Barney's And The NYPD Get Sued For Racial Profiling

HuffPo.com:

Barneys New York and the New York Police Department have been slapped with a lawsuit by Trayon Christian, a college student from Queens, who was arrested at the luxury department store in April. 

"His only crime was being a young black man,” Michael Palillo, Christian's attorney, told The New York Post.

The Post reports that the 19-year-old was at the store buying a $350 Salvatore Ferragamo belt, but following the purchase, he was stopped by undercover officers that were allegedly called on by a Barneys sales clerk who believed the transaction was fraudulent. 

The lawsuit, which was filed Tuesday in Manhattan Supreme Court, states that the NYC College of Technology freshman was asked by the cops: “how a young black man such as himself could afford to purchase such an expensive belt?” He was then handcuffed taken to a local precinct. 

Despite showing the officers the receipt for the belt, his ID and the debit card used, "Christian was told that his identification was false and that he could not afford to make such an expensive purchase," Palillo said. 

Christian, who saved up money for the pricey accessory from his part-time job at college, said he returned the belt and never plans to shop at the Madison Avenue store again. His story comes just days after another instance of racial discrimination was reported in Baltimore when a black woman was allegedly fired from Hooters for having blonde highlights. 

Barneys has not commented on the matter and Christian's lawsuit against the store and the NYPD is for unspecified damages. 

RELATED:  Black Woman Fired From Hooters Because Of Blonde Highlights

George Zimmerman Held On Second-Degree Murder Charge

There are some far-Right conservatives (aka Sean Hannity or Rush Limbaugh) who don't want to believe that racism still exists in this world. These extremists are so caught up in their ideology that they refuse to see prejudice based on race, much the continual spate of unarmed black men and boys killed by police officers (or neighborhood watch volunteers like George Zimmerman). And while they are right to scream at every example of white liberals using faux-racism to keep blacks down, dependent and voting Democrat, pretending that racism no longer exists, esp. when it comes to the Trayvon Martin's of the world, only does the conservative movement in this country harm:

George Zimmerman, a neighborhood watch volunteer who says he was acting in self-defense when he fatally shot teenager Trayvon Martin in Sanford, Florida, has been charged with murder in the second degree, special prosecutor Angela Corey told reporters Wednesday.


Corey said that Zimmerman has surrendered to authorities in Florida and has been arrested. The charge carries a maximum possible sentence of life in prison.


Police say Zimmerman fatally shot Martin, a 17-year-old African-American, on February 26 in Sanford, Florida, after Martin began walking home from a convenience store. Zimmerman, who is Hispanic and was a neighborhood watch volunteer, had called 911 to complain about a suspicious person in the neighborhood. He was released without charges after claiming self-defense, but the case was referred to a special prosecutor as thousands converged on Sanford to join in protests calling for Zimmerman's arrest.

RELATED: Breaking: Zimmerman to be charged in Martin shooting; Update: Zimmerman arrested, charged with 2nd-degree murder

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