Now shopping while black and pregnant is an issue at Staples

[47of74]

An African American woman pregnant with twins was accused of shoplifting at Staples

Quote

Bates said a police officer asked her if she was shoplifting while she was checking out of the store.

"Mid-transaction, a police officer approached me and insisted he wanted to speak with me,” Bates said. “He asked what was under my shirt.”

Bates is pregnant with twins.

"At that point, to avoid him asking me again, I actually lifted my shirt just a little bit, just to expose my belly, so he could see that I'm just a regular pregnant person buying school supplies,” Bates said.

I told Staples on their FB they might wanna explain quickly if they want me to keep shopping there.  This was their response.

Quote

On Friday at our Pineville location a Staples’ manager mistakenly assumed a customer was shoplifting and reported this assumption to a police officer visiting the store. The police officer questioned the customer and quickly confirmed there was no theft. Based on the outcome, Staples’ issued a full refund to the customer. Staples has since conducted a full investigation into the matter, and determined that the manager in question did not follow correct protocol and also failed to adhere to our existing policy on how to interact with our customers. As a result of this finding, the manager has been terminated and Staples has apologized to the customer. At Staples, we want all customers to feel welcome in our stores, and work with our associates to foster an inclusive culture. As an organization, we would like to apologize to the customer as that was not the case in this instance. ^BP

 

[Destiny]

Oh for fucking fuck's sake. ARGH!

[mango_fandango]

Unbelievable. What an ignorant police officer.

[Snarkasarus Rex]

8 minutes ago, mango_fandango said:

Unbelievable. What an ignorant police officer.

Since the manager didn't actually observe her stuffing merchandise under her shirt, that should have been the end of the conversation and the woman should not have even been asked if she was shoplifting.  And who actually goes through the checkout if they've been shoplifting??  Dumbass. 

I am sorry she felt she had to physically show the officer her belly....but I get it.

[AmazonGrace]

 

[mango_fandango]

Fuck’s sake! Unbelievable that this still goes on in 2018.