NYPD Cops Hospitalized After Drinking Tainted Shakes

The NYPD has determined there was no criminality by Shake Shack employees after three officers on protest detail drank milkshakes and were hospitalized. The uniformed officers had consumed some of the beverages purchased in lower Manhattan around 8:30pm Monday before noticing a substance in the cups, per NBC News. The officers—treated at a hospital and released—"discovered that a toxic substance, believed to be bleach, had been placed in their beverages," the NYC Police Benevolent Association said on Twitter late Monday.

"When NYC 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," said PBA President Patrick Lynch, per CNN. The Detective's Endowment Agency stated the officers had been "intentionally poisoned," per ABC News. Not so fast: Early Tuesday, the NYPD said investigators determined a cleaning solution may not have been fully cleared from the milkshake machine, per CNN, and that all employees had been cleared of any criminality. As of Tuesday, Shake Shack said it was "horrified by the reports," but "relieved to hear the officers are all okay."