Al Sharpton calls Barney’s out for alleged ‘Shop and Frisk’ policy

There’s stop and frisk and now shop and frisk?

Barney’s has been under fire after recent allegations of several people claiming they were profiled because they’re Black.

Al Sharpton and other Black community leaders met with the CEO of Barney’s New York to discuss the recent allegations of racial profiling at their stores.

“As we continue to deal with issues of racial profiling and Stop and Frisk, we are alarmed that we are now dealing with a climate of ‘shop and frisk,’” Sharpton said at a press conference following the meeting.

“It was in that spirit we have planed and continue to move forward some mass mobilization before the holidays to address retailers on that issue.”

Trayon Christian sues Barneys alleging shop and frisk

Barney’s first came under fire when New York teenager Trayon Christian, was arrested and detained for purchasing a $350 belt.

In court documents, Christian says he showed officers his receipt, but officers said “he could not afford to make such an expensive purchase”.

He was detained for nearly 2 hours and questioned again where he got the money from. After police checked his card and realized it was indeed not fraudulent, they let him go.

Later, a young woman Kayla Phillips shared a similar experience claiming she was also detained for purchasing a hand bag at the store. Phillips says she was surrounded by police after leaving the store and made to explain her use of a temporary debit card.

After their stories hit the media, more and more allegations began to surface of racial profiling at the high-end store.

The allegations of racial profiling at the Barney’s flagship store in Manhattan even prompted a petition, asking Jay-Z, a partner with the company, to no longer do business with them.

Press conference

At the press conference, Barneys CEO Mark Lee read from a prepared statement reaffirming Barneys non-discrimination policy, apologizing to Jay Z and defending the store’s action in the cases of Christian and Phillips.

“A preliminary investigation has concluded that in both of these instances no one from Barneys New York raised any issue with these purchases,” said Lee. “No one from Barneys brought them to the attention of our internal security and no one from Barneys reached out to external authorities.”

Barney’s CEO Lee has promised a thorough review of Barneys’ practices and procedures to ensure they reflect the company’s “continued commitment to fairness and equality.” The store has retained an attorney from the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights to lead the review. Monday, the New York State Attorney General’s office launched a probe into possible racial profiling by both Barneys and Macy’s.

Sharpton response to Barneys

Sharpton said, while community leaders are concerned with the “shop and frisk” cases that made news, they’re also interested in opening up a conversation about the conduct and policies of retailers like Barneys. They want to see an immediate meeting between community leaders and a broad section of retail executives to address racial profiling in their stores. Sharpton even promised to march on the home of Mark Lee if practices don’t change.

“We’re interested in a policy that will not render Blacks as automatic suspects when they go in stores,” Sharpton said. “We cannot live in a city where our consumer dollars are devalued based on predisposed bias.”