Black men arrested at Starbucks: ‘We were there for only 2 minutes’

The two men arrested at a Starbucks in Philadelphia, US, last week have finally spoken up about the incident. The arrest of Rashon Nelson and Donte Robinson sparked a nationwide boycott of the coffeeshop, with the company’s CEO personally apologising to them.

The said Starbucks branch called the cops on the two black men after they asked — and were refused — to use the restroom and waited on their table without ordering anything. The video of their arrest was posted on Twitter by Philadelphia resident Melissa DePino, who said the men weren’t doing anything to warrant such treatment.

At least six police officers turned up on site. They handcuffed and escorted the men to the precinct, where they kept them for more than eight hours. Nelson and Robinson were released without charges.

Apparently, they were “loitering” because they were in the premises without buying anything, and then they were also “trespassing” because they did not leave when asked.

But according to the two men, they were inside the shop for merely two minutes before the cops arrived. They were also not told by the staff to leave prior.

In an interview with “Good Morning America” show, Nelson and Robinson aired their side for the first time. And according to their story, the situation appeared worse than seen in the video.

On April 12 at 4:35 p.m., Nelson and Robinson at the store. Nelson asked the store manager if he could use the bathroom but was told that only paying customers could use it. He said he “left it at that” and joined Robinson at a table. The manager then approached them and asked if they wanted to order something. They said no. At 4:37 p.m., the manager called 911, the emergency number in the US.

Robinson didn’t think the cops were there for them. And when the cops approached them, they were told they had to leave without telling them why.

“There was no question of, ‘Was there a problem here between you and the manager?’ or ‘What happened?’” Nelson said. They weren’t even read their Miranda rights.

In response to the outrage immediately following the release of the video, Philadelphia Police Commissioner Richard Ross said the officers did nothing wrong. He also claimed the men refused to leave the store when asked and even insulted the officers’ salaries.

When host Robin Roberts asked what the discussion between them and the officers was, Robinson said he was just trying to process what was going on at that time because it didn’t really hit him until they were being handcuffed and escorted out. The store manager who called the cops on them has reportedly since left the company.

The two men and their lawyer have approached Starbucks CEO Kevin Johnson and agreed to a mediation. They want real change to happen so that other people of colour would not be subjected to the same treatment.

Earlier this week, Johnson announced that they would be closing about 8,000 company-owned stores on the afternoon of May 29 for a racial bias training. The mandatory training will be provided to about 175,000 employees across the country.