Sheriff Penzone on how he would have handled Starbucks situation

PHOENIX — Maricopa County Sheriff Paul Penzone said Starbucks’ environment would make it tricky to navigate the situation that occurred at a Philadelphia location last week.

On April 12, two African American men were taken out of a Philadelphia Starbucks in handcuffs. They were told they could not use the restroom without ordering, and would not leave, according to Buzzfeed.

The two said they then sat down to wait for a friend. Police showed up when they would not leave.

The men were arrested on trespassing charges.

@Starbucks The police were called because these men hadn’t ordered anything. They were waiting for a friend to show up, who did as they were taken out in handcuffs for doing nothing. All the other white ppl are wondering why it’s never happened to us when we do the same thing. pic.twitter.com/0U4Pzs55Ci

— Melissa DePino (@missydepino) April 12, 2018

Penzone didn’t know the entire situation, but said trespassing at a Starbucks is different than trespassing somewhere you need to buy a ticket, such as a movie theater.

“You have to be cognizant of all dynamics and circumstances,” he said. “Starbucks as a business practice is a very social environment – some people go there and they get a cup and coffee and sit for three hours, they get on their laptop, others are hit-and-run, they’re in and out.”

He thinks deputies need to make sure they’re not the decision-maker; instead, they should put the onus on the Starbucks manager to tell the men to leave while the officers were on scene.

“You have to own the responsibility of saying, ‘You’re no longer welcome here, you’re trespassing,'” he said. “Then, if they refuse to abide by that, I would put the burden back on the Starbucks employees, because again, the dynamic in that environment is unique.”

At that point, the manager can make a citizen’s arrest. With officers there, they could make sure it’s done lawfully.

Another option would be for deputies to issue a citation.

Force should only have been used if the men got confrontational and refuse to leave, Penzone said.

Many are speculating that race played a factor in Starbucks kicking out the men and police using force on them. The company announced it would close more than 8,000 Starbucks locations for an afternoon next month to give racial-bias training to employees.

“The factor that there is race in this particular conversation should not be the factor in how law enforcement executes the responsibilities,” Penzone said.

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