A video shows a Ross employee confront a Black shopper and accuse him of stealing shoes, contact his fellow staff members to call the police, and then later deny that he ever made the theft accusations.
The video shows a loss prevention worker at a Ross Dress for Less store approaching a man sitting in the store’s footwear department, appearing to try on some shoes.
“Are you going to put what you’re stealing back?” the employee asks the shopper.
The worker pauses while the shopper records him, then gets on his radio and tells a co-worker to call the police.
“We have a situation, an active situation,” the worker says on a radio. “Let’s get police involved.”
The video shows the employee and the shopper sitting and waiting a while. The worker is also seen speaking with a colleague at a distance about the situation.
Ultimately, the video shows no police response or further action from the loss prevention worker. Instead, the shopper is seen confronting the worker about how the situation is being handled.
“Where’s the police?” the shopper asks.
“What police?” the loss prevention worker responds.
“You said you called police,” the shopper states.
“What are you talking about, bro?” the employee asks, looking dumbfounded. “Why you walking up to me about this?”
The shopper recounts the initial confrontation when the employee says he walked up to him, accused him of stealing, and said police would be contacted, but the employee is adamant that he has no recollection of making those accusations. He tells the shopper he never walked up to him and doesn’t know him.
In a bizarre attempt to close out the conversation and denounce the accusations, the employee states, “Being gay is legal, bro. Shut up,” and then walks away.
The shopper continues to press the employee about the police call, and the worker encourages him to call 911 himself, denying that he has ever made an effort to contact the authorities.
“You can keep buying your shoes or just get out of here. Leave me alone,” the employee states.
The video garnered thousands of views online. Many commenters were baffled by the worker’s sudden change in behavior and efforts to dismiss his accusations.
“He knew in that moment he had messed up and needs that lil job at Ross smh,” one commenter said.
“I would have immediately gotten the manager,” another person wrote.
