Three New York City police officers were hospitalized after consuming an “unknown substance” inside their Shake Shack milkshakes, the NYPD public information office confirmed.
According to the NYPD Office of the Deputy Commissioner, Public Information, the incident occurred at a Shake Shack location in downtown Manhattan and is being investigated. All three officers are in stable condition and were taken to New York-Presbyterian Hospital.
The incident has raised speculation within police unions that the drinks were tampered with given the recent incidents involving police officers across the country.
Paul DiGiacomo, President of the Detectives’ Endowment Association , said in a statement on twitter, that the three officers were “intentionally poisoned by one or more workers at the Shake Shack at 200 Broadway in Manhattan, “After tasting the milkshakes they purchased they became ill,” the statement said.
🚨URGENT SAFETY MESSAGE🚨
— Detectives' Endowment Association (@NYCPDDEA) June 16, 2020
Tonight, three of our fellow officers were intentionally poisoned by one or more workers at the Shake Shack at 200 Broadway in Manhattan. Fortunately, they were not seriously harmed. Please see the safety alert⤵️ https://t.co/D8Lywivhdu
DiGiacomo urged other officers to “not buy food from locations unknown to you,” adding that police were “under attack” due to the current climate of Black Lives Matter protests and calls for national policing reform.
The officers are expected to recover. The police department said it is still investigating the incident and cannot make any determination on the substance in the drink or if it was put there intentionally.
Meanwhile, the management of Shake Shack has reacted to the ugly incident saying it will work with the Police in their investigation.
We are horrified by the reports of police officers injured at our 200 Broadway Shack in Manhattan. We are working with the police in their investigation right now.
— SHAKE SHACK (@shakeshack) June 16, 2020
Cities across the U.S.—including New York—have seen widespread protests in the wake of the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis.
Protesters said that the Floyd death which was caught on video is an example of how police unfairly target the black community. Police unions have said the accusation is inaccurate and unfair. They have criticized the news media for promoting the narrative that police officers are bad and say the rhetoric puts their lives in danger.
Why would anyone try to kill law enforcement officers?
