
Macy's banned from detaining and fining alleged shoplifters, judge rules - walterbell
https://www.theguardian.com/business/2016/jul/01/macys-shoplifting-detention-fines-lawsuit-ruling
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whack
_" Moftah, 53, was carrying two bags – one from JC Penney, and the second from
a previous Macy’s shopping trip. Her plan was to exchange clothes from a
couple of weeks prior for different sizes. After finding clothes for her
daughter, she went to a register to buy and exchange the other items.

On the way out, a Macy’s Herald Square manager pulled Moftah aside by the arm,
and told her that she needed to accompany her to an office, and that she had
shoplifted, according to an affidavit provided by Moftah’s attorneys from the
Usar Law Group. She thought she would show the manager her receipts and be on
her way, and followed her into an elevator with her purchases. Two
plainclothes security officers joined them on another floor. In the basement
of Macy’s they led her to a row of “what looked like jail cells”. Moftah’s
purse and phone were taken, and she was patted down under her shirt, legs,
private areas as she repeatedly asked what was happening.

According to the affidavit, one of the employees said, “see what’s under the
scarf” in referral to her hijab. She repeatedly mentioned that there was a
huge mistake, and they should check her receipts. Moftah was locked in one of
the cells. Her things were reviewed in front of her, and she “continued to
plead with her (the manager), telling her “these were mine, and I had
purchased them on my Macy’s card,” and she could easily verify this.

The manager approached her with documents, and told her to sign them
repeatedly and pay $100 in order to go home. Moftah hadn’t eaten all day – it
was Ramadan. When she began to cry, she was threatened with handcuffs and
taunted for stealing during Ramadan and being Muslim, according to her
affidavit. The Macy’s manager returned and told her the new price to go home
would be $500. When she refused to do so, her credit card was removed from her
wallet and charged for the full amount."_

I'm usually all in favor of catching/punishing shoplifters, but the above is
just shocking. I don't know what the appropriate solution is, but giving a
bunch of store-employees the power to run their own mini-jail, lock up anyone
they feel like locking up, and preventing them from contacting anyone else for
help... that sounds more like the plot of a Stephen King horror book, not a
democracy.

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progressive_dad
The minute they try to lock you in a room the only appropriate response is to
Bobby Hill your way out of there.

~~~
mikestew
Try to lock you in a room? You've already let them go to far. They try to
physically stop you at the door, just keep walking. If it escalates from
there, quickly consult local laws and your attorney for acceptable responses.

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Fej
Good. They are not the police. They are not a jail. They are not allowed to
arrest people. This is the worst kind of vigilante "justice" I've ever seen.

I mean for chrissake they took her phone, belongings, and credit card (!) and
charged her for a random amount. This is beyond ridiculous.

~~~
pasbesoin
Felony kidnapping, felony wire fraud come to mine.

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cbanek
Macy's deserves to get sued, and the people directly involved should be
charged with false imprisonment. This is totally ridiculous. Almost like
corporate vigilante justice, but since corporations aren't people, it's really
just wrong.

