Posted on 10/23/2013 2:50:27 PM PDT by IbJensen
19-year-old college student from Queens says he was handcuffed and locked in a jail cell after buying a $350 designer belt at Barneys on New York's Madison Avenue because he is "a young black man."
Trayon Christian told NBC 4 New York on Wednesday that he saved up from a part-time job for weeks to buy a Salvatore Ferragamo belt at Barneys.
When he went to the store to buy it in April, he says the checkout clerk asked to see his identification. After the sale went through and he left the store, he was approached by police about a block away, and asked "how a young black man such as himself could afford to purchase such an expensive belt," according to a lawsuit filed Tuesday in Manhattan Supreme Court.
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Officers hauled Christian to the local precinct, where he showed police his identification, as well as his debit card and the receipt for the belt, the lawsuit says.
Police still believed Christian's identification was fake, and eventually called his bank, which verified it was his, according to the complaint. Christian, who has no prior arrests, was released.
He told NBC 4 New York that questions were racing through his mind while he went through the painful experience of being handcuffed and taken to a cell.
"Why me? I guess because I'm a young black man, and you know, people do a credit card scam so they probably thought that I was one of them," Christian said. "They probably think that black people don't have money like that."
He later returned the belt to Barneys because he says he "didn't want to have nothing to do with it."
He is suing the city and the luxury department store for unspecified damages as a result of "great physical and mental distress and humiliation."
Christian's attorney, Michael Palillo, told the Post, "His only crime was being a young black man."
Barneys said in a statement Wednesday that none of its employees was involved in any action with Christian other than the sale, and added that the store "has zero tolerance for any form of discrimination."
How did the cops know he had an expensive belt?
-——He should have bought the belt in Walmart.-——
Actually Walmart belts suck.... The last two I bought fell apart in weeks....
“When a 19 year-old punk with a hoodie buys a $350 belt he deserves to be hassled. Where did he get the money?”
You may be right. And when Barney’s and NYPD should be able to clear all this up when they show us the statute that says that 19 year old punks in hoodies buying merchandise at a high end store should be harassed and detained.
Perhaps you should read the article you post.
Everything was legit, the kid got harassed and now he's in for a fat payday.
But leftists says blacks can’t get i.d.’s yet this teen managed to get one!
Barneys said in a statement Wednesday that none of its employees was involved in any
action with Christian other than the sale, and added that the store “has zero tolerance for
any form of discrimination.”
**********
My guess someone from Barneys’ called the police. At least that is what’s claimed in
another article I read.
He’ll get a little walking around money to make this go away.
But leftists says blacks can’t get i.d.’s yet this teen managed to get one!
**************
Yep, had a job with his pay direct deposited into his bank account and a debit card.
He could have saved up in small increments for months, skipped meals, etc. I admire someone with good taste who saves up to buy one high quality item that will last for a decade and never go out of style.
Well, yeah. But in this case it was not cash. It was a debit card.
why are you bringing in a "cash sale" to this thread? There was nothing in the posting that said it was paid in cash...........
In NYC college is like H.S., only less intellectually taxing. City College has campuses all over the City, only charges nominal, income based tuition, so the taxpayers are paying for his “education”. (He probably has an Obama phone as well.)
Still, I make well over 100k, have a paid for house and I drive a 2001 Corolla. I have never paid $300 bucks for a suit, let alone a friggin’ belt.
It isn’t a waste - it is actually a good investment. It will last for at least ten years - divide $350 by 10 - it comes to $35 a year for the belt. Much better than buying cheap ones over and over.
When a 19 year-old punk with a hoodie buys a $350 belt he deserves to be hassled. Where did he get the money?
***Then it’s culturism. What do you have against 19 year-olds in hoodies? How do you know he’s a punk? The article said exactly how he got the money, so what is your problem, exactly?
“Culturism: A Word, A Value, Our Future”
Amazon.com ^ | July 17, 2008 | John Kenneth Press
Posted on Sun 20 Jul 2008 10:23:13 AM PDT by Kevmo
http://209.157.64.201/focus/f-news/2048421/posts
“Culturism: A Word, A Value, Our Future” A book published by John Kenneth Press
Discussions concerning the academic, political, and aesthetic aspects of culturism
(Excerpt) Read more at amazon.com ...
Maybe if young back males were not the primary perpetrator of crime then this suit might have some merit. For the demographic of young, black and male hits the odds on favorite for criminal activity.
Pffft. Your comment does not deserve any more response than that.
“I’m one of those cranks that got PO’d whenever the clerk at Radio Shack demanded my name & address every time I bought a battery.”
Exactly why I don’t shop at Radio Sack, along with their exhorbitant prices and a lot of crap that they sell. BTW, it takes about as long to purchase a car now as it does to buy and register a handgun.
Everyone doesn’t live on a farm, or in a suburb of Akron, and shop at Walmart. This is NY, and that’s a normal price for an accessory at Barney’s. By the way, the belt will last a long time and improve with age, instead of falling apart like the $15 made in China version. I’m still using things I bought there in 2000.
I gathered from the article that he used his debit card for the purchase. They usually don’t ask for ID for debit card use, but over a certain dollar amount some stores do. Getting the cops involved is really where they crossed the line.
No, he does not. There is something wrong with your thinking. It is envious and nasty.
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