SUWANEE, Ga. — A Gwinnett County man says he has been banned from Walmart for a year because he was falsely accused of being a shoplifter.
Leroy Jackson was searched by Suwanee police last Thursday at a Walmart on Suwannee Road in Lawrenceville after a store employee reported two shoplifters to police.
Jackson was waiting for his car to be repaired nearby and was about to leave the store after browsing when a police officer stopped him. Jackson said he was told he “fits the description” of a shoplifting suspect.
“I feel like it was profiling,” said Jackson, who is African American. “I’m really embarrassed. I feel very humiliated.”
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Mr. Jackson said. Channel 2 Gwinnett County Bureau Chief Matt Johnson Around 5 p.m., he said a stranger approached him at Walmart and asked for advice about items in the store.
He said he told the man to talk to a Walmart employee about the matter. Shortly after the interaction, the man, who identified himself as homeless, was arrested on suspicion of stealing $214 worth of items, Suwanee police said.
“A complete stranger,” Jackson said. “I don’t know that person at all.”
According to the police report, responding officers wrote: “No property belonging to Walmart was found. Walmart claimed they had witnessed Jackson having an affair with another man inside the store where he had stolen merchandise, so they wanted him to trespass.” I gave advice.”
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Jackson said he spoke with the field manager and was told that his one-year suspension for trespassing could not be revoked.
“I think it was like, ‘Oh, he’s African American, and there’s another African American who was actually stealing, so that automatically makes him a suspect,'” Jackson said. Ta.
The incident comes amid 475 shoplifting incidents reported by Walmart to Suwanee police, according to police data.
“The police did everything they had to do,” Jackson said. “My concern is with Walmart, not with the police.”
Jackson said he has no intention of returning to that or any other location in the future.
“If you’re African American or a person of color, be careful who you talk to because you’re automatically lumped in with them,” he says.
A Walmart spokesperson referred Johnson to the Suwanee police report for information, but had no further comment.
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