A Black couple in Florida is suing Walmart after they were falsely accused of stealing from the store.
According to News4Jax, Raymond and Nekeeya Brewster recently filed a discrimination lawsuit against Walmart, alleging profiling, wrongful imprisonment, and defamation.
The Brewsters said they were returning children’s clothes to a Walmart store in Jacksonville, Florida when they were falsely accused of stealing the items.
According to the lawsuit, Nekeeya had put the clothes and the receipt for the return in its original Walmart bag and tied the bag shut. Before heading to the register, Nekeeya put the bag in her cart and went to find the size she was looking for, hoping to purchase the new item while making the return, the lawsuit states.
The couple, who was accompanied by their children, then went to customer service, where an employee with Walmart’s loss prevention allegedly claimed she illegally put a pair of maroon pants in her bag. Despite attempting to show the receipt, the employee allegedly said the theft was caught on camera.
According to the lawsuit, Jacksonville police arrived and “required” the family to go into a small front office for investigation.
“We get into this room,” Raymond recalled. “They close the door. The room is probably like a 10 by 10, like it’s really small. So, you know, it’s like me, my three daughters, my wife, two loss prevention guys, and two officers.”
The store failed to provide the alleged footage of the theft, according to the suit. The officers eventually allowed the family to leave.
The Brewsters said the incident left them feeling “humiliated.”
“I go there all the time, shop there all the time, and what happened to us was unimaginable,” Raymond said. “I never expected that to happen.”
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