Fourth New York shopper, pointing at Macy’s, makes racial profiling allegations
Art Palmer says four plainclothes cops questioned him three blocks away from the flagship store after he bought $320 worth of Polo dress shirts and ties. The latest accusation echoes those by Trayon Christian and Kayla Phillips against Barneys and by actor Robert Brown against the same Macy’s.
Comments (1)By Tina Moore AND Reuven Blau / NEW YORK DAILY NEWS
Sunday, October 27, 2013, 9:01 PM
James Keivom/New York Daily News
Art Palmer, of Brooklyn, holds the clothes he bought at Macy's Herald Square in April. He says he was stopped and questioned and had his bags searched by undercover NYPD detectives after leaving the store.
Another department store customer came forward Sunday with the fourth “shopping while black” complaint in a week — a customer who says he was surrounded by cops after a legitimate purchase at Macy’s Herald Square in New York.
In an eerie echo of the three prior allegations of racial profiling last week, Art Palmer said four plainclothes cops questioned him just three blocks away from the flagship store after he bought $320 worth of Polo dress shirts and ties April 24.
Palmer, a 56-year-old exercise trainer from Crown Heights, Brooklyn, said he made the purchase without incident, using both his Macy’s platinum card and his American Express card.
He was walking to a gym on Park Ave. when police surrounded him and demanded to see his ID. The officers said they were suspicious because they had lost sight of him on the store’s surveillance cameras, he said.
RELATED: ‘TREME’ STAR SAYS HE WAS RACIALLY PROFILED AT MACY’S
“The reason why we stopped you was because you were standing in an area at Macy’s where we could not see you,” one of the officers said, Palmer told reporters Sunday.
When asked if he believed he was racially profiled, he said, “There was no other reason.”
He was allowed to continue on his way after he showed his receipt for the duds and the cards with which he purchased them.
When Palmer returned to the store the next day to complain, a Macy’s manager blamed it on the cops and said officers frequently come into the store to monitor surveillance videos without permission, according to Palmer.
In an eerie echo of the three prior allegations of racial profiling last week, Art Palmer said four plainclothes cops questioned him just three blocks away from the flagship store after he bought $320 worth of Polo dress shirts and ties April 24.
Palmer, a 56-year-old exercise trainer from Crown Heights, Brooklyn, said he made the purchase without incident, using both his Macy’s platinum card and his American Express card.
He was walking to a gym on Park Ave. when police surrounded him and demanded to see his ID. The officers said they were suspicious because they had lost sight of him on the store’s surveillance cameras, he said.
RELATED: ‘TREME’ STAR SAYS HE WAS RACIALLY PROFILED AT MACY’S
James Keivom/New York Daily News
At center, Art Palmer holds his Macy's and American Express cards at a press conference Sunday with New York State Senator Eric Adams, immediately at Palmer's right, and civil rights attorney Norman Siegel, left.
When asked if he believed he was racially profiled, he said, “There was no other reason.”
He was allowed to continue on his way after he showed his receipt for the duds and the cards with which he purchased them.
When Palmer returned to the store the next day to complain, a Macy’s manager blamed it on the cops and said officers frequently come into the store to monitor surveillance videos without permission, according to Palmer.
Read more: http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/4th-nyc-shopper-accusing-macy-race-profiling-claims-article-1.1498427#ixzz2iyijvkpC
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