A man is suing Walmart for racial discrimination after he says he was hounded by two employees in Oregon who accused him of stealing a vacuum he paid for in-store.
The Miami Herald reported on the lawsuit which recounted Ryan Redditt’s visit to a Walmart store in a Portland suburb last July.
As he left the self-checkout kiosk with his newly purchased vacuum and a receipt in hand, a store worker began yelling after him.
Redditt, who is Black, left the store oblivious to the woman’s calls, thinking she was speaking to someone else, and didn’t realize that she and a security guard were following him out of the store.
“You’re going to jail, the police will be called!” the female worker yelled at Redditt, the complaint states.
The 46-year-old was caught completely unawares when they approached him at his car.
“You should get a job! Then you won’t have to steal,” the security guard told Redditt.
A white male, who doesn’t work at the story, also joined the workers. According to the complaint, he told Redditt, “I’m so tired of you,” while recording him and taking his pictures. He also threatened to “call the police,” and post about Redditt on social media “so everyone knows who you are.”
Reddit wasn’t sure if the white male was a vigilante who put him at risk
“I was driving around with a scarlet letter on myself, so to speak,” Reddit said.
The police were called by an asset protection investigator for the store, according to the lawsuit. The investigator told police he knew Redditt stole the vacuum because “he went through no points of sale. …I saw him walking from the grocery action alley, and he walked straight through ignoring any point of sale. …He didn’t stop anywhere to pay.”
Redditt told the Oregonian that, as a business owner, he would never steal from another store and that the encounter “humiliated” him.
“It was incredibly insulting. I work very, very hard…It was humiliating to be put in that position,” Redditt said. “My mentality was ‘I’ve done absolutely nothing wrong. I don’t really need to stay here and entertain much more of this.”
Redditt drove home and dialed Walmart’s corporate number to file a complaint. It took months for the corporation to get back to him, stating they confirmed his purchase through security footage and store transaction records.
By that time, Redditt already retained the services of an attorney.
“I’m the type of person who really tries to give people the benefit of the doubt,” Redditt said. “I really, really try to be fastidious about choosing to identify that.”
Redditt named Walmart and the two employees who targeted him in his complaint. He alleges their conduct toward him was motivated by race after noticing that no white customers were accused of stealing. The suit also includes part of an email from a Walmart asset protection operations coach confirming Redditt “indeed purchased all the merchandise that he left the building with.”
Redditt seeks a jury trial and $475,000 in damages, alleging that he “suffered, continues to suffer, and may permanently suffer from feelings of racial stigmatization, fear, humiliation, embarrassment, pain, suffering, and anger.”
A Walmart spokeswoman said the company is “reviewing the complaint” and will “respond appropriately in court,” McClatchy News reports.
