West Des Moines man says he was racially profiled at Target in Minnesota
Luke NozickaA West Des Moines man said he was racially profiled Saturday at a Target in Minnesota.
James Edward Wright III, 27, said he was racially profiled by a store employee when he purchased headphones at the Target at 875 E. Main St. in Waconia, a city more than 30 miles southwest of Minneapolis. Wright described the incident Wednesday as hurtful and poor customer service.
Wright, who lives in West Des Moines but travels for his job in construction, said he went into the store and purchased the headphones, Beats by Dre, as well as boots. When he asked to hold the headphones, a store employee told him it was policy to not allow customers to touch them before making the purchase, Wright said.
The store employee told Wright a customer once stole the headphones, and he thought he would steal them as well, Wright said Wednesday next to his attorney, Stuart Higgins, of Higgins Law Firm in Des Moines. Higgins' office is considering legal action against Target.
Wright posted a more than two-minute video on Facebook of part of the incident. It had been viewed more than 140,000 times by Wednesday afternoon.
When Wright asked the store's manager if touching the headphones before purchasing them was against store policy, the manager said policy changes frequently, Wright said. He went outside and called Target's corporate team to ask about the policy, and was told customers are allowed to handle products before they are purchased, he said.
A manager at the store said she could not comment and referred questions to Target's corporate media relations team. In an email, Danielle Schumann, a corporate public relations lead, said the company was investigating the incident.
"We take situations like this seriously and are sorry for the experience at our Waconia store," she said. "We want our guests to feel welcome and respected every time they shop at our stores."
Minutes after he called corporate, Wright went back in the store. This time, he was told he could hold the headphones, he said, and the same store employee did not answer when he asked why he could not hold them the first time.
Wright started recording video on his phone and accused the employee of racially profiling him. The employee denied racially profiling Wright, then said he would admit he did if Wright left the store.
"So, you admit it?" Wright asked, according to the video. "Just be honest."
"Sure, yeah," the employee said. "Well I mean, if you're going to leave if I say, 'Yeah I did it,' then yeah."
"So you admit it?" Wright asked again.
"Yeah, sure," the employee said.
"You racial profiled me?" Wright asked.
"Sure," the employee said.
"Thank you, man," Wright said before leaving. "That's ridiculous. ... How hurtful is that?"
Before walking out of the store, Wright told a manager he felt he had been racially profiled. "He just said it, out (of) his own mouth," Wright said before turning the camera at the manager.
"OK, you need to shut your camera off," the manager can be heard saying in the video. Wright asked why and said, "This is Target, a huge corporation."
"I have apologized for this situation," the manager appeared to have responded.
As the manager and employee walked away, Wright said he would report them.
Wright, who has worked in customer service, said he has been racially profiled before, but he recorded the incident Saturday for people to see what occurred. He said he hoped the video would inspire others to stand up for themselves in similar situations.
"This issue is bigger than me," he said. "If you feel you're being profiled, you should speak on it."
Since posting the video, Wright said he has been thanked but also threatened. Wright, who spent $200 on the headphones, suggested Target provide more diversity training.
The incident comes about a month after a man said he was racially profiled at an Old Navy store in West Des Moines. In that incident, the company fired three employees.
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