For shopper Ashanae Davis being accused of shoplifting was the first of many embarrassments she would face by Target authorities.
Davis, 20, was about to exit the Southfield Target on May 22 when she stopped by security. A Black security guard had accused her of stealing a bikini on her way out and restrained her by her arm and that’s where the situation escalated according to Davis’ lawyer Jasmine Rand.
What started as what should have been a simple security check turned into a nightmare situation for Davis. A White security officer stepped in and dragged her through the store yelling out her crime as part of the “Target Walk of Shame.”
According to the Huffington Post, the Target security personnel screamed out over and over: “stolen bikini panties … underneath her clothing.”
What was the purpose of this public shaming?
For Target it’s their policy to shame and deter future would be shoplifters. This ended up being a prelude to a more demeaning behavior once Davis was pulled into the back office. There with a White female manager, Davis was asked to lift her shirt and drop her pants to prove she wasn’t wearing the stolen merchandise. According to store reports, they had stopped Davis because they saw the price tag still on a piece of bikini merchandise in her bag. Turns out that was from another store. So she was let go.
However, according to Rand after Davis’ story broke on the local news, she received calls from other African-American women who shared similar stories of being humiliated in the same Target. Although Target claims to have fired the manager-employee responsible Davis wants more. She is calling for Target to take place in the same diversity training that Starbucks implemented last month in May 2018.
Though an official suit hasn’t been filed yet Davis and her lawyer Rand to plan to sue the store for the indignities and racial profiling she suffered at the hands of Target Loss Prevention personnel.
