http://www.oregonlive.com/portland/index.ssf/2013/11/walgreens_must_pay_ne_portland.htmlWalgreens must pay NE Portland mother and son in case over shoplifting accusations, jury says
on November 20, 2013 at 7:55 PM, updated November 21, 2013 at 8:52 AM
Walgreens should pay a Northeast Portland mother and son $67,000 for false arrest, a Multnomah County jury found Wednesday, after an assistant store manager’s accusations that the mother shoplifted makeup prompted a police investigation.[size=pt]The verdict comes about a year and a half after the May 2012 incident, in which the two said they felt publicly humiliated as acquaintances saw police detain Teresa White and her son, Deante Strickland, as a result of the accusations from assistant manager Wendy Marceau. Marceau had told 911 dispatchers that White had concealed about 15 items of makeup in her purse and that her son was acting as “the lookout.”
Police verified that neither White nor Strickland had any stolen merchandise on them or in White’s purse. But an officer kept them at the front of the store for another 30 minutes while Marceau took another police officer to review surveillance video. After viewing the video, the officer told the mother and son they were free to go, writing in her report that there was “not any evidence (White) had taken anything.”[/size]
Portland resident Teresa White wins Walgreens false arrest case Teresa White talks about winning her civil case against Walgreens for false arrest and the message a verdict should send to retailers. Her son, Deante Strickland, was detained with her when an assistant store manager accused them of theft and called police.
The verdict includes $25,000 for White; $10,000 for Strickland, who was 15 at the time; and $16,000 each in punitive damages. The amount was far less than what the plaintiffs sought, but White and Strickland both expressed satisfaction in the verdict.“I wanted to fight for what I knew was right,” White said. “We didn’t do anything wrong.”
In an email, Walgreens spokesman Jim Graham said the company appreciates “the work the jury did, and we will consider our post-trial options.” In court, Nicholas Kampars, attorney for Marceau and Walgreens, had argued that "no one should be sued for making a mistake." He contended that giving wrong information to a 911 operator did not qualify as "instigating" their detention.
The incident occurred on a Friday evening after White picked up her son from a friend’s house. Strickland, who is now a starting point guard for Central Catholic High School, had just finished basketball practice with another team and was wearing his red uniform. White was “dressed down,” she said, with a black fleece jacket and black pants with polka dots.
They stopped at the Walgreens at Northeast Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard and Ainsworth Street, White testified. While there, she looked at several of the nail polishes on shelves of a cosmetic counter, searching for a mint green. She picked up several, looked at them, and replaced them, she said. Her son got some candy, then they picked out soft drinks.
But after paying for their items, a police officer stopped them as they headed to their car, saying they were suspected of shoplifting. The officer asked them to return to the store.
White declared repeatedly that she did not steal, she testified. After the officer insisted she show her purse, White dumped the contents on the floor near the entrance. Marceau then insisted the officer check her pockets, White testified. The officer still did not find any merchandise on either of them.
Marceau then said, “I have you on videotape,” in an accusatory fashion, White testified. As another officer arrived to stay with the mother and son, the responding officer reviewed the tape, finding nothing to suggest shoplifting, the officer testified in a deposition. The surveillance video was not kept or copied onto a CD, and was recorded over after about three months, a Walgreens loss-prevention manager testified.
Marceau disputed White’s testimony, saying she saw White conceal several items under her arm or in the area of her purse. White was “fumbling” with products and seemed to not put back as many products as she was taking off the shelves, Marceau said.
Marceau, who was a named defendant in addition to Walgreens, also denied saying anything to urge the officer to search White or Strickland.
While detained, both plaintiffs said they were worried about their reputation. Strickland, nephew of Jefferson High School basketball coach Pat Strickland, was concerned when he saw a player for another team at Walgreens. He worried that a photo on social media of him being stopped by a police officer would hurt his dream of playing Division I basketball.
White, who is African American, testified that she felt Marceau racially profiled her, viewing her touching and looking at items as suspicious when it would be normal shopping behavior for others.
The plaintiffs’ attorneys, Greg Kafoury and his son, Jason, sought to show that the problem extends beyond White and her son and that hundreds of people may be detained on a regular basis because of Walgreens practices. During the trial, they played testimony from Marceau’s deposition in which she said she called police a few times a week on suspected shoplifters. Those calls have resulted in arrests only “a few” times, she said.
She amended her testimony in court this week, saying she meant that she called police two to three times a week for many kinds of situations, not just suspected theft.
“This case is about more than shopping while black,” said Greg Kafoury. Walgreens, as a business decision, fails to employ security guards at each store and instead “uses the Portland police as their private security force, and this is an abuse of customers, of taxpayers and of those who need the police to be able to respond to emergencies.”
-- Helen Jung
