General Discussion
In reply to the discussion: The Starbucks thing... [View all]EffieBlack
(14,249 posts)Unless my assumption that youre a decent person is incorrect...
And Ive told you til Im blue in the face (which is quite a feat, trust me) what I think the cops should have done. They could have taken a few minutes to get some facts and mediated the situation - as they are trained to do and do all day and night every day and night all across the country.
According to the witnesses, they did not do any of this. They walked in and told the men they were trespassing and said they needed to leave. They didnt even bother to find out whether the manager had asked them to leave before calling them. Turns out she hadnt. So when the cops walked in, the men were not trespassing at all.
They could have 1) confirmed that the men had violated store policy; 2) confirmed they had been asked to leave - since without the request, there was no trespassing. They would have learned that they had NOT been asked to leave, but if she still wanted them gone, they should have asked her on what grounds she felt these two men and only these two men be ejected. Were they causing a disturbance? Were they disruptive? These are reasonable questions since, if the answer is yes, that is further grounds for an arrest and charge.
They could also at this point have suggested something be worked out. Maybe the men could buy a coffee while they waited. Or perhaps the manager could let them wait unti their friend arrived and then they would all leave and go somewhere else.
All of this would have taken about three minutes - and would certainly have been less disruptive, less intrusive and less expensive than arresting them, putting them in handcuffs, taking them to jail, leaving them there for 9 hours until the DA determined there was insufficient evidence to charge them with any crime and had them released. Not to mention the damage to the store, the manager, the police department and the city by the viral video spectacle of six cops arresting and perp-walking two handcuffed black men out of a neighborhood Starbucks for the crime of not buying a latte.
I couldnt tell you what I would do if I was sitting in a coffeehouse, minding my own business, waiting for a colleague, and I looked up to find myself surrounded by six cops telling me that I was trespassing and needed to leave. But theres a distinct possibility that I would tell them there must be a mistake, that I hadnt done anything wrong and I wasnt going anywhere. And, as long as there is a possibility that I would have done just what these young men did, I will not criticize them or blame them for causing their own arrest when two many wheels had been turning to put this scenario into play before they had done a thing.