The NYPD said it found no criminality by Shake Shack workers in connection with the hospitalization of three officers who drank milkshakes they believe may have been spiked with bleach, a police official said Tuesday.
“After a thorough investigation by the NYPD’s Manhattan South investigators, it has been determined that there was no criminality by shake shack’s employees,” Chief of Detectives Rodney Harrison said in a tweet early Tuesday.
Police sources said the case has been deemed unintentional after it appeared that whatever cleaning solution was used on the shake machine wasn’t rinsed off enough.
The cops immediately noticed a funny taste when they sipped the drinks from the chain’s location on Broadway near Fulton Street shortly after 9 p.m. Monday, law-enforcement sources told The Post.
They were taken to Bellevue Hospital and have since been released.
All three are assigned to the 42nd Precinct in The Bronx, but were on a detail in Manhattan at the time.
The NYPD’s Crime Scene Unit launched an immediate investigation at the restaurant.
Investigators recovered two of the cups that the officers threw out after trying to drink the shakes, the sources said.
Shake Shack responded to Harrison’s announcement in a tweet, saying: “Our team is working hard to get the full picture. In the meantime, we’re relieved to hear the officers are all okay.”
The Police Benevolent Association said in a warning letter to police officers earlier that the incident was “yet another serious safety issue.”
PBA President Patrick Lynch wrote that several officers who had been assigned to a protest detail stopped at the Shake Shack.
“At some point during their meal period, the (officers) discovered that a toxic substance, believed to be bleach, had been placed in their beverages,” he wrote.
“The contamination was not discovered until the (officers) had already ingested a portion of their beverages,” Lynch continued. “They are currently at the hospital receiving treatment and are expected to recover.”
He added: “When New York City 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. We cannot afford to let our guard down for even a moment.”
