The country’s law enforcement officers are facing a huge threat from politicians demanding to dismantle or defund the force, to being on the receiving end of violence coming from the protesters.

Things have escalated on Monday evening as three New York City Police Department (NYPD) officers were allegedly poisoned with bleach while having their meal at a Lower Manhattan Shake Shack, according to an announcement from the Police Association (PBA) of the City of New York, the largest police union in the country. The union spoke on behalf of the three police officers.

In a statement, the PBA President Pat Lynch had alerted other officers that a “serious safety issue” had taken place. Lynch explained that the three officers were part of the MOS (members of service) who were assigned to protect the protests in lower Manhattan. While having their meal, the three officers discovered that their beverage was laced with a toxic substance, “possibly believed as bleach.” Lynch wrote that “The contamination was not discovered until the MOS had already ingested a portion of their beverages. “

The PBA President also warned its members to stay vigilant and to carefully “inspect” any food that they will buy while being on duty. Lynch also advised that, if possible, officers should take their meals in a group to ensure that someone would take notice of contamination. The union president also condemned the attack, “When New York City police officers cannot even take a meal without coming under attack, it is clear that the environment in which we work has deteriorated to a critical level.”

Currently, the officers were at the Bellevue hospital recovering from the violent attempt. Officials from the Detectives Endowment Association with which the three officers are associated claimed that fortunately, they were “not seriously harmed.”

In a Twitter post, Shack Shack also expressed their sentiments against the attack. The restaurant chain claimed that they were “horrified” with what had happened and promised their full cooperation with the ongoing police investigation.

As of Tuesday, NYPD Chief of Detectives, Rodney Harrison, announced that after a “thorough investigation,” the authorities confirmed that no Shake Shack employees were involved in the incident.

The fast-food chain responded to Harrison’s report, claiming that they were “relieved” that none of the officers were harmed, and that they are continuing to get the “full picture” of what had happened on Monday evening.

The attack came as nationwide protests continued against the death of an African-American man, George Floyd, who suffered under the Minneapolis Police custody. The incident had sparked massive anti-police sentiments, with far-left politicians campaigning to either defund or completely dismantle the country’s police force.

As the riots continued, even New York politicians, Gov. Andrew Cuomo and Mayor Bill de Blasio, have given into the pressure of defunding the NYPD.