PHILADELPHIA, Penn. (NBC News) – The two men whose arrests in a Philadelphia Starbucks kicked off two days of protests have agreed to meet with the company’s CEO.
“What happened in that incident and the outcome, is nothing but reprehensible and I’m sorry,” Starbucks Chief Executive Officer Kevin Johnson said in a statement.
An employee called 911 and asked for police officers to remove the men, who are black, because they hadn’t ordered coffee. The men said they were waiting on a friend, and planned to order after he arrived.
“They were just quietly, sitting there on their phones, like chatting, just like everyone else in Starbucks was,” said one witness.
The men were escorted out in handcuffs, and after eight hours released with no charges filed.
Video of the arrests quickly went viral.
The Philadelphia coffee shop where the arrests took place was forced to close Monday after protesters filed in, demanding justice for the men who’d been kicked out.
Read more: https://nbcnews.to/2H2ucch
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