A coffee shop in Oakland will refuse to serve police officers in uniform, according to social media posts.  A police sergeant was turned away last week, despite the fact he is president of the Latino Police Officers Association of Alameda County.

Editor Lifson, a Bay Area resident, tells me the coffee shop is located "between a genuine Hispanic ghetto and a respectable neighborhood that is gentrifying." 

KCRA:

The sergeant who was turned away from the shop a few weeks ago said he was surprised by employees refusing to serve him, but walked out without any incident or any coffee.

Coffee shop workers did not respond to requests for comment on the policy, but a post on their Instagram account showed a photo with writing in Spanish that says, "Talk to your neighbors, not the police."

The writing below the photo describes an exchange with a uniformed police officer on Feb. 16, and the post clearly states: "We have a policy of asking police to leave for the physical and emotional safety of our customers and ourselves."

The post includes another picture of Facebook posts in which people object to the shop's policy because they refused to serve a sergeant in uniform who is also the president of the Latino Police Officers Association of Alameda County.  On top of the posts, the shop wrote the words, "Not my president."

Why don't they just hang a sign on the door – "Half-price latte for all armed robbers"? 

Their stated reason for not serving police: for the "physical and emotional safety of our customers and ourselves."  That's very nice, I'm sure, but you have to wonder if some of the servers aren't armed themselves, considering the neighborhood and the clientele.  Otherwise, I have a feeling that if they are robbed, any patrol cars in the area will find something more important to do – like getting a cat out of a tree.

While most Oakland police officers are, I'm sure, professional and brave, the "community" doesn't see it that way.

Below the pictures, the post goes on to say:

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 (people of color), 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.

This would actually be an interesting experiment: pull the police out of the neighborhood so that instead of cops rousting black, brown, and poor folks, gang-bangers and other criminals can run wild.  After a few muggings and murders, they might be singing a different tune.