Starbucks apologizes over arrests

PHILADELPHIA — The CEO of Starbucks Corp. said he wants to personally apologize to two black men who were arrested while sitting inside one of the chain’s coffee shops in Philadelphia, an incident that prompted accusations of racism on social media.

Starbucks “stands firmly against discrimination or racial profiling,” Chief executive Kevin Johnson said in a statement late Saturday. He said he wants to meet with the men to offer a “face-toface apology.”

A video posted online shows police handcuffing the men Thursday after a discussion that lasted several minutes.

Police Commissioner Richard Ross said Starbucks employees called 911 to say the men were trespassing. He said officers were told the men had come in and asked to use the restroom but were denied because they hadn’t bought anything. He said they then refused to leave. Philadelphiaarea media reported the two had been waiting for a friend.

A Starbucks spokeswoman said the store where the arrests occurred has a policy that restrooms were for paying customers only.

Johnson said the company’s practices and training led to a “bad outcome,” and the reason for the call that brought police into the shop was incorrect.

“Our store manager never intended for these men to be arrested and this should never have escalated as it did,” said the statement. Johnson said videos of the arrest were “very hard to watch,” and the company is investigating.

Police haven’t identified the men who were arrested. A spokesman for the district attorney’s office said the two were released “because of lack of evidence” that a crime had been committed.