Black college student wrongly arrested after purchasing designer belt from Barneys
A college student was falsely arrested for credit card fraud after purchasing a very expensive belt at Barneys on Madison Avenue in New York.
A college student was falsely arrested for credit card fraud after purchasing a very expensive belt at Barneys on Madison Avenue in New York.
He is now suing the NYPD and Barneys for racial profiling.
19-year-old Trayon Christian is an engineering student at NYC College of Technology. He saved money from his part work-study job to buy the $349 Ferragamo belt from Barneys. After he made the transaction and walked out of the store, he was apprehended by two police officers, cuffed, and detained for almost an hour.
"The detectives were asking me, 'How could you afford a belt like this? Where did you get this money from?'" he said.
Christian was never formally charged, and the NYPD issued an apology to him.
According to the NY Daily News,
The NYPD said it has gotten 53 grand larceny complaints this year for credit card fraud at Barneys' Madison Ave. store and has made more than 47 arrests. But it's unclear how many of those arrested were actually charged with a crime and how many were, like Christian, released.
Plainclothes officers visit Barneys periodically because of problems with fraudulent use of cards, the NYPD said.
It really makes you wonder how many embarrasing incidents like this actually occur each year.