never been more critical!
[email protected]
The longest-tenured writer at BizPac Review, Tom grew up in Maryland before moving to Central Florida as a young teen. It is in the Sunshine State that he honed both his passion for politics and his writing skills.
Comment
We have no tolerance for comments containing violence, racism, profanity, vulgarity, doxing, or discourteous behavior. If a comment is spam, instead of replying to it please click the ∨ icon below and to the right of that comment. Thank you for partnering with us to maintain fruitful conversation.
BPR INSIDER COMMENTS
Scroll down for non-member comments or join our insider conversations by becoming a member. We'd love to have you!
