CLEVELAND, Ohio - An African-American sorority member accused the Bahama Breeze Restaurant in Orange Village of racial profiling because the manager called police Tuesday at the end of a sorority gathering. 
 
 Chante Spencer, who was among about 40 members of Delta Sigma Theta at the restaurant, said in an interview Wednesday that the trouble began after a woman celebrating with the sorority, who had been waiting 25 minutes for her bill, said she was going leave. The woman was not a member of the sorority but was with its members. 
 
 Spencer said the police were called even though the woman ultimately waited and paid the tab because the manager wanted officers to wait as other members of the party, who were spread out at multiple tables, paid their bills. 
 
 "Police were standing there to make sure everyone paid, which we felt was racial profiling," Spencer said. Spencer spoke to cleveland.com as a patron at the restaurant last night and said she was not speaking for the sorority. 
 
 Caribbean-themed Bahama Breeze grille is part of the Florida-based Darden company, which also owns the Olive Garden and Longhorn Steakhouse restaurants. Rich Jeffers, Darden's senior director of communications, offered a brief statement to cleveland.com in response to questions about the incident and about the restaurant's policies. 
 
 "We clearly fell short of delivering great service, and we've invited the guests back in order to provide an exceptional Bahama Breeze experience," Jeffers said. 
 
 The restaurant's manager told police that some members of the sorority threatened to leave without paying, according to a copy of an incident report provided by the Orange Village Police Department. The manager requested that that the police stay until the all of the bills were settled, the report says. 
 
 The manager said that members of the group became upset waiting for their bills and caused a "disturbance" and used profanity toward her, according to the police report. 
 
 The police report states that all bills were paid and says one member of the group told police when they arrived that she would ensure all the bills were accounted for. The police did not take any action against any members of the group. Police arrived at around 8:30 p.m. and stayed for about one hour, according to the police report. 
 
 Spencer said the incident report misrepresents what happened and that the charge that people were threatening to leave without paying is "totally not true." 
 
 Members of the group -- which included a doctor, a judge, educators and other professionals from the Cleveland area - became upset by what they perceived as case of profiling by a manager, she said. 
 
 Spencer said that the group had a reservation for 25 people to celebrate a sorority sister's book deal and decision to relocate to the West Coast. Spencer said that a dozen more people showed up than expected, possibly contributing to poor service. Spencer said most guests were women and black. 
 
 Spencer, who is an educator, said she hopes the company will fully investigate incident so the company can learn from it. 
 
 "I am hoping that Bahama Breeze looks at this very carefully and alters policies and does some more training," Spencer said. "You cannot make assumptions that people are going to commit a crime based on how they look." ||||| A manager at an Ohio Bahama Breeze called the police to make sure a group of black sorority members paid their bill. (Photo: WKYC-TV, Cleveland) 
 
 A Bahama Breeze manager was fired after several African American sorority members say the cops were called to make sure they paid their bill at the Ohio restaurant last week. 
 
 A manager at Bahama Breeze in Orange Village called police at around 8:30 p.m. on June 19, claiming about 40 guests were “worked up about the bill” and did not want to pay. 
 
 The manager also claimed some members of the crowd used profanity and disrespect. 
 
 The patrons, who were mainly members of the Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, the largest African-American Greek-lettered organization, say the service was slow and the situation escalated when the manager called the police. 
 
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 Chante Spencer, who was present during the incident, believes they were racially profiled and falsely accused of being guests who would skip out and not pay. 
 
 She claims four people were even asked to produce a receipt before they could leave the restaurant while police kept watch. 
 
 "No one deserves to be treated that way. Nobody," Spencer told WKYC-TV, Cleveland. 
 
 Ohio Congresswoman Marcia Fudge released a statement saying this was a clear case of racial profiling. 
 
 “It is a chilling reminder that no African American is exempt from the impact of racial profiling when a group of professional women, known for their service and advocacy are victims," she said in a press release. "As an African American woman and a member of Delta Sigma Theta, I am appalled that this occurred in the district I represent, and will not be silent." 
 
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 This was not the first time this restaurant has been accused of racial harassment. 
 
 In 2009, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission announced a settlement involving 37 black workers, who claimed, their managers repeatedly used racial slurs and denied them breaks. 
 
 The company paid more than a million dollars and was ordered to provide anti-discrimination and diversity training to staff. 
 
 Many of those who believed they were racially profiled returned to Bahama Breeze the following evening, this time to protest outside of the restaurant. 
 
 The restaurant responded to several users on Twitter with an apology saying "we clearly fell short of delivering great service to our guests." 
 
 We clearly fell short of delivering great service to our guests. The manager involved no longer works for us because they mistreated a guest, which is inconsistent with our values. We spoke with members of the party to personally apologize & invite them back. — Bahama Breeze (@BahamaBreeze) June 21, 2018 
 
 Bahama Breeze is owned by Darden Concepts of Orlando, which also owns The Olive Garden, Longhorn Steakhouse and Yard House. 
 
 WKYC-TV, Cleveland reached out to Darden Concepts for a comment and received a similar statement: "We clearly fell short of delivering great service, and we’ve invited the guests back in order to provide an exceptional Bahama Breeze experience." 
 
 More: Bob Marley's granddaughter plans to sue California police after alleged racial profiling 
 
 More: N.Y. lawyer who ranted at Spanish speakers faces eviction, complaint — and a mariachi band 
 
 Follow Andrew Horansky on Twitter: @WKYCAndrewH 
 
 Read or Share this story: https://usat.ly/2tw6FHP ||||| Congresswoman Marcia L. Fudge Releases Statement After 
 
 Ohio Restaurant Racially Profiles African American Women 
 
 WASHINGTON – Congresswoman Marcia L. Fudge (OH-11) released the following statement after management of the Bahama Breeze Restaurant in Orange Village, a part of the Florida-based Darden Restaurants, Inc., called the police on a gathering of African American women, most of whom are members of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc. 
 
 “It is reprehensible for any place of business to resort to calling law enforcement on customers based on an assumption that they will not pay their bill. That was the response given when management was asked by a bystander. It is clear to me the incident that occurred at the Bahama Breeze Restaurant was a case of racial profiling. 
 
 “It is a chilling reminder that no African American is exempt from the impact of racial profiling when a group of professional women, known for their service and advocacy are victims. As an African American woman and a member of Delta Sigma Theta, I am appalled that this occurred in the district I represent, and will not be silent. Profiling citizens patronizing our businesses is something that no one in the 11th Congressional District of Ohio should tolerate.” 
 
 ### ||||| A woman seen in a viral video calling the police on a group of black people who were barbecuing at an Oakland park has been identified as a Stanford University-educated environmental scientist. Jennifer Schulte, who has become known on social media as “BBQ Becky,” was identified by The Root and News One, and widely on social media. Schulte, 41, could not be reached for comment about the video by Heavy and has not spoken out about the incident. 
 
 The video was posted on YouTube by Michelle Snider on April 29 just hours after the incident. The story went viral after Snider and her husband, Kenzie Smith, talked to KRON-TV on May 9. The incident occurred amid a string of viral incidents in which white people called the police on people of color for controversial reasons, including a white Starbucks manager who called the police on two men who were waiting for a business meeting, a white woman who called the police on a group of black people staying at an AirBnB, a white mother who reported two Native American teens to police because she didn’t think they belonged on a college tour and a white Ph.D student who called the police on a Yale University grad student who was napping in a dorm common room while studying for finals. The incident has also drawn comparisons to a viral video of a Manhattan lawyer ranting about restaurant workers speaking Spanish. 
 
 Here’s what you need to know about Jennifer Schulte and the incident: 
 
 1. Schulte Was Evaluated for an Involuntary Psychiatric Hold by Police 
 
 The nearly 25-minutelong video of the incident was posted on YouTube on April 29 by Michelle Snider, who uses the handle Michelle Dionne on YouTube. The video begins after a confrontation had already been ongoing between the woman identified as Jennifer Schulte and Snider’s family and friends. “At around 11:20 AM a white woman approached a black man named Deacon for having a BBQ grill at Lake Merritt today. 
 
 She told him he could not BBQ there and called the police. She would not leave Deacon alone. A young black woman was walking by overheard how the white woman was harassing him telling him he can not be there, she stopped and asked the woman to leave her alone. The white woman became aggressive with the woman,” Snider wrote on YouTube. “Shortly after that Deacon’s friend Kenzie arrived. According to Kenzie, the woman said ‘Oh another n*gger.’ She proceeded to tell all three of the people at the BBQ table that she owned the park, and they are not allowed there. She also said them they were going to jail.” The racist comment allegedly made by the woman was not caught on video. 
 
 Snider, who is Smith’s wife, said her husband texted her a picture of the woman and said, “If I go to jail this is who did it to me.” Snider, who was at a nearby restaurant, then walked over to the park and arrived about 12:50 p.m., which is when the video begins. The video shows the interaction between Snider, her husband and others with the woman identified as Schulte. Snider follows the woman as she continues to call police to try to get them to respond to the park. When the officer eventually does arrive, the woman begins to cry as she talks to him, as the video ends. 
 
 “This is exactly what is the problem with Oakland today. This lady wants to sit here and call the police on them for having a barbecue at the lake as if this is not normal,” Michelle Snider told KRON-TV. Snider said the woman told them it was illegal to have a charcoal barbecue in the area where they were having their cookout. According to KRON, an Oakland Parks and Recreation map shows that the area is not a designated charcoal area, but is an area where portable non-charcoal grills can be used. Lake Merritt has three areas with stationary charcoal grills for public use, according to the map. But residents and officials told the news station that the rule is not typically followed or enforced, and is not a police matter. 
 
 “I have seen people barbecue with charcoal for years,” Kenzie Smith told the news station. “She said that we were trespassing, we were not welcome, and then she turned back around and said, ‘ya’ll going to jail.’ I think we need to question the policies that made this woman think woman feel she had the right to harass people.” 
 
 Oakland City Councilmember Lynette Gibson McElhaney told the news station, “I think it is really incumbent on all of us that when we call police, it is for emergency purposes.” She suggested there were other options than calling the police, telling the news station, “I want to encourage people to know when to call the police, when to raise a question of regulations with the city council, maybe there is a passive way to reach out to us. 
 
 Oakland Police said responding officers took a police report, but no citations were issued and no arrests were made. 
 
 On May 24, police released a log that reveals more details about the call. The officer told dispatchers he evaluated Schulte for a 5150 psychiatric hold, but determined that she “didn’t fit the criteria,” according to the report obtained by KTVU-TV. 
 
 “A 5150 in California allows a police officer or another professional to take a person into custody for up to 72 hours to evaluate their mental state and whether they are a danger to themselves or to others,” KTVU reports. 
 
 The incident took about 3 hours, with Schulte on the phone with police nearly the entire time, records show. At one point, the dispatcher told responding officers Schulte, “sounds 5150.” 
 
 2. ‘BBQ Becky’ Memes Have Spread Across Social Media 
 
 In the days after the video went viral, the woman has become a meme on social media known as “BBQ Becky.” According to Know Your Meme, “BBQ Becky, also known as White Woman Calling the Cops, refers to a series of Photoshop memes of a woman in sunglasses calling the police in a park on a group of African American people having a cookout in an Oakland, Ca park. The image has been edited into photographs of the civil rights milestones as well as captions that mock the woman for calling the police.” Becky is a n You can see some of the memes below: 
 
 @jemelehill now we know who really got Rosa Parks in trouble pic.twitter.com/uwYDPNU45E — Squatty Bell (@Squatty386) May 13, 2018 
 
 Black Twitter Meme Council, I respectful propose that 'Black Man on Phone' be replaced with 'White Lady Spoils BBQ'. pic.twitter.com/H9dRKT2PGe — Roy Wood Jr- Ex Jedi (@roywoodjr) May 11, 2018 
 
 "Hi, I'd like to report a graduation." pic.twitter.com/V2EiKOvNQ5 — Tim Barnes (@TimBarnes451) May 12, 2018 
 
 The woman who posted the original video tweeted one of the memes: 
 
 I knew this woman would turn into a meme 🤦🏻‍♀️😹 pic.twitter.com/uxN6ZXrmaB — Michelle Dione 🐈 (@ShelleDione) May 10, 2018 
 
 “Beyond the ‘Cookout Beckie’ aka ‘BBQBeckie’ memes and jokes, the reason why this story resonates so much in the Black community is that there is a pattern of people, white people, calling the police on Black people, which often ends up being scary at the very least, or deadly. Even cops have complained that white people waste their time with irrational fear of Black people, imagine that!” AfroPunk writes. “So this isn’t just about ‘Cookout Beckie’. This is a pattern. And this isn’t about conservatives vs. liberals either. As we’ve often reported (and so did Martin Luther King Jr. before us), white liberals are just as problematic as conservatives.” 
 
 Otis Taylor Jr. wrote for the San Francisco Chronicle, “The first time I saw the video of a white woman on the phone with police because two black men were using a charcoal grill at Lake Merritt, I thought it was a parody, a provocative satire on race in America. But, no, this is America, a country where a black person must be prepared for the possibility that police might be called to investigate and indict their blackness.” 
 
 3. Schulte Has a Ph.D. in Chemical Engineering From Stanford, but the University Says She Does Not Work There, Disputing Reports That She Is a Professor 
 
 The 41-year-old Jennifer Schulte, whose name has been in some reports misspelled Jennifer Shulte, graduated from Stanford University in 2006 with a Ph.D in chemical engineering, according to her now-deleted Linkedin profile. That detail and her use of the name Dr. Jennifer Schulte on social media has led some to believe she is a professor or otherwise employed by Stanford. 
 
 But the California university distanced itself from her on Twitter, writing, “According to our records, a person by this name earned graduate degrees at Stanford more than a decade ago. She is not employed as staff or as a faculty member.” An entry on a Stanford website shows that she was part of the James Swartz Research Group in the chemical engineering and bioengineering department. 
 
 Schulte is a North Dakota native and attended the University of North Dakota for her undergraduate degree in chemical engineering. She has lived in Oakland since 2006. 
 
 4. She Works as an Air Quality & Climate Change Specialist 
 
 Schulte works as a senior project manager at an environmental resources and services company in Oakland, according to her Linkedin profile. Her work focuses on air quality. She is also a climate change technical specialist. She previously worked at Horizon Water and Environment, URS Corporation and Environ International Corporation. 
 
 An announcement for a 2016 meeting of the American Petroleum Institute shows that Schulte gave a talk titled “OEHHA Revised Risk Assessment Methods: Developing a Facility Game Plan” for the organization. “Dr. Jennifer Schulte is a Senior Project Manager with ERM based in Walnut Creek, California. She has 10 years of experience as an air quality and climate change specialist, and is a recognized expert in the fields of air quality, emission estimation, air dispersion modeling, health risk assessments, and climate change impacts,” the website said. “Dr. Schulte has conducted complex projects throughout California, the United States, and some international locations involving air emission inventories, air dispersion modeling, health risk assessments, and climate change analyses for numerous clients including commercial and residential development projects, ports, transportation, refineries, and various other industrial areas. She conducts air quality and climate change analyses for regulatory compliance, environmental studies required for CEQA and NEPA, and litigation support.” 
 
 The Irvine, California, city website shows that she was part of a team that prepared a supplemental environmental impact report as part of a city project. 
 
 5. Oakland Residents Held a Large Cookout & Spoke Out About It at a City Hall Meeting 
 
 How Black Oakland responds to a white lady calling the cops on Black folks BBQing… pic.twitter.com/kRdJpnmXQ2 — Brotha B (@BlakeDontCrack) May 11, 2018 
 
 Oakland residents responded to the viral video by holding a large cookout in the area where the incident occurred. A huge crowd showed up for the barbecue at Lake Merritt on May 10. “This how we feel about mad a** Oakland gentrifiers,” Michael Swanson Jr. said in a video from the party. 
 
 Residents also spoke out at a recent city council meeting: 
 
 “The assault on black life is not an isolated set of circumstances,” activist Carroll Fife told the council, according to Mother Jones. “The recent emergency phone call from Jennifer S”—the name of a woman identified on Twitter as the caller, but whose identity remains unconfirmed—”a white woman angered by an African American family barbecuing in an unauthorized location at Lake Merritt, highlights how anti-black racism is used in a way to control black bodies and used in a way to control space.” 
 
 She added, “We don’t want any more apologies. We don’t want any more business cards. We don’t want any more forums. What we want is you all to take note and take account.” 
 
 City Councilmember Lynette Gibson McElhaney told HuffPost, “In a city that needs significant policing services, we can’t have those precious expensive resources squandered in a frivolous way. Police are not private security for any white person that’s offended by the presence of black folks in our public spaces.”
– A night out at an Ohio Bahama Breeze for a group of sorority sisters ended with complaints of slow service, police on the scene, and now, a fired manager after some of the black patrons said they were racially profiled. WKYC reports on the June 19 incident, when about 40 people, including members of the Delta Sigma Theta sorority, headed to the Orange Village eatery and didn't like the service. The manager called the cops, claiming the customers were cursing, disrespectful, and "worked up about the bill." Some of the patrons, however, say the manager assumed they wouldn't pay what they owed because they were African-American. Chante Spencer, one of the customers, tells Cleveland.com that one guest who'd waited 25 minutes for her bill got fed up and said she was leaving. She did stay, Spencer says, but the cops were summoned. Once police arrived, the manager, who claimed that more than one person had threatened to leave without paying, asked officers to stick around to make sure all of the customers in the group settled their individual bills, per a police report, which adds the cops stayed for about an hour. In a statement, Ohio Rep. Marcia Fudge, herself a member of the sorority, calls the incident "a chilling reminder that no African-American is exempt from the impact of racial profiling when a group of professional women known for their service and advocacy are victims." "We clearly fell short of delivering great service to our guests," the parent restaurant tweeted Thursday. "The manager involved no longer works for us because they mistreated a guest." The restaurant also noted it has invited those involved back for a better experience. (Nordstrom Rack recently apologized for calling the cops on three black shoppers.)