An Instagram influencer is still seeking answers after her son was allegedly racially profiled by employees in Atlanta-area Office Depot stores.
Cassandra Wilcox, known as @craftingwithcassandra on Instagram, claims her 21-year-old son, Anarrion, was wrongly accused of stealing printers from two locations in Atlanta and Marietta.
Due to being pregnant, Wilcox sent her son to run errands and pick up craft sublimation printers while she was on bed rest. Wilcox needed the materials for a class she was spearheading.
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On Sept. 13, Anarrion went to the first location in Atlanta, bought the printers, and left the store without a hitch. He traveled to another Office Depot in the nearby suburb of Marietta to purchase additional printers.
However, upon leaving the store, he was confronted by local police who questioned him and demanded he show his receipts. It was later revealed that an employee from the Marietta location allegedly called the police on Anarrion, according to a 911 call provided to Atlanta Black Star from civil rights attorney Harry Daniels.
“I have a potential suspect in my store that has already hit our Office Depot locations and stole printers,” the staffer told the operator. “He already went to one store not far from here, and now he’s in my store trying to do the same thing.”
Per the audio, the employee said she contacted loss prevention and was instructed to call law enforcement “because they did have evidence of this person stealing at the other location.”
“This wasn’t some simple mistake or miscommunication,” Daniels said in a statement. “Office Depot knew he wasn’t some kind of criminal. He’d paid for the printers himself. He had the receipts. But all they saw was a young Black man in a hoodie.”
Responding to the allegations, Office Depot said the company “does not practice or condone racial profiling in any way,” according to Fox 5 Atlanta.
“Based on Office Depot’s initial investigation into this incident, no racial profiling took place,” the statement continued, per the outlet. “We look forward to the opportunity to meet with this customer and his mother in the near future.”
On Tuesday, Daniels’ office told Atlanta Black Star they are working to schedule a meeting between his client and the company. Atlanta Black Star also reached out to Office Depot for additional comment.
