And the unnamed sergeant with the Philadelphia police ranted about it.
When you have to go, you have to go. The officer went into a Starbucks and asked a barista if he could use the washroom. The worker gave him an unequivocal "no."
The officer then wrote a rant that was posted on the
Facebook page of fellow officer, Joe Leighhardt. The post has since gone viral.
In the post, the sergeant said after asking to use the washroom, the barista, whom he described as a "young, blonde liberal" told him in a loud voice that the washrooms were for paying customers only. After he asked again, she asked, with a smirk on her face, if he was a paying customer." As the officer was leaving, the barista, again in a loud voice so other customers were sure to hear, that there was a bathroom down the street he could use."
About the incident, the sergeant wrote, "This is the world cops live in anymore. It's hip for this generation to berate and totally disrespect cops in front of the public and praise cop killers as the heroes of their time."
Leighardt sent a message to Starbucks telling them what happened and saying this particular location had made many calls to police for such things as people congregating outside.
Starbucks issued an apology stating they were taking all necessary steps to ensure this doesn't happen in the future, yada, yada, yada, but there was no mention of what, if any, action would be taken against the employee.
Unlike incidents where fast food restaurants such as Arby's and Whataburger refused service to police officers, there is no indication the Starbucks employee will be terminated or otherwise disciplined.
Thousands of messages were posted to Leighhardt's Facebook page, most in agreement with the sentiments expressed by the sergeant. Some were from owners of establishments who say while they limit to use of washrooms for customers, they make exceptions for police, other emergency responders, pregnant women and the military.
Writing in the
Philadelphia Business Journal, Stan Silverman wrote it is necessary for businesses to hire employees that have "good critical judgment."
Unlike when police are told they will not be served, there was no room in this incident for the employee to claim it was only a joke.
