[Home] [Headlines] [Latest Articles] [Latest Comments] [Post] [Sign-in] [Mail] [Setup] [Help]
Status: Not Logged In; Sign In
|
Dead Constitution See other Dead Constitution Articles Title: Two Black Men Were Arrested In Starbucks. Witnesses Say They "Didn't Do Anything." Two Black Men Were Arrested In Starbucks. Witnesses Say They "Didn't Do Anything." The men had simply been waiting for another person to arrive before they ordered, their lawyer said. A Starbucks manager phoned the police. Originally posted on April 14, 2018, at 1:16 p.m. Updated on April 14, 2018, at 10:05 p.m. Julia Reinstein BuzzFeed News Reporter Stephanie K. Baer BuzzFeed News Reporter Two black men were arrested in a Starbucks in Philadelphia on Thursday, and witnesses said the men "didn't do anything." In a widely circulated video of the incident, at least two people who were present verbally defended the two men and questioned why they were being arrested and handcuffed. "This is ridiculous," said one white man to a police officer in the video. "What did they get called for? Because there were two black guys sitting here meeting me? What did they do?" "They didn't do anything, I saw the entire thing," a woman can be heard saying. At least five police officers were present during the arrest, the video shows. Police have not named the men, and the pair's attorney, Lauren A. Wimmer, also declined to name them "at this time." The two men had gone to the Starbucks to meet Andrew Yaffe, the white man who can be seen in the video questioning the police officers, according to Wimmer. Yaffe could not immediately be reached for comment, but Wimmer told BuzzFeed News he is a friend of the two men. He runs a real estate development, investment, and management firm, and the men were meeting with him "to discuss potential residential and commercial real estate opportunities in Philadelphia," she said. The two men had not ordered immediately upon arriving, as they were still waiting for Yaffe. While they waited for him, "a white female manager who was on duty at the time" asked them to leave, said Wimmer. When they said they were just waiting for another person to arrive before ordering, she phoned the police, Wimmer said. "How many times have we sat in Starbucks minding our own business, waiting for a friend to come, and then we order?" Wimmer said. Twitter: @missydepino When Yaffe arrived and found the two men being arrested, he called Wimmer, whom he is also friends with, she said. The two men were arrested around 5:30 p.m., and were fingerprinted and photographed by police. Police told Wimmer they had arrested the men for "defiant trespassing." The District Attorney did not approve the charges, and the two men were released around 2:00 a.m. on Friday. "Two young black men, who were simply waiting to be joined by a friend, were blatantly discriminated against based on their race," Wimmer said in a tweet. "Not only is this inexcusable, it's illegal." "You can see in the video their disposition," Wimmer told BuzzFeed News. "It’s as if they’re both thinking, 'I can’t believe this is actually happening.'" "This was a highly traumatizing experience for both of them, and hopefully they’ll be able to recover," she said. The Starbucks manager who reportedly called the police has not been identified, and calls to the store where the incident took place did not go through Saturday. The person who posted the video on Twitter could also not immediately be reached. In a video on Saturday, Police Commissioner Richard Ross defended his officers' response, saying they did "absolutely nothing wrong." Poster Comment: Video at source. When I work for State of Illinois, I was wearing my work grubbies. I walk into an ice cream store and walk immediately toward the rest room. The woman behind the counter said, "Sir, the rest room is for customers only." I said, "What makes you thing I am not a customer?" Just because I did not try to order something immediately after entry does not make me a vagrant. I think these black guys might have looked lazy and shiftless. Perhaps they were not wearing fine clothing. But it is no excuse to call the cops on them for just sitting there. If these 2 Schwartzas (Yiddish for black) have any sense they will get a lawyer and go after the cops for false arrest. They do have a witness in the man they were there to meet and that is all they need besides a good lawyer. Post Comment Private Reply Ignore Thread
|
||
|
[Home]
[Headlines]
[Latest Articles]
[Latest Comments]
[Post]
[Sign-in]
[Mail]
[Setup]
[Help]
|
||