At the height of nationwide protests against police brutality, a disturbing trend seemed to emerge: people trying to poison U.S. police officers. But the story of an off-duty Los Angeles Police Department officer receiving a frappuccino with a tampon in it has now been debunked, just like the much-hyped story of New York cops being deliberately served Shake Shack milkshakes laced with bleach. The L.A. Sheriff’s Department launched an investigation after the LAPD cop—who wasn’t in uniform but used his police credit card to order from a Starbucks in Diamond Bar—claimed a giant tampon was deliberately put in his drink. At the time, the L.A. Police Protective League called it “a disgusting assault on a police officer... carried out by someone with hatred in their heart.” 

But investigators have concluded it was just a cleaning cloth that accidentally ended up in the drink. An apologetic barista told the LASD she scooped it up after it had fallen into ice and unknowingly blended it into the drink. Surveillance video also showed nothing suspicious. “The investigation was unable to prove malicious intent on the part of the store employee,” the LASD said.