In NYC Shopping and Being Black Gets you Arrested !!!

A black teenager is shopping for justice — claiming snooty Barneys staffers and New York City cops racially profiled him for credit card fraud after he bought a $349 belt. Trayon Christian, 19, told the Daily News he filed a lawsuit after he was targeted by staffers at Barneys’ Madison Ave. flagship store and detained by police because they didn’t believe a young black man could possibly afford to buy such an expensive belt.

What Happened

The clerk didn’t react as he signed for his purchase and left. But he got no more than a block from the store when two undercover NYPD detectives stopped him near E. 60th St. .“They said my card wasn’t real, it was fake. They said someone at Barneys called to report it,” said Christian. The male detectives — whose names he never learned — asked to see ID and look in his bag, he said. They also asked him if he worked, and where. “I showed them my school ID and my driver’s license,” said Christian, who was 18 when the incident allegedly occurred. “The detectives were asking me, ‘How could you afford a belt like this? Where did you get this money from?’” he said.
He was handcuffed and taken to the 19th Precinct stationhouse, he said. According to his lawsuit, he was detained in a holding cell for about two hours. He was then released with his debit card, his belt and an apology from the police, Christian said.

How This Could Have been prevented

Designer store need to stipulate that they do no want racial demographics other than the one they are catering to to purchase their products. They should sue any rappers , or celebrities who are of the demographic they are not targeting. I applaud Abercrombie and Fitch for stating explicitly that they do not want fat people to wear their clothes. Its easier when the bigotry is out in the open.

What are your thoughts on this ?

Engineering Student Is Suing Barneys for Racial Profiling (thestyleofthecase.com)
Black teen suing NYPD, Barneys for accusing him of stealing designer belt (pix11.com)
Another black Barneys shopper accused after buying $2G purse (nydailynews.com)
Black teen accused of stealing $348 belt sues Barneys, NYPD (pix11.com)
Shopping While Black Lawsuit: NYC Teen Says Barneys Accused Him Of Using A Stolen Credit Card (clutchmagonline.com)
NYPD Arrests Black Kid For Buying Nice Things With Own Money, Proving Value of Hard Work (wonkette.com)
Black Teen Falsely Arrested After Buying Designer Belt at Barneys (jezebel.com)
Barneys to Require Proof of Income for Young Black Males (newslo.com)
19-Year-Old Detained For ‘Shopping While Black’ At Barney’s (thinkprogress.org)

4 comments

There are a few things you look for when accepting a debit/credit card as a payment method:

1. Does the name match the sex of the customer?
2. Does the customer have a photo ID with signature for purchases over $25?
3. Does the signature on the back of the card match what is on the photo ID?
4. Does the card go through, or does it automatically decline?

If these 4 items check out fine, then the customer is good to go. Obviously they are just morons at this store.