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NY Attorney General Probing Racial Profiling Allegations At Barney's, Macy's
By
John Del Signore
Published Oct 29, 2013
Modified Oct 29, 2013
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By
John Del Signore
Published Oct 29, 2013
Modified Oct 29, 2013
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The New York State Attorney General's office is investigating allegations of racial profiling at Barney's and Macy's, following a wave of reports from customers who say they've been accused of thievery for shopping while black or Latino. Last week, 19-year-old Trayon Christian filed a lawsuit against Barneys and the NYPD after being accosted by undercover cops for buying a $350 belt. After news of his lawsuit surfaced, other allegations emerged.
Actor Rob Brown, who stars on HBO series "Treme," says Macy's in Herald Square unjustly profiled and detained him in June, and now he's suing the company. Then 21-year-old Kayla Phillips came forward to say she was detained by police after she bought a $2,500 Céline handbag at Barney's in February. State Sen. Ruben Diaz is demanding an investigation into a Hispanic shopper's detention after he tried to return a coat he purchased at Macy's in 2009. And yesterday the Daily News reported that one Art Palmer, 56, filed a complaint with the Civilian Complaint Review Board because he says police surrounded him outside Macy's in April after he made legitimate purchases.
Attorney General Schneiderman’s office has now ordered Macy’s and Barneys to "turn over the total number of stops and detention of customers between Oct. 15, 2012, and Oct. 15, 2013, sorted by race and national origin, and all documents pertaining to those incidents," according to copies of letters obtained by the Daily News. The AG also wants the retailers to turn over all records of customer discrimination complaints, and their anti-discrimination policies.
“The alleged repeated behavior of your employees raises troubling questions about your company’s commitment to that ideal,” Kristen Clarke, who heads the AG’s civil rights bureau, wrote to the CEOs at both stores, adding that Schneiderman's office has received numerous complaints about racial profiling at the retailers.
There will be a protest outside Barney's midtown location tomorrow afternoon.
Tagged
barneys
macy's
racial profiling
shopping while black
John Del Signore
Originally from the Albany area, John Del Signore has called NYC home since 1995. In addition to his thousands of meticulously-crafted bespoke blog posts for Gothamist, his writing has also been published in The Awl, Deadspin, The Nervous Breakdown, and performed at The Brick Theater in Brooklyn.
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Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
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