A group of Tempe, Arizona, police officers were reportedly told to leave a local Starbucks, igniting controversy. 

On July 4, five officers bought a beverage from an East Valley City Starbucks. They stood in front of the store with their drinks before a customer raised concerns about feeling unsafe to a barista. Then, the unnamed barista asked officers to leave the premises.

According to Fox 10 Phoenix, two of the officers said they were offended about what transpired on the day. The following day the local police union, the Tempe Officers Association, released a statement via social media calling for a boycott against the popular coffee shop chain.

"This treatment of public safety workers could not be more disheartening," a statement posted to Facebook and Twitter read. "While the barista was polite, making such a request at all was offensive. Unfortunately, such treatment has become all too common in 2019. We know this is not a national policy at Starbucks Corporate and we look forward to working collaboratively with them on this important dialogue."

Fueled, in large part by right-wing anger, the hashtag #dumpStarbucks trended in support of the officers involved.

In response to the calls for boycotts, other Twitter users haven't forgotten about the silence from the right regarding a similar situation. A year ago, two Black men met a local Philadelphia Starbucks to conduct business. But their meeting was cut short when an employee called the police. The entire incident was reportedly caused because the men tried to use the restroom without making a purchase.

Starbucks closed down 8,000 stores to conduct diversity training across the nation and changed their policy. Now, any person can use their restrooms whether or not they make a purchase. 

The Associated Press reports Starbucks has apologized to the officers involved in the July 4 incident. 

"We have reached out to the Tempe police department to try to better understand what took place and apologize for any misunderstandings or inappropriate behavior that may have taken place," the statement read. "We work with them a lot on events, like Coffee with a Cop, in our stores and we have a great relationship with them, so we are surprised that something like this may have taken place. I just want them to understand how much we value them and what they bring to the community. It is too early to say what type of ramifications employees will face, if any. But we want it to be known that everyone who walks into our store should feel welcomed and embraced and to have the best Starbucks experience — and when that doesn't happen, that is not indicative of the kind of welcoming environment that we want to provide."

The right's latest boycott comes after another proposed boycott of Nike. The top shoe company came under attack when former QB Colin Kaepernick asked the company to pull Betsy Ross flag themed sneakers. By all accounts, the boycott failed. Nike's stocks surged in the days following the outcry. 

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