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Theft Policing in Spotlight
October 31, 2013 posted by Steve Brownstein
The methods that retailers and police use to combat theft have come under intense scrutiny after two black shoppers said that they had been accused of committing credit card fraud after making legitimate purchases at Barneys New York. One of those shoppers, Trayon Christian, filed a lawsuit against Barneys and the New York Police Department on Monday, saying that he had been stopped on the sidewalk outside the store by undercover officers after making a purchase, and was then arrested, accused of using a fake card in the transaction, and held for two hours before being released.
It was revealed shortly after that Kayla Phillips had filed a notice of claim against the city last summer after she was stopped and questioned for 20 minutes after making a purchase at Barneys with a temporary debit card she was given after she opened a bank account. There have been allegations that the two shoppers were racially profiled.
NYPD spokesman John McCarthy said in Christian's case, police were at the store to arrest someone else and said the reason Christian was arrested is under investigation. He noted that police were responding to a complaint from the store that Phillips' card had raised suspicions when they stopped and questioned the 22 year old.
McCarthy added that the NYPD's Internal Affairs Bureau is investigating the incidents, which is a standard practice. Retailers in Manhattan's main shopping districts and the NYPD have maintained that they are simply being vigilant about theft given the fact that the crime is on the rise in the area.
