Starbucks Corporation’s Chief Executive Kevin Johnson hopes to meet with the two black men arrested at one of its Philadelphia cafes last week to apologize for the incident, which has sparked accusations of racial profiling at the coffee chain. “The circumstances surrounding the incident and the outcome in our store on Thursday were reprehensible … they were wrong,” Johnson said on Monday, amid protests and calls for a boycott on social media. The 2 men had not made a purchase, but were handcuffed and arrested for trespassing on Thursday after a store manager called 911 and reported them for refusing to leave. Witnesses said the men were calmly sitting in the cafe and in a widely viewed video, some patrons asked police whether they were targeted because they are black. Police released the men, who were not charged. The female manager who reported the men to police has left the company, a Starbucks representative said.
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