Gay Black Couple Accuses Bed Bath & Beyond of Racial Profiling
A gay Black couple claims that employees at a Toledo-area Bed Bath & Beyond racially profiled them and falsely accused them of "shoplifting."
A gay Black couple shopping at a Toledo-area Bed Bath & Beyond claim a store employee accused them of shoplifting because they had “too many high ticket items” in their shopping cart.
Lamar Richards and his partner, Austin, were shopping at the store in Sylvania Township, Ohio, on June 16, searching for household goods. They had recently purchased their first home in nearby southeast Michigan.
While shopping, they were stopped by a Bed Bath & Beyond employee, who took items worth over $200 from their cart, ostensibly to hold them behind the counter while the two continued to shop, reported Newsweek.
Recounting the incident on Twitter, Richards said that after they checked out, spending $600, he and his partner were told by police officers on site that the staff had thought they were shoplifting and had called to report them.
“We had no idea the police were there because they were called for us,” Richards tweeted. “I have a Johns Hopkins T-shirt and my boyfriend has on a Michigan College of Pharmacy T-shirt. We literally just wanted to buy some stuff for our new house and THIS is the welcome we get to the area.”
The police did not approach us until AFTER we spent $600 in the store and said “they thought you were shoplifting.” We had no idea the police were there because they were called for us.
— Lamar Richards (@lamarrichards_) June 16, 2023
When Richards, who is the director of advocacy at the Coalition for Nonprofit Housing and Economic Development, questioned the employee and store manager as to why police would be called, the employee responded, “It’s our right to call.”
The manager also asserted that the couple had a significant number of “high-ticket items” in their cart, which allegedly aroused suspicions.
While filming the interaction with store staff and police on his cell phone, Richards asked an officer whether they had described the alleged “shoplifters.” He was told that police were alerted to “two Black males.”
The officer also said that it is common to be called to stores to reports of shoplifters, but because nothing was concealed and the couple was not engaging in furtive behavior, the responding officers simply stood at the door.
They did not approach them, noting that the pair might ultimately pay for the items in their cart — thereby requiring no intervention.
“We’re not going to be able to resolve this,” the Bed Bath & Beyond manager says in one of the videos. “I don’t know what you want us to say. I don’t care if you’re white, Black, or green, if someone is walking around with big high-ticket items…that’s all.”
“@BedBathBeyond in Toledo Ohio called the police on my boyfriend and I because we had ‘too many high ticket items in our cart.’ Remind you, it’s a closing sale so everything was 60% off,” Richards tweeted.
@BedBathBeyond in Toledo Ohio called the police on my boyfriend and I because we had “too many high ticket items in our cart.” Remind you, it’s a closing sale so everything was 60% off. pic.twitter.com/WnT50LvW0w
— Lamar Richards (@lamarrichards_) June 16, 2023
In one of the videos, the police officer with whom the couple is talking suggests filing a complaint with the store’s corporate office.
But Richards tweeted that while police told them “You all did nothing wrong,” the couple wasn’t given a way to contact the corporate office or the district manager to file a complaint.
He later said he “never felt so humiliated” in his entire life.
“I sat in the car for more than an hr after this happened, praying asking God to give me peace and calm my anxiety,” he tweeted.
“Imagine that. Purchasing your first home. Excited to begin building generational wealth. And then you visit a @BedBathBeyond store and you’re accused of shoplifting because you ‘had too many high ticket items in your cart,'” he wrote in another tweet.
He later responded with a follow-up: “Attempting to purchase a @roborockglobal vacuum resulted in the police being falsely called on two, young Black, gay guys simply shopping. During Juneteenth weekend and Pride Month, no less.”
Attempting to purchase a @roborockglobal vacuum resulted in the police being falsely called on two, young Black, gay guys simply shopping. During Juneteenth weekend and Pride Month, no less.
— Lamar Richards (@lamarrichards_) June 20, 2023
According to Toledo-based CBS affiliate WTOL, a spokesman for Toledo police said the department did not respond to the incident.
Sylvania Township police did not respond to a request seeking comment.
Bed Bath & Beyond said it is investigating the matter in a statement to Newsweek.
“At Bed Bath & Beyond Inc., we take matters of this nature very seriously and do not tolerate discrimination of any kind,” the statement read. “We are deeply concerned about the reported incident and are actively looking into the matter, as we do with any incidents described that are inconsistent with our policies and procedures.”
A Black couple says an employee at a Bed, Bath, and Beyond in Toledo, Ohio, called the police on them for allegedly having “too many high ticket items” in their shopping cart. They deserve answers for this humiliating experience!
🎥: @lamarrichards_ pic.twitter.com/KV0bbUzZM4
— Ben Crump (@AttorneyCrump) June 19, 2023
Ben Crump, a prominent civil rights attorney who represented the families of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor, also tweeted out Richards’ videos: “A Black couple says an employee at a Bed, Bath, and Beyond in Toledo, Ohio, called the police on them for allegedly having ‘too many high ticket items’ in their shopping cart. They deserve answers for this humiliating experience!”
Crump, who has been retained as legal counsel for Richards, later followed up with a second tweet a few days later.
“Would the police have been called for suspected “shoplifters” if these Bed Bath & Beyond shoppers weren’t Black or part of the LGBTQ+ community?”
Would the police have been called for suspected "shoplifters" if these Bed Bath & Beyond shoppers weren’t Black or part of the LGBTQ+ community? pic.twitter.com/KBBmz4JaVE
— Ben Crump (@AttorneyCrump) June 22, 2023
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