Two black men arrested at a Philadelphia Starbucks last week said they were handcuffed within minutes of entering.
Donte Robinson and Rashon Nelson were featured on Good Morning America on Thursday, where they discussed what went down. Nelson said he asked politely to use the restroom quickly after entry and was then told that it was reserved only for paying customers. The two men were waiting for a third person to arrive when a Starbucks employee called 911.
Robinson told ABC, “I was thinking they can’t be here for us.” With regards to the police. “It didn’t really hit me what was going on, that it was real, till I was being double-locked with my hands behind my back.”
Robinson and Nelson were arrested for trespassing, but no charges were filed. Video of the incident went viral immediately and sparked calls for boycotts and protests all over the country.
Starbucks CEO Kevin Johnson met with the two men to apologize for the incident. The store employee who made the 911 call is no longer with Starbucks. Starbucks has yet to release the circumstances under why she left. Next month, Starbucks plans to close its 8,000 stores in the United States for one afternoon to teach employees about racial bias. The training will be provided to an estimated 175,000 employees.