Starbucks responds to black men arrested at store
A Trenton resident finds herself in the middle of a Starbucks’ Philadelphia racial snitstorm after being dispatched to the City of Brotherly Love as a peacekeeper.
Camille Hymes, born and raised in Trenton and a key reason a Starbucks enhanced the city’s business landscape on South Warren St. in 2017, landed in Philadelphia last week following the arrest of two black men for suspicion of trespassing as they waited for a friend.
Both men were subsequently released by police. No charges were filed although the incident produced national outrage.
Starbucks CEO Kevin Johnson offered a statement regarding Hymes’ assignment as protesters delivered harsh criticism about the coffee giant and police actions.
“In the coming days, I will be joining our regional vice president, Camille Hymes — who is on the ground in Philadelphia — to speak with partners, customers and community leaders as well as law enforcement. Most importantly, I hope to meet personally with the two men who were arrested to offer a face-to-face apology,” Johnson noted in a released statement.
Hymes, head of MidAtlantic Operations at Starbucks, met with Black Lives Matter activist Asa Khalif and others on Sunday. Khalif called for the firing of the manager who dialed 911 as if two black men seated quietly and causing no disturbance ranked as a necessity for police.
Hymes thanked Khalif and others for peaceful protests, adding that “(Starbucks) takes full responsibility” for the incident. Hymes explained that the manager had been placed in a bad situation.
“We take full responsibility and put (the manager) in a position that did not set her up for success or for those two men,” Hymes said.
Johnson called the arrests a “reprehensible outcome” especially considering that as several police officer arrested the two men, their late friend arrived. A video shows the arrests as several white patrons challenged police officers.
“What did they get called for?” asked, Andrew Yaffe, who is white, referring to the police arrival. “Because there are two black guys sitting here meeting me?”
Commissioner Richard Ross, Jr. of the Philadelphia Police Department, defended his officers.
“These officers had legal standing to make this arrest,” Ross said. “These officers did absolutely nothing wrong. They 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.”
“I will say that as an AfricanAmerican male, I am very aware of implicit bias,” Ross added. “We are committed to fair and unbiased policing, and anything less than that will not be tolerated in this department.”
Ross may be right regarding police having the right to arrest but his officers could have just as easily resolve the issue without putting these two black men in handcuffs.
Philadelphia Mayor Jim Kenney challenged police and Starbucks about the incident.
Kenney explained that the incident “appears to exemplify what racial discrimination looks like in 2018.” Kenney asked that the city’s Commission on Human Relations examine the company’s policies and procedures.
Melissa DePino (@missydepino) recorded and posted the video of the Starbucks episode. Her Twitter feed noted “The police were called because these men hadn’t ordered anything. They were waiting for a friend to show up, who did as they were taken out in handcuffs for doing nothing. All the other white ppl are wondering why it’s never happened to us when we do the same thing.”
DePino said she nursed her coffee and worked on her computer before the incident occurred.
Reports noted that the two men initially asked to use the bathroom. After being denied, they sat at a table and waited for Yaffe.
Bottom line, Starbucks’ manager made a despicable decision to sound the alarm regarding these black men.