CALIFORNIA—A Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department investigation determined that a “cleaning cloth” was found in an off-duty officer’s Starbucks drink in Diamond Bar, the Department said on Tuesday, July 28.
The incident was first reported by the unnamed officer on June 19, when he visited a Starbucks located inside a Target at 747 Grand Avenue in Diamond Bar. After detecting a “furry/cloth shaped object,” the officer suspected it to be a “tampon.” The officer filed a report and an investigation was conducted by the Walnut/Diamond Bar Sheriff’s Station.
“The parties involved in this incident were interviewed,” said L.A. County Sheriff Alex Villanueva on July 28. “Based on the evidence available at this time, investigators concluded the item in the drink was possibly a cleaning type cloth commonly used by store employees.”
According to the initial report filed by the officer, he believed the store’s server tried to poison him by intentionally placing the object inside the drink after realizing he was a police officer.
Tuesday’s announcement by the LASD indicated the investigation “was unable to prove malicious intent on the part of the store employee.”
The deputy who initially filed the off-duty officer’s report said in the document that he or she went to the location of the incident two days later on June 21, and requested surveillance footage from the day.
“During the six-minute interaction between the female barista and [the off-duty officer], the female barista was seen making several drinks,” the deputy said in the report.
Due to the quality of the video and the angle of the camera, the deputy could not determine if the drink was tampered with. Sheriff Villanueva noted in Tuesday’s statement the investigation “was submitted to the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office for review.”
