Oakland coffee shop Hasta Muerte bans uniformed police offers for 'emotional health' of customers

Chelsea Ritschel
Updated
Hasta Muerte Coffee has implemented a ban on police to protect their customers
Hasta Muerte Coffee has implemented a ban on police to protect their customers

A coffee shop has banned police officers dressed in uniform in an effort to prevent their customers from becoming upset by their presence.

The ban began when Hasta Muerte in Oakland, California, denied a police officer’s request to buy a drink last month over fears for the “emotional safety” of other customers.

And the coffee shop stands by their decision according to a photo uploaded to the store’s Instagram page.

The post reads: “Last Friday, February 16, a police (OPD) entered our shop and was told by one of our worker-owners that ‘we have a policy of asking police to leave for the physical and emotional safety of our customers and ourselves.’

“Since then, cop supporters are trying to publicly shame us online with low reviews because this particular police visitor was Latino.

“He broadcasted to his network that he was ‘refused service’ at a local business.”

The coffee shop continued the post, defending the decision.

Last Friday February 16th a police (OPD) entered our shop and was told by one of our worker-owners that “we have a policy of asking police to leave for the physical and emotional safety of our customers and ourselves.” Since then, cop supporters are trying to publicly shame us online with low reviews because this particular police visitor was Latino. He broadcasted to his network that he was “refused service” at a local business and now the rumblings are spreading. We know in our experience working on campaigns against police brutality that we are not alone saying that police presence compromises our feeling of physical & emotional safety. There are those that do not share that sentiment - be it because they have a friend or relative who is a police, because they are white or have adopted the privileges whiteness affords, because they are home- or business- owning, or whatever the particular case may be. If they want to make claims about police being part of the community, or claims that race trumps the badge & gun when it comes to police, they must accept that the burden of proof for such a claim is on them. OPDs 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, 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. Especially in an area faced by drug sales and abuse, homelessness, and toxic masculinity as we see here on this block. We want to put this out to our communities now, in case we end up facing backlash because as we know OPD, unlike the community, has tons of resources, many of which are poured into maintaining smooth public relations to uphold power. It will be no surprise if some of those resources are steered toward discrediting us for not inviting them in as part of the community.

A post shared by Hasta Muerte Coffee (@hastamuertecoffee) on Feb 22, 2018 at 7:47pm PST

“We know in our experience working on campaigns against police brutality that we are not alone in saying that police presence compromises our feeling of physical and emotional safety,” they wrote.

The post then calls on the community to unite in keeping the neighbourhood, “an area faced by drug sales and abuse, homelessness, and toxic masculinity,” safe.

Despite the backlash for their decision, including a letter sent to the cafe by the Oakland police union, a ban on police officers is not illegal.

David Sklansky, a Stanford University law professor and co-director of Stanford’s Criminal Justice Centre, told Vice: “It's not against the law to refuse to serve police officers or any other kind of occupational category. It's like saying, 'Bus drivers are not welcome here,' or, ‘Trash collectors are not welcome.' It's a dumb and insulting thing to do to any group of workers, but it's not illegal.”

Just another day ]]>🎭🏽