Woman sues JC Penney security officer claiming false arrest www.privateofficer.com

Overland Park Ks. Dec. 19, 2007

A local woman has filed a multi-count lawsuit in the District Court of Johnson County, Kas., over the treatment she received on June 9, 2006, after shopping for bras at the JCPenney store at Oak Park Mall. According to the suit, Ms. Krystle Carter, 22, who will graduate with a Bachelor’s degree in Fashion Textile on Saturday, Dec. 15, from University of Central Mo., is suing JCPenney, City of Overland Park, Kas., Police department officer Daniel Rain and C.B.L. and Associates, John Doe and Jane Doe for several counts of false arrest and or false imprisonment and extreme and outrageous conduct. The report states that Ms. Carter was shopping for bras at the JCPenney store and found four bras that she wanted to try on. Ms. Carter did not like any of the bras she tried on, so she returned them to the rack and walked out of the store. A few moments later, she was asked by loss prevention officers, who worked for JCPenney, to return to “come with them”. A uniform officer with the Overland Park police department who, “just happened to be in the vicinity”, came over and followed Ms. Carter back to the JCPenney store. “I felt embarrassed because it was a Friday and the mall was very crowded. It looked like I was another black person who had been caught stealing,” Ms. Carter told THE CALL. “I feel like black people are being treated like fish in a fish bowl. They feel like they can reach in and pick black people out of the bowl and say they stole something and if they find out you didn’t just throw us back in the bowl. It is stereotyping us and that is not right,” she said. Ms. Carter also said that during her ordeal a black loss prevention supervisor came in and apologized to her for their mistake. “I was offended by them doing that because the black man had nothing to do with what had happened in the security room. He didn’t do anything they did,” Ms. Carter said. “It painted the picture that they could not be against black people because the loss prevention manager is a black man. I felt they were trying to manipulate me and the situation,” she said. The report also states that once Ms. Carter re-entered the store she was taken to a security room which had approximately 39 television monitors and video recording machines. One of the loss prevention specialists informed her that they wanted to show her the video recording of her movements while she was in the store. She stated that was fine. At some point during the course of the viewing, Ms. Carter learned that she was being accused of stealing one bra because she had taken four bras into the dressing room but only bought three bras out. The report indicates that it was around this time that loss prevention officers started addressing her in a “progressively” hostile manner. Ms. Carter then began to cry heavily through the ordeal which lasted over one hour. The officers told Ms. Carter that the video showed her leaving the dressing room with three bras in her left hand. However, Ms. Carter told the officers that she had one bra in her right hand and the other three bras were in her left hand and if they looked clearly they could see that she placed four bras back on the rack. Officer Rain insisted that a sensor was mysteriously discovered in the fitting room and Ms. Carter, therefore, must have the bra in her possession. Ms. Carter, then offered again, to allow the officers to search her purse. Officer Rain then began to question Ms. Carter about the bra she was wearing. He stated, a “a new bra’s label would stand up because of its newness”. A humiliated and continually crying Ms. Carter stated, “so now you want me to take off my bra”? Since no one said anything, crying and trembling, Ms. Carter removed her bra. The report indicates that the male officers did not leave the room. The ladies of the loss prevention office had to direct the men to leave the office. Ms. Carter is seeking unspecified damages for her claim. All four bras were accounted for on the rack Ms. Carter had placed them on