A man is arrested for buying a belt with his own money. The stated reason? “Because he could not afford to make such an expensive purchase.” The real reason? Let’s discuss.
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19-year-old Trayon Christian, who is an engineering freshman at the NYC College of Technology, filed a civil rights lawsuit on Tuesday against upscale Madison Avenue department store Barneys and the NYPD for being arrested and accused of fraud after purchasing a $320 belt, with his own money.
According to the Daily Mail, Christian, who lives with his mom in Queens, had saved up the money from his part-time job to purchase the designer belt. After making the purchase, using his own debit card and showing ID to the sales person, he was “pounced on” by undercover police on the street “because he could not afford to make such an expensive purchase.”According to his lawyer, Michael Palillo, Christian was asked “how a young black man such as himself could afford to purchase such an expensive belt.” Palillo told the New York Daily News:
He’s never been arrested. His only crime was being a young black guy buying a $300 belt.
The young man was taking to a local NYPD precinct where he once again showed his ID, debit card and the store receipt for the belt. But according to the lawsuit, the officers still refused to believe him and, “In spite of producing such documentation Christian was told that his identification was false and that he could not afford to make such an expensive purchase,” the suit states.
It wasn’t until officers were able to contact Chase bank and received verification that the debit card Christian used was in fact his that the teen was released. He had spent two hours in an NYPD holding cell, for using his own money to purchase a designer belt. The NYPD denies any wrongdoing, and claims the young man was only held for 42 minutes.
A spokesperson for Barneys New York said:
Barneys New York typically does not comment on pending litigation.
In this instance, we feel compelled to note that after carefully reviewing the incident of last April, it is clear that no employee of Barneys New York was involved in the pursuit of any action with the individual other than the sale.
Barneys New York has zero tolerance for any form of discrimination and we stand by our long history in support of all human rights.
Christian did exactly what we tell young people all the time to do, he worked hard, saved his earnings and purchased what he desired, with his own money. Instead of being rewarded for being self-sufficient and having both the patience and perseverance to acquire what he wanted legitimately and on his own, he was punished simply for being young and black. But given the track record of the NYPD, this should not come as a great surprise.
What do you think? What do you think the long-term effects of racial profiling will do to the group of people being targeted?
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Photo: Facebook
This is beyond racism – it includes that, of course, but it also betrays a profound sense of mistrust in basic human relationships. If I make a purchase using an ID (with a picture that actually looks like me!) and a matching credit or debit card, and the transaction GOES THROUGH without a hiccup, then why would some jackass of a clerk question it? If this young man had handed him cash (and I guess the clerk would use one of those special pens to test the authenticity of big bills), would the clerk then demand to know where he’d… Read more »
Aw, my heart is breaking.
Hello NY !! I was born and raised in the south, Georgia to be exact. However, it seems that racism in the United States is like a body tatoo. Regardless where in America you are or Where you go, Racism just want go away, it uglyness always raises it’s head.
Mr. J
Wow. What decade is this again?
While I personally think it’s insane to spend $320 for a belt, it’s his money, and he is certainly free to do what he wants to with it. The actions of the NYPD here appear to be indefensible.
My confusion, however, is the inclusion of Barney’s in his lawsuit – I don’t see even an allegation of inappropriate or discriminatory behavior on the part of the store. That appears to be nothing more than a cash grab from the deepest pockets.
How would “undercover police on the street” know anything about this transaction if Barney’s didn’t tip them off?
And the whole “he could not afford to make such an expensive purchase” bit sounds like a scene from “In the Heat of the Night” which was set in the Deep South of 50 years ago. This boggles the mind.
The cops involved ought to be fired, and I’d like to see both the cops and the Barney’s people swear under oath that there was no contact between them before the undercover cop stopped Christian.
i wondered how the officers knew too. the daily mail newspaper wrote that,
‘ A Barneys store employee had asked the 19-year-old for ID when he used his Chase debit card to buy the belt. Mr Christian showed the clerk his state ID.
The store cashier then subsequently called the police to claim that the purchase was a fraud, according to the lawsuit.
Officers took the teenager, who is an engineering freshman at the NYC College of Technology, to a local precinct.’
The clerk initiated an investigation of the youngster with NO justification (other than racism). That is clear malicious prosecution, and as something done in the scope of his work as an employee at Barney’s, the company is on the hook. You’ve got to hit them in the pocketbook, or they’ll keep doing it!
Well if the store initaited it – which is not indcated in this particular article – obviously that would change the facts, and I would change my opinion noted above.
@Wilbur What’s up youngblood?What you articulate,living elsewhere away from the pressures of race just to be normal,has a long tradition.As an og born into and nutured by what we used to call THE STRUGGLE in the sixties and seventies,my commitment to that process and limited opportunities precluded me from even considering living in another country.Much to my regret.I am 58 years old and I can say that I have never known a single day of peace from racism.I can’t help but wonder what might have been had things been different.Dealing with it so much permanently scars your psyche as if… Read more »
I’m starting to think this whole black in America thing is not for me. I’ve been at it for about 29 years now thinking someday it’ll get better. Even got a degree in human services and working on my masters degree in psychology,but the fears of just….well, being black far out ways the good I can make here. Starting to think Switzerland is looking better and better.
Well there’s another one to add to driving, walking, and partying while black…..
WTF kinda belt is it that costs $300? Arrest the shop for selling such overpriced goods.
But seriously that is all kinds of messed up!
It was a ferregamo belt, I definitely feel as if it could have gone to something useful, but hey he can spend his money how ever he likes.