Officers in Shake Shack ‘Bleach’ Controversy Never Even Got Sick, New Report Says

The Shake Shack police controversy was even more fake than initially reported

The three NYPD officers who were rumored to be poisoned by shakes from Shake Shack’s FiDi location last week never actually showed any symptoms of being sick, according to a new report from the New York Post. The whole incident, which went viral on Twitter and even caused Donald Trump Jr. to weigh in, was reportedly invented by a police labor union, though the motivations of those involved are still unclear.

The New York Patrolmen’s Benevolent Association originally alleged that three cops had been poisoned after drinking Shake Shack milkshakes tainted with a toxic substance. In interviews with police sources, though, the Post found that the officers had ordered their shakes via a mobile app, meaning that Shake Shack workers could not have known they were serving cops. Video footage from the store that day showed that the milkshake machine had been cleaned just before the cops’ order, which could indicate why the officers noticed an odd taste.

Regardless, the officers informed their superior about the taste, who then asked them to check into a hospital, and called for a crime scene to be setup at the Shake Shack location — without the officers exhibiting any noticeable symptoms of sickness. The officers were released from the hospital without any symptoms either, and the NYPD cleared Shake Shack employees of any wrongdoing later that evening. Separately, though, a lieutenant officer from the same precinct reportedly shot off an email to the police union saying the officers were throwing up — even though that never happened — prompting the union, in turn, to make the allegation about the poisoning. Throughout the course of the allegations, though, it appears that neither the supervising officers nor the union, waited for any conclusive evidence to make the charge against Shake Shack.

The investigation from the Post follows nearly a month of nationwide protesting against police violence following the killing of George Floyd in police custody in Minnesota. In New York City and elsewhere, calls to significantly reduce — or altogether defund — police department budgets have become a rallying cry for protesters.

In other news

— More than 3,000 NYC restaurants and bars have applied and been immediately approved to offer sidewalk and curbside seating outdoors, according Mayor de Blasio.

— To kick off the second phase of the city’s reopening plan, Flushing organizers are hosting a short film screening about the wildly popular Joe’s Steam Rice Roll. The screening will take place between 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. on Friday, June 26 via the Museum of Food and Drink’s Youtube channel.

— The rooftop at Bushwick haunt Elsewhere will be reopening with limited capacity this weekend. The venue’s staff will allow 50 people inside on a first-come, first-serve basis, with temperature checks at the door, starting Saturday, June 27.

— Beloved East Village restaurants shop Mikey Likes It and Kolkata Chai Co. are teaming up on a menu of chai ice cream and chai affogato, according to Kolkata co-owner Ani Sanyal. The summery collaborations are available from Kolkata’s store starting on July 1.

— Dandelion Wine in Greenpoint has raised more than $9,500 for Black Lives Matter through the sale of wine packages. When the neighborhood wine shop’s fundraiser hits $10,000, local event space 601ArtSpace will be matching their donation.

— Junzi Kitchen is bringing back its “distant dining” dinner series this week with a collaboration from chef Pierre Thiam of Teranga. The menu, which can be purchased for $32 through Eventbrite, spotlights West African home cooking, with proceeds from the event going to local organization Harlem Grown.

— The Department of Education will be donating over 1,000 cases of unused food supplies from schools to local food pantries.

— Welcome to phase two:

• “How conspiracy theories about the NYPD Shake Shack ‘poisoning’ blew up” [the New York Post]