A Starbucks manager who called the police on two black men for not buying anything no longer works at the store, the corporation confirmed.
The Starbucks manager was removed from a Philadelphia location after another full day of protests at the coffee house.
A Starbucks representative told the NY Daily News the unidentified manager “no longer works at that store,” and “there is an internal review pending.”
The incident began last Thursday when the manager called 911 to report two men were loitering inside the store and refused to leave.
The men asked to use the bathroom, but were denied access because they did not buy anything and they didn’t leave when asked to.
Police Commissioner Richard Ross said his officers “reluctantly” arrested the two men.
“I can tell you that that police officer did not want to have to make an arrest in that incident,” he told WPVI. “The whole thing, we just wish it didn’t happen.”
The commissioner walked back earlier statements that the police didn’t do anything wrong.
“Here’s the thing, unless someone comes forward with something more than I know now, it doesn’t appear that they did anything wrong at all,” the commissioner said. “In fact, they were really trying not to make an arrest in this case.”
A small group of very vocal protesters demonstrated outside the store on Friday and throughout the weekend.
On Monday, a larger group carried signs that read “TOO LITTLE, TOO LATE” and “COFFEE is BLACK”.
The entire incident in the coffee house was captured on video and uploaded to social media last week.
Photos by Mark Make / Getty Images
