Here's the latest on Cheapside Cafe's Facebook controversy
After a viral Facebook post led to backlash and accusations of racism against a downtown cafe, police body camera footage backed up the owner's version of events and a city councilwoman who caused the post to go viral apologized.
Pamela Joy Miller, whose LinkedIn page lists her as a social worker and attorney in Cincinnati, posted on Facebook on June 19 about an incident at
Cheapside Cafe at 326 E. Eighth St. downtown, where police were called to remove an African-American man who had been disruptive at the restaurant, cursing and yelling at employees, and had fallen asleep after another patron purchased him a meal.
Miller's post only recounted the removal and none of the prior events, and she shared it to her private Facebook page where only her friends could view it. However, one of those friends was Cincinnati City Councilwoman Tamaya Dennard, who took a screenshot of the post and shared it to her 1,718 followers along with a message condemning Cheapside Cafe.
Her post was shared hundreds of times and led to a rash of one-star reviews for Cheapside Cafe on Facebook, accusations of racism and, according to owner
Joe Creighton, death threats.
Dennard took down the post after speaking with Creighton and hearing his staff's account of events. The Cincinnati Police Department on the afternoon of June 21 posted body camera footage showing officers removing the man from the restaurant without incident.
Dennard on Friday morning posted an apology to Facebook, saying after conversations with Creighton, Police Chief
Eliot Isaac and Acting City Manager
Patrick Duhaney she realized the responding officers approached the man with empathy and the situation was not as originally represented on Facebook.
"I accept full responsibility for my Facebook post regarding Cheapside’s reaction to the gentleman in their establishment," she wrote. "I apologize to Mr. Creighton, Chief Isaac and the responding officers. I will continue to use my platform to educate people on issues of racial, social, gender, economic, environmental and digital justice and for that, I make no apology."
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Creighton told me he appreciates and accepts Councilmember Dennard's apology but damage has been done to real people.
"Had either Pam Miller, who originally posted about this on Facebook, or Councilmember Dennard simply talked to us before jumping to the conclusion that race, not safety, was the issue here, none of this would’ve happened," he said in a statement. "Because they didn’t extend us even that basic courtesy, we have been labeled as racists and have received death threats. That’s the human toll of reckless accusations. People need to understand that."