it wouldn't have been a national firestorm. It would've been just like the other story you linked
Well, other than not get service, the cop wasn't arrested or anything like that. what I'm saying is that multiple technicalities stacked up. Any one of these technicalities is odd enough on its own, but it's a real head scratcher to explain all of them happening. I'm also saying the victims were lulled into a false sense of security.
- How often does a customer walk in, and right away, before it's it's established whether the customer will purchase anything, the manager is holding them to the purchase policy over the restroom? Infrequently, but it happened to that cop too.
- How often then, is it decided that in addition to not getting the bathroom, the customers must purchase or vacate? I'm sure now and again a manager gets a bug or a customer is unlucky and gets told they need to buy something. But if that cop who was already denied the bathroom would have shook it off by sitting down for a few minutes, what are the chances the employee would have immediately approached him and told him to purchase or leave?
- How often is it extraordinarily unclear when that ultimatum kicks in, and the manager hasn't made the ultimatum crystal clear such that it can be corroborated, and probably through multiple warnings, and also aren't warned that the police will be called?
- How often does all this happen within two minutes, with other patrons totally oblivious to there being any kind of an issue with the suspects, and it goes to a 911 call?
- How often then, does a parade of cops immediately show up to deal with it? (I've had neighbors call 911 on worse situations and cops don't show up for hour+, and then show and dismiss everything as not a big deal). Maybe 50% of the time for a complaint that petty?
- How often do the parade of cops then seal off the establishment, and then refuse two calm suspects who all the witnesses are defending to exit peacefully, and "error on the side of caution" and make the arrest?
A close but still not odd enough analogy would be getting pulled over for doing 26 in a 25, a tree is covering the sign, and mildly protesting the absurdity of something so minimal that everyone else does, and then the rule (the sign) wasn't even clear anyway, lands you in jail.
