How The NYPD Shake Shack “Poisoning” Incident Turned Into a Viral Conspiracy Theory

Last week, news surfaced of an alleged poisoning scandal at a New York Shake Shack. In initial reports, the Police Benevolent Association (PBA) claimed that three officers had been hospitalized after their milkshakes were allegedly tainted with bleach.

At the time, the organization claimed that the officers were in the area to patrol during a protest. “When NYC police officers cannot even take a meal without coming under attack, it is clear that the environment in which we work has deteriorated to a critical level,” the PBA added, in addition to a press statement.

After further investigation, the NYPD revealed that the ”poisoning scandal” was not an attack on the police. Instead, CBS New York reported that the alleged ”bleach” was just an acidic solution used to clean dairy equipment, not intentional poisoning.

But now, the New York Post is reporting that the “poisoning” incident was, in fact, a scandal, just not at the hands of the burger joint.

According to the New York Post, the Bronx officers were in the Manhattan area on June 15 when they ordered three milkshakes from the app for two different orders. Upon their arrival, their drinks were ready and available. The woman officer grabbed the strawberry drink from the front counter, while her male co-workers grabbed cherry and vanilla from a side counter. According to sources within the police department, it was nearly impossible for the workers to know the orders were for cops, “since it wasn’t done in person,” and the drinks were packed and ready to go when the officers walked in.

After the officers took a sip, they discarded it over concerns about the taste and smell. They then altered a manager, who immediately apologized and issued free food and drink vouchers. The cops accepted the vouchers.

However, when the officers informed their sergeant about the incident, according to the NYPost, the supervisor called in the Emergency Service Unit to set up a crime scene at the fast-food restaurant.

Nearly two hours after the officers received their shakes, at 9:20 pm, police were back at the New York Shake Shack to search for evidence. The three offices were then rushed to the hospital to be examined. However, they were eventually released without ever showing symptoms, a source said.

But that did not stop a Bronx lieutenant from sending out an email to the unions, claiming that six cops “starting throwing up after drinking beverages they got from Shake Shack on 200 Broadway.”

By 10:45 pm, the Detectives Endowment Association claimed that officers had fallen “ill” after being “intentionally poisoned by one or more workers at the Shake Shack,” just minutes later PBA released their statement about the “attack” with “bleach.” Hours after that, the case was closed after detectives conducted interviews and reviewed surveillance footage showing that everything was made normal. Around 4 am, Chief of Detectives Rodney Harrison announced that there was “no criminality” in the incident, which forced the unions to remove their tweets and issue statements to walk back their claims. In private, according to the post, they blamed the public outcry on the lieutenant.

But now, as a result of the chaos, City Council Speaker Corey Johnson and Councilman Ritchie Torres have demanded an investigation into the unions’ “inflammatory” behavior.