CALIFORNIA—On Tuesday, July 28, an investigation from the Los Angeles County Sheriff Department concluded that there was no proof of malicious intent from a Starbucks employee who served a drink to a Los Angeles Police Department officer that reported finding a suspicious item.
In an incident report filed on June 21 to the LASD, the officer, whose name has not been revealed indicated on June 19 he ordered two drinks at a Starbucks Coffee located inside a Target in 747 Grand Avenue, Diamond Bar. He said that when he exited the place and started drinking his coffee, he felt the texture of a cloth-like substance. When he opened the drink he found an item that was described as a “long tubular furry/cloth shaped object” which he videotaped, the report mentioned.
According to the officer’s statement, he believed the bartender recognized he was a police officer, even though he was off-duty, and subsequently tried to poison him by tampering with one of his drinks. The report was categorized as “poisoning food or drink.”
“After the completion of his order the officer stated he removed his credit card from the back of his phone case, which additionally had his Police Department Identification Card in it. He stated the credit card he paid with also had significant features that would imply he was a police officer on the front of it,” read the incident report.
A supplemental narrative that the sheriff’s department noted in the investigation they looked through the security footage of the Starbucks, but due to the angle of the camera and the quality of the video, they couldn’t see if the barista had tampered with the drink. The video did show an interaction of 6 minutes between the officer and the employee, who at the same time was serving several drinks.
According to a statement from the Los Angeles County Sheriff Alex Villanueva, after interviewing the people involved in the event, it was concluded that the item in the drink was probably a piece of cleaning cloth and not a woman’s tampon. The Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office is reviewing the case.
