PHILADELPHIA _ The Philadelphia Commission on Human Relations is looking into reports of other incidents at the same Center City Starbucks where the arrests of two black men last week has sparked national outrage and put the Seattle coffee chain in damage control mode.
In a summary of the city's response to the incident, Mayor Jim Kenney's office said the commission would "review the firm's policies, guidelines and procedures, including whether Starbucks has written policies, whether the policies are enforced uniformly, and how much discretion is left to individual employees."
The statement said the commission was looking into "additional reports that have come to their attention about this specific location." It did not provide any details about the reports or the nature of the incidents involved.
The Starbucks at 18th and Spruce Streets has been the scene of daily protests since a video of the arrests went viral over the weekend. The store's manager called police while the men sat waiting for a third man without ordering anything and the pair were handcuffed and led out by police when they declined to leave.
The fallout has brought Starbucks CEO Kevin Johnson and COO Rosalind Brewer to Philadelphia for damage control. On Monday, Johnson apologized in national television and met with city officials. He says he hopes to apologize to the men in person and said the company would institute unconscious-bias training for managers.
Kenney and Police Commissioner Richard Ross have said the officers who made the arrest did nothing wrong, indicating the responsibility rests mainly with Starbucks.
Still, the city said the police department is "reviewing protocols related to how officers respond to such circumstances."
