Kevin Trejo, a 21-year-old Starbucks employee in Park Ridge, New Jersey, discovered the hard way that bragging about insulting police officers while on the job is dangerous. Trejo discovered the consequences of irresponsible behavior after being disrespectful enough to brag about spitting in the cups of police officers.
Cops were moved to question Trejo after he bragged about his horrible conduct, according to Chief Joseph Madden. Surprisingly, the pompous staff made no attempt to dispute it. Rather, Trejo brazenly confessed to spitting, shocking and disgusting many. It’s quite upsetting to think that somebody would spit in one’s drink on purpose, Park Ridge Police Capt. Joseph Rampolla said.
Fortunately, Trejo’s boss concurred. A Starbucks spokeswoman stated Trejo’s actions were reprehensible, and that he was no longer employed by the firm. They will continue to support Park Ridge Police in their investigation and have a tremendous regard for the Park Ridge Police Department and the officers who help keep their partners and communities safe, said the representative.
Yet, losing his job was the least of his concerns. Although it was unclear how many times Trejo allegedly spit in drinks or how many officers’ drinks were tainted, he was arrested on charges including subjecting a law enforcement officer to bodily fluid, intentionally tampering with a law enforcement officer’s drink, and producing a toxic environment.
They believe this was a single incident, yet that does not diminish their officers’ astonishment and contempt, Rampolla added. Furthermore, Trejo’s actions appear to be at odds with the Park Ridge coffee shop’s mission, given that the establishment has a long history of working with local cops and has held multiple “Coffee with a Cop” events.
According to Patrick Colligan, president of the New Jersey State Policemen’s Benevolent Association, officers risk their lives every day; it shouldn’t be while buying coffee, and we couldn’t agree more. Unfortunately, there appears to be growing hostility against law enforcement in the culture, making even routine jobs dangerous.
With anti-cop sentiment on the rise in many communities around the country, law enforcement officials are frequently the victim of discrimination, assaults, and outright disdain. In fact, shortly before word of Kevin Trejo’s arrest surfaced, a frequent participant in New York City’s Occupy City Hall rallies was recorded on surveillance camera apparently attempting to cut the brake lines of a police van in Brooklyn.
As Trejo has demonstrated, even getting a cup of coffee is dangerous. Unfortunately, he is far from the only one who makes getting a cup of coffee an unpleasant experience for a cop. It’s also not specific to Starbucks. Dunkin Donuts has also been the subject of some controversy. In a case quite similar to this one out of Chicago, a 25-year-old worker was arrested for “hocking a loogie” in a cop’s coffee.
An officer’s drink being spit in isn’t the only problem they might encounter. When an off-duty Des Moines, Iowa police sergeant went to get a cup of coffee at a nearby Dunkin Donuts, he was asked to leave because of the supposedly “racist” ballcap he was wearing. The cap, on the other hand, just featured the “thin blue line” flag. Of course, all of this pales in comparison to the regular violent attacks on law officers that make headlines.
As the head of the New Jersey State Policemen’s Benevolent Association put it, officers confront enough dangers on a daily basis in order to keep the rest of us secure. Getting a cup of coffee should not include the risk of being subjected to bodily fluid, which is considered an attack and is illegal in the great majority of states. Perhaps, Kevin Trejo and this narrative may serve as a deterrent to anybody considering such a heinous conduct.
