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Barneys commissioned an investigation into the case of Trayon Christian, the teenager who allegedly faced racial profiling at the department store after purchasing a $350 Ferragamo belt, and the case of Kayla Phillips, who was stopped by the NYPD on suspicion of fraud after buying a $2,500 Céline bag. Civil rights lawyer Michael Yaki's report, released yesterday, found that store employees did not "request, require nor initiate the actions of the New York Police Department" in either situation. It also states that there is no written or unwritten policy "to engage in racial profiling in the Loss Prevention department. To the contrary, the Loss Prevention department has a formal antiracial profiling policy."
While Yaki didn't speak with NYPD officials, the police department's chief spokesman said, "In both instances, NYPD officers were conducting unrelated investigations and took action after conferring with Barneys employees while in their security room."
Further investigation will go down, but this one is right in time for Jay Z's "BNY SCC" (A New York Holiday) Collection to drop today. Recall that 100% of the collection's sales will go to the Shawn Carter Foundation, which means this is one of the only times buying a $875 Don Jon flat-brim hat, a $33,900 Hublot watch, $2,590 boxing shorts, and a $695 Elder Statesman ski mask is entirely for the kids.
· Barneys' Attorney: Employees Did Not Initiate Police Action [Racked NY]
· Barneys Apologized to Jay Z for 'the Distraction' [Racked]