Black Men Arrested At Starbucks Said They Were There For 2 Minutes Before 911 Call

The two black men arrested at a Starbucks in Philadelphia last week while waiting for a friend spoke out publicly for the first time Thursday, revealing the store manager called 911 two minutes after they arrived.

Rashon Nelson and Donte Robinson walked into the Starbucks on April 12 at approximately 4:35 p.m., they told ABCs Good Morning America. Nelson said he immediately asked the store manager if he could use the bathroom, but was told restrooms were for paying customers only.

Nelson said he left it at that and joined Robinson at a table to wait for their friend to arrive for their scheduled 4:45 p.m. business meeting. The Starbucks manager then approached the men and asked if they wanted to order something, according to Robinson, and they declined.

At 4:37 p.m., approximately two minutes after they had arrived, the manager called 911.

FULL INTERVIEW: \"This is something that has been going on for years...everyone is blind to it.\"

Rashon Nelson & Donte Robinson, the 2 black men arrested at a Starbucks in Philadelphia, speak out exclusively to @RobinRoberts: https://t.co/bIBmMGlwWN pic.twitter.com/IZekmHrWw2

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FULL INTERVIEW: "This is something that has been going on for years...everyone is blind to it."

Rashon Nelson & Donte Robinson, the 2 black men arrested at a Starbucks in Philadelphia, speak out exclusively to @RobinRoberts : https://t.co/bIBmMGlwWN pic.twitter.com/IZekmHrWw2
Good Morning America (@GMA) April 19, 2018

They cant be here for us, said Robinson, recalling his initial reaction when police officers entered the Starbucks a few minutes later.

As soon as they approached us, they just said we had to leave, Nelson said. There was no question of, you know, Was there a problem here between you and the manager? [or] What happened?

Police didnt explain why they were being arrested, Robinson said.

We wasnt read any rights nothing, Robinson said. Just double-lock handcuffs behind our backs and escorted out and put into a squad car.

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Video showing the mens arrests went viral over the weekend, sparking protests at the store and calls to boycott Starbucks.

The police were called because these men hadnt ordered anything, Melissa DePino, a writer who recorded the incident, tweeted last week. They were waiting for a friend to show up, who did as they were taken out in handcuffs for doing nothing. All the other white ppl are wondering why its never happened to us when we do the same thing.

The store manager who called 911 has since left the company, according to Starbucks. Company CEO Kevin Johnson has publicly apologized and vowed to fix the issue, in part with more training for store managers on company guidelines and unconscious bias .

More than 8,000 Starbucks locations will be closed next month so employees can receive racial bias training, the company announced Tuesday.