Lawsuits allege racial profiling in Portland-area businesses

Source: Associated Press


Tom James, Associated Press
Updated 12:46 pm, Saturday, June 23, 2018

SALEM, Ore. (AP) — Several African Americans are suing big-box stores and restaurants in Oregon, claiming employees at those places wrongly accused them of stealing because they were "shopping while black."

A Portland law firm has filed five lawsuits alleging racial profiling at businesses in the area. Filed between June 1 and June 21, the suits largely feature complaints of employees approaching or detaining African American shoppers with accusations of theft in incidents taking place within the last year.

All of the plaintiffs are asking for thousands of dollars for emotional suffering.

In one of the complaints, a pair of high school students describes being followed by the manager of a Sunglass Hut in a Portland mall last February, then being accused of theft. The manager later admitted he had misplaced the item he thought they stole, according to the suit.

Read more: https://www.chron.com/news/crime/article/Lawsuits-allege-racial-profiling-in-Portland-area-13019904.php