In a viral video, a police officer approached Black shoppers at a Meijer store and accused them of being “known shoplifters,” even though they said they’d never been there before.
The video, uploaded by TikToker Brad (@bp_cast1), amassed over 4 million views and more than 482,000 likes, sparking outrage and “profiling” accusations.
“Officer tells two customers they are on the ‘radar’ for being in the store,” an on-screen caption read.
In the clip, an officer is recorded talking to what appears to be two Black female shoppers.
“They got who on the radar?” one of the women asked the officer when the clip began.
“You guys are already on the radar, as far as known shoplifters,” the officer responded.
“Well, I don’t even live here,” the shopper said. “I live in Texas, and I’ve never been to this Meijers.”
“But if you’re not buying anything, then we’re gonna have to ask you to leave,” the officer responded.
The woman explained that she did intend to buy something, noting, “But we got stuff in our hand.”
“Then you guys can go ahead and proceed, but you’re already on the radar, OK?” the officer replied.
After the woman asked the officer to clarify what she was “on the radar” for, the man said he was referring to the store.
@bp_cast1 #cop #powertrip #police #copsoftiktok #foryoupage #foryou #fyp #policebrutalitymuststop #policepowertrip #auditcospvideo #fypage ♬ original sound – Brad
“How we on the radar and I’ve never been here before?” she asked.
Eventually, she accused the cop of racially profiling her and her friend and demanded proof to support the claim that they were known shoplifters.
“What, it’s a picture of us or something?” the other woman chimed in.
The officer then escorted the women through the store to speak to a worker with a clipboard who appeared to be a manager. The worker alleged she received a call about the shoppers.
“One of my, um, employees just noticed some suspicious activity,” the store worker said.
“We just walked in, so how you all notice some suspicious activities?” the shopper shot back.
Things then escalated when the officer piped up and said he and the manager would not argue with the shoppers.
“I’m not gon’ argue with y’all either ’cause I’m definitely gon’ sue y’all,” the Black woman responded.
She continued to accuse the worker and officer of racial profiling, which the officer denied. When the other customer asked to see the employee who supposedly reported them for suspicious activity, the officer shouted, “Stop arguing with me!” At this point, the video paused, and a male voice interjected to say that if a police officer yells and says to stop talking, “most of the time they know they’re wrong, and they just wanna try to lie their way out of it.”
When the video resumed, the officer continued explaining his side of the situation. “An employee called on ya saying that you guys were doing suspicious activity as far as looking, checking,” the officer said. “Why the f*ck we can’t look?” one of the women responded before the video abruptly cut out.
The comments section exploded with over 18,000 responses. Many agreed the women were, in fact, being racially profiled.
“Nah they definitely got profiled,” user Manolodavescribtv wrote.
“So looking at items while SHOPPING is suspicious?!” user MasculineSissy wrote.
“Remember that huge lawsuit against Walmart for doing the exact same thing,” user saucyenchilada commented.
The commenter is likely referring to a 2022 case in Portland, Oregon, where a Black man named Michael Mangum was awarded $4.4 million in damages from Walmart as a result of a racial profiling lawsuit.
The Daily Dot reached out to Brad via TikTok comment and Meijer via email for more information.
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Source: https://www.dailydot.com/news/meijer-radar-racial-profiling/