Three New York officers were hospitalized after drinking Shake Shack milkshakes that were reportedly contaminated by a foreign substance. The New York Police Department has reportedly found “no criminality” by employees in the incident.
The officers who drank milkshakes at a New York location of the burger franchise believe the drinks may have been spiked with bleach, a police official told the New York Post on Tuesday.
The three officers were taken to the hospital Monday night after their Shake Shack run but were later released. The NYPD did not confirm what was in the drink Monday night, the Police Benevolent Association, a police union, said in a statement obtained by NBC News.
“The contamination was not discovered until the MOS had already ingested a portion of their beverages,” the union said in a statement, using an acronym for member of service. “They are currently at the hospital receiving treatment and are expected to recover.”
A New York City official said the initial indication is the substance was bleach.
Shake Shack said it was disturbed by the incident and working with officials.
“We are horrified by the reports of police officers injured at our 200 Broadway Shack in Manhattan,” the popular chain tweeted Monday night. “We are working with the police in their investigation right now.”
New York City is one of many metro areas that have been under duress due to police conflict with civilians, protests and vandalism in the aftermath of the death of George Floyd, an unarmed Minneapolis black man who died in police custody. A former police officer, Derek Chauvin, had kneeled on his neck for nearly nine minutes before Floyd died.
The union said the sickened officers had been on protest detail. But a motive and more information in the apparent incident, such as whether it is thought to be linked to that, was not clear Monday night.
The police union tweeted that “When NYC police officers cannot even take meal without coming under attack, it is clear that environment in which we work has deteriorated to a critical level.”
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