Police conclude Starbucks employee not ‘malicious’ with item in officer’s drink

Authorities have concluded that a Starbucks employee was not acting maliciously after an officer discovered what appeared to be a cleaning cloth in his drink.

The investigation was based around allegations that an employee placed an item resembling a tampon in the officer’s drink on June 19.

“The parties involved in this incident were interviewed. 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,” the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department said in a statement Tuesday night.

The statement added that the department was “unable to prove malicious intent” on the part of the Starbucks employee.

The Starbucks is located inside a Target in Diamond Bar, east of Los Angeles. A spokesperson for Target said in June that it took the matter seriously and investigated video footage, but found no suspicious behavior to verify the allegations.

The officer, who has not been identified and was off-duty at the time, said he ordered two drinks and took out his credit card from his phone case, which also had his police ID in it, according to a Sheriff’s Department statement reported by local media.

The officer went to the bathroom and returned to pick up his drinks. He later discovered a “long tubular furry/cloth shaped object” inside one of the drinks that he believed to be a tampon.

The officer said he thought the employee knew he was a police officer and purposefully placed the item in his drink.