For the third time in less than a year, Starbucks is being accused of mistreating police officers.
The coffee chain was forced to issue an apology to two law enforcement officials after they claim that they were ignored at a store in Riverside County, California.
Sheriff Chad Bianco took to Twitter to share the incident, writing "Two of our deputies were refused service at Starbucks. The anti police culture repeatedly displayed by Starbucks employees must end."
He then proceeded post a video to Facebook, where he alleged that the two individuals were laughed at and were "completely ignored because they were in uniform." He added: "Quite honestly, that’s just not acceptable. It can’t be acceptable".
Check out the video below:"All is good though, no one's feelings are seriously hurt enough about this incident that they will stop responding to a calls to assist the public, respond to calls to serve and protect the community in the utmost professional manner, etc... Although, change needs to be made at the top and make a statement that this type of behavior should not be tolerated... [sic]" Bianco added on Facebook.
A spokesperson for Starbucks, Reggie Borges, has since issued a statement saying that it was inexcusable that the deputies were treated in such a manner on Thursday evening.
"We’re deeply sorry and we have reached out to the sheriff to apologize, and we’re hoping we can connect with the deputies directly and apologize as well," Borges said, as reported by USA TODAY. "We’re taking full responsibility for any intentional or unintentional disrespect shown to law enforcement, on whom we depend on every single day."
This police chief claims that a Starbucks employee branded him a "pig":[[jwplayerwidget||https://content.jwplatform.com/videos/8ulrSStO-sKUnNGKf.mp4||8ulrSStO]
"No one, whether you’re in uniform or not, should have to experience what these two deputies went through in our store, and we’ll take the steps necessary to address it," he continued, before confirming that the Starbucks employees in question are not scheduled to resume work until an investigation is concluded.