Police Watch Helplessly Through Starbucks Window As Masked Gunman Empties Register

TEMPE, AZ—A Starbucks in Tempe, Arizona had its lattes and cappuccinos turn into a crime of opportunity this weekend. The coffee shop was robbed at gunpoint by a masked man, and, surprisingly, the theft occurred in plain sight of six uniformed policemen watching through the store's front window.

The officers wanted to rush in and stop the crime but had just been asked to leave the establishment by a barista who told them that a customer "did not feel safe" with them in the coffee house.

A moment after the police honored the request, the gunman appeared, demanding money from the cash register. The policemen immediately remembered the request of the barista—who now had both hands in the air—and the customer—who was now cowering under a table—and decided to stay outside to avoid making anyone feel unsafe.

"Your first instinct is to run in and grab the perpetrator," said Officer Chris Segardo. "But they made it very clear that they didn't want us in there, so we had to just watch. We couldn't even go in and get information after the guy ran out the back."

Oddly enough, the event comes just weeks after a Denver Starbucks burned to the ground shortly after asking a group of firefighters to leave.

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