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The Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department is investigating a potential felony after a report that an officer allegedly found a tampon in his Starbucks drink.
An off duty LAPD officer reportedly found the feminine hygiene product halfway through drinking the Frappuccino which was purchased at a Starbucks location inside of a Target store in eastern Los Angeles County, California, on Friday.
(Source: Fox 11)
Surveillance video from the store was reportedly being reviewed by detectives in order to determine who is responsible for the disgusting act which, according to California law, is considered food tampering. Anyone working at the particular Starbucks counter is considered a Target employee since the coffee shop is a licensee of Target at this location, according to Fox 11.
UPDATE: We’ve since learned that because this Starbucks is a licensee location inside a Target, they’re technically Target employees. When we called the Target, a female employee said she was aware of the incident. Starbucks following up with us in the morning. @FOXLA
— Bill Melugin (@BillFOXLA) June 23, 2020
The officer was off-duty at the time of the incident but reportedly used his police credit union debit card to purchase the cold drink, apparently tipping off the responsible individual that he was an LAPD officer. Bill Melugin of Fox 11 reported that, upon finding the object halfway through his drink, the angry officer went back to the Starbucks location, confronting the employee about the tampering.
In the exchange, the officer reportedly handed the cup back, leaving him without the evidence.
BREAKING: Sources tell me an off duty LAPD officer allegedly found a tampon halfway thru his Frappuccino at a Starbucks in Diamond Bar on Friday. I’m told he used his police credit union debit card. Sheriff’s Dept. confirms they took a report & they’re now investigating. @FOXLA pic.twitter.com/HdLTreNuur
— Bill Melugin (@BillFOXLA) June 23, 2020
“This disgusting assault on a police officer was carried out by someone with hatred in their heart and who lacks human decency,” The LA Police Protective League said in a statement. “We hope they are publicly exposed, fired, arrested, and prosecuted for their cowardly and repugnant actions.”
According to California law, food tampering is a felony and can result in prison sentences up to five years.
Every person who willfully mingles any poison or harmful substance with any food, drink, medicine, or pharmaceutical product or who willfully places any poison or harmful substance in any spring, well, reservoir, or public water supply, where the person knows or should have known that the same would be taken by any human being to his or her injury, is guilty of a felony punishable by imprisonment in the state prison for two, four, or five years.
The Fox 11 reporter’s tweets about the incident sparked some social media criticism, bringing up the “Shake Shack hoax” in which three police officers in New York were taken to the hospital after drinking milkshakes at a Manhattan Shake Shack that they believe had been tainted with bleach.
Shake Shack under fire after 3 NYPD officers fall ill from drinking shakes https://t.co/4SdxkHsAdn pic.twitter.com/2sJzQgLh5Q
— Conservative News (@BIZPACReview) June 16, 2020
But after a full investigation, NYPD Chief of Detectives Rodney Harrison announced that “there was no criminality” by the employees.
Many Twitter users questioned the validity of the Starbucks tampon incident, arguing that the object was not, in fact, a feminine hygiene product.
No clue what that is but def not a tampon. Also, the barista supposedly saw a police union credit card, pulled out and unwrapped a tampon and put it in the drink? At a target Starbucks? Please 🙄
— Susan (@tacotako) June 23, 2020
As someone who worked at Starbucks… I wouldn’t even know what a police union card would look like nor would I pay attention to a card like that. And these days it’s all chip reader so you don’t even see the card. This has “lie” all over it. Also… that’s not a tampon.
— Kuri (@Kurisitaru) June 23, 2020
Responding to critics on Twitter, Fox 11’s Melugin asserted that he had checked “multiple independent sources and this didn’t come from the union.”
And yes, I’m aware of the Shake Shack hoax. That’s why I spent all evening working multiple independent sources and this didn’t come from the union. A police report has been filed, LASD reviewing video, and if the officer made it up, that’s filing a false report. That’s criminal
— Bill Melugin (@BillFOXLA) June 23, 2020
“A police report has been filed, LASD reviewing video, and if the officer made it up, that’s filing a false report. That’s criminal,” he added.
Other Twitter users unloaded on the continued attack on law enforcement.
People that do this stuff should be jailed for many many years.
— Kay L (@Kclearlyspeaks) June 23, 2020
Time to dump Starbucks, we did years ago 🤮
— Rodney Howard-Browne (@rhowardbrowne) June 23, 2020
Who the hell would want to be a cop right now? We’re all doomed.
— Jill Todd (@JillToddUSA) June 23, 2020
Despicable. Find the perpetrator.
— QuaseMarco (@QuaseMarco6) June 23, 2020
This is against human dignity, it doesn’t matter if he’s a cop or does any other work. This have to stop!
— Ashitaka ✥❈ (@atarashinamae) June 23, 2020
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Originally from New York, Powers graduated from New York University and eventually made her way to sunny South Florida where she has been writing for the BizPacReview team since 2015.
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