Starbucks releases statement after barista boots police officers because customer 'did not feel safe'

Starbucks officially apologized in a company statement Saturday after a barista at Arizona Starbucks location tossed six police officers on July Fourth.

Six Tempe police officers, who had just begun their holiday shift, were asked to leave a Starbucks coffee house last Thursday after a customer complained they "did not feel safe" in the presence of law enforcement.

In a public apology, Starbucks executive vice president Rossann Williams said the coffee chain will take steps to ensure police officers are welcomed at all Starbucks locations moving forward.

"On behalf of Starbucks, I want to sincerely apologize to you all for the experience that six of your officers had in our store on July 4," Williams wrote. "When those officers entered the store and a customer raised a concern over their presence, they should have been welcomed and treated with dignity and the utmost respect by our partners (employees). Instead, they were made to feel unwelcome and disrespected, which is completely unacceptable."

"What occurred in our store on July 4 is never the experience your officers or any customer should have, and at Starbucks, we are already taking the necessary steps to ensure this doesn't happen again in the future," Williams said.

Although the Tempe Officers Association did not call for a Starbucks boycott, consumers upset over the barista's decision has led to backlash against the coffee chain.

Williams did not say whether the barista who tossed the officers would face disciplinary action.