LASD investigating tampon allegedly placed in off-duty LAPD officer’s drink
DIAMOND BAR, Calif. - An off-duty LAPD officer allegedly found a tampon embedded in his Frappuccino halfway through drinking it at a Starbuck’s licensee store inside of a Target in Diamond Bar on Friday, sources told FOX 11.
Target released the following statement to FOX 11 Tuesday afternoon:
"We take this allegation seriously. We have reviewed video footage and have not found any suspicious behavior. We have shared the video with the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department and look forward to the conclusions of their investigation."
The reported incident happened at the Starbucks inside of Target located at 747 Grand Ave.
FOX 11's Bill Melugin was told the officer used his police credit union debit card to purchase his drink and that he was not in uniform at the time.
The Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department confirms their Walnut station took a report and they’re now investigating.
The Walnut station issued the following statement Tuesday morning:
“Walnut Station Detectives are investigating an incident of the alleged poisoning of food or drink at a local business. The incident was reported to have occurred Friday, June 19, 2020, at approximately 2:30 p.m., on the 700 block of Grand Avenue in the city of Diamond Bar. The victim was a male White 36 years-old. This is an ongoing investigation. No further information is available at this time.”
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“This disgusting assault on a police officer was carried out by someone with hatred in their heart and who lacks human decency. We hope they are publicly exposed, fired, arrested, and prosecuted for their cowardly and repugnant actions," the LA Police Protective League tells FOX 11 reporter Bill Melugin.
LASD tells FOX 11 that detectives have pulled the surveillance video and are now in the process of reviewing it.
Reporter Bill Melugin was told the officer angrily went back inside to confront the staff once he made the discovery, and gave the cup back at some point.
FOX 11 has since learned that the Starbucks location in question is a licensee of the Target, meaning that the employees are actually Target employees.
When FOX 11 called the Target, a female employee answered and said she was aware of the incident, but that it happened at a different Starbucks.
She was unaware of which location the incident took place.
The LASD released this incident report:
This allegation comes a week after an incident in New York when officers claimed that they had been sickened by bleach in milkshakes from Shake Shack.
An investigation revealed that this was not an intentional act, but instead was due to the faulty cleaning of the machine that makes the milkshakes.
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.