Two black men were arrested at a Starbucks location in Philadelphia after employees dialed 911 as they waited for a business meeting.
One man asked to use the restroom and was turned away because it was for paying customers only. An employee approached the men asking if they needed anything, but they were only there to conduct business.
Reports say that the two males arrived at 4:35 p.m. and the dispatch received a call at 4:37 p.m. The meeting was supposed to occur at 4:45 p.m.
They were not told what they were being arrested for.
Starbucks is a meeting space for many people, however Rashon Nelson and Donte Robinson were seen as trespassers.
Since then, Nelson and Robinson have had a meeting with the CEO of Starbucks to discuss what happened. Further detail about this meeting has not been provided.
All 8000 Starbucks stores will be closed on May 29 for racial bias training in efforts to prevent similar situations. The training is still more than a month away but it will consist of programs directed by members of organizations such as the NAACP.
Public reaction to the CEO wanting to “take action” to this issue has been positive. It only took the CEO one day to respond to the arrest that happened in one of his stores.
The employee that called 911 for the men to be arrested has left the company.
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