TOLEDO, Ohio — A Toledo Bed, Bath & Beyond is facing scrutiny after videos circulating social media appear to show employees at the Monroe Street store calling the police on at least one Black man who was attempting to purchase about $600 worth of merchandise.
Lamar Richards posted two videos to his Twitter account Friday that show him questioning what appear to be two store employees and at least one police officer. WTOL 11 spoke briefly with Richards by phone Tuesday and he confirmed the incident took place at the Monroe Street location.
Richards declined an interview request until he could talk with his lawyer.
Ben Crump, the Civil Rights attorney who represented the families of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor, also tweeted out the videos Monday that had been seen millions of times on the platform as of Tuesday afternoon. Crump is now representing Richards.
"They deserve answers for this humiliating experience," Crump said in a tweet.
In the first video, Richards is seen asking a female employee in a pink shirt who called the police and for what reason. The woman responded she didn't know who called.
"I would like to know why police were called - with three Black people - thinking we were shoplifting," Richards says. "I paid $600 for my things, so obviously I didn't shoplift."
The woman can be heard in the video saying that when customers buy "big purchase" items, there's "usually a question."
"'Usually a question,' I can understand that," Richards responds. "But police being called, I can't understand that."
The female employee then calls another worker to the front of the store. Another female appears and says "It's my right to call."
Richards told the workers he and his boyfriend just purchased a new home. A Facebook post shows the two outside their new home in southeast Michigan.
"We're not going to be able to resolve this," the first female employee says in the video. "I don't know what you want us to say. I don't care if you're white, Black or green, if someone is walking around with big high-ticket items...that's all."
The officer can then be heard telling Richards he should file a complaint with the Bed Bath & Beyond corporate office and that his involvement was "done." He told Richards he understood why he was upset.
Bed Bath & Beyond has not returned a request for comment. A Toledo police spokesman said the department did not respond to the incident.
The store is located just within the boundary of Sylvania Township. Township police have not yet responded to a request for more information.
Bed Bath & Beyond filed for bankruptcy in April and announced it was closing all remaining retail stores by the end of June.
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