An off-duty Los Angeles Police Department officer says he found a tampon in his coffee after visiting a Starbucks restaurant.
The officer, who says he used his police credit union debit card to pay for his Frappuccino at a Starbucks in Diamond Bar, California, says he discovered a tampon halfway through drinking the beverage, according to Fox 11 Los Angeles reporter Bill Melugin.
“Sources tell me an off duty LAPD officer allegedly found a tampon halfway thru his Frappuccino at a Starbucks in Diamond Bar on Friday,” Melugin tweeted late Monday night. “I’m told he used his police credit union debit card. Sheriff’s Dept. confirms they took a report & they’re now investigating.”
BREAKING: Sources tell me an off duty LAPD officer allegedly found a tampon halfway thru his Frappuccino at a Starbucks in Diamond Bar on Friday. I’m told he used his police credit union debit card. Sheriff’s Dept. confirms they took a report & they’re now investigating. @FOXLA pic.twitter.com/HdLTreNuur
— Bill Melugin (@BillFOXLA) June 23, 2020
The The Los Angeles Police Protective League, the union that represents LAPD officers, responded to Melugin’s report, calling it “disgusting.”
“@LAPPL tells me: “This disgusting assault on a police officer was carried out by someone with hatred in their heart and who lacks human decency,” Melugin said. “We hope they are publicly exposed, fired, arrested, and prosecuted for their cowardly and repugnant actions.”
@LAPPL tells me: “This disgusting assault on a police officer was carried out by someone with hatred in their heart and who lacks human decency. We hope they are publicly exposed, fired, arrested, and prosecuted for their cowardly and repugnant actions.” @FOXLA
— Bill Melugin (@BillFOXLA) June 23, 2020
Melugin added that the Los Angeles Sheriff’s Department has pulled surveillance video from the Starbucks location and that the officer went back inside to confront staff after discovering his drink had been tampered with.
The alleged incident comes as police departments have been scrutinized across the country following the death of George Floyd on May 25.
Calls to defund and disband police departments have gained traction in major cities such as Los Angeles and Minneapolis to go along with hundreds of officers being injured in New York City while attempting to quell protests and some officers reportedly being targeted by civilians.
The relationship between police officers and the media and the public at large has deteriorated to the point where officers are beginning to push back against the narrative of “systematic racism” in their ranks.
“Stop treating us like animals and thugs, and start treating us with some respect!” New York Police Benevolent Association President Mike O’Meara said earlier this month. “That’s what we’re here today to say. We’ve been left out of the conversation. We’ve been vilified. It’s disgusting.”
“We all read in the paper all week that, in the black community, mothers are worried about their children getting home from school without being killed by a cop,” O’Meara continued. “What world are we living in? That does not happen! It does not happen. I am not Derek Chauvin. They are not him. He killed someone. We didn’t.”
President Trump attempted to address calls for police reform by signing an executive order last week. The order sets guidelines for police departments related to the use of force, including chokeholds, tying it to federal grants, and also created a federal database to store complaints about police misconduct.
