An Oakland, California coffee shop is refusing to serve uniformed law enforcement officers, claiming it’s to protect the “physical and emotional safety of our customers and ourselves.”
Hasta Muerte Coffee, an employee-owned business opened a few months ago and recently announced it will not serve officers in uniform.
It all started a couple of weeks ago when an Oakland police sergeant wanted to introduce himself to the owners and get a cup of coffee. However, he was denied service, KTVU reported.
In a letter to the Oakland police union after the incident, the coffee shop said: “it does not serve the police.”
Hasta Muerta Coffee Is Anti Police
Hasta Muerta Coffee, which is Spanish for “until death,” explained the situation in a social media post.
“We have a policy of asking police to leave for the physical and emotional safety of our customers and ourselves,” the post read.
The lengthy post continued: “OPD’s [Oakland Police Department’s] recent attempts to enlist officers of color and its short term touting of fewer officer involved shootings does not reverse or mend its history of corruption, mismanagement, and scandal, nor a legacy of blatant repression.
The facts are that poc [people of color], women, and queer police are complicit in upholding the same law and order that routinely criminalizes and terrorizes black and brown and poor folks, especially youth, trans, and houseless folks. For these reasons and so many more, we need the support of the actual community to keep this place safe, not police.”
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Ironically, the sergeant who was refused service is also the president of the Latino Police Officers Association of Alameda County.
The sergeant was trying to build better relations.
San Francisco Gate reported the Oakland Police Officers Association asked the café to “open a dialogue about its policy.”
California coffee shop refuses to serve police. https://t.co/wFAvdk0rdA pic.twitter.com/oQ1h4NYvTP
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