“This latest case, according to Doug Wigdor of Wigdor, LLC., who is heading up a larger federal civil case with now more than a dozen plaintiffs, only illustrates further Macy’s consistent targeting of innocent customers.” And yet Juweria Khalid admits that she put the earrings in her purse. Even if she did have the best of intentions, everyone knows you cannot put items into your pocket or purse in a retail store without being suspected of shoplifting, and the loss prevention guards acted perfectly reasonably in taking her for questioning.
The fact that this story mentions that she was forced to remove her hijab strongly suggests that she will, apparently as part of Wigdor’s lawsuit, claim “Islamophobic” discrimination. But that, too, is perfectly reasonable: if you’re suspected of shoplifting and are wearing any kind of headgear, it is reasonable to expect that it will be searched for hidden items. This kind of thing happens to people who are suspected of shoplifting all the time. Only if you’re a Muslim can you claim victim status over it and get a sympathetic news report demonizing Macy’s for trying to minimize theft.
“Shoplifting charges dropped against Muslim woman held in Macy’s detention center for hours,” by Narmeen Choudhury, PIX11, April 30, 2014 (thanks to Pamela Geller):
NEW YORK (PIX11) – Juweria Khalid said she was a frequent Macy’s shopper, never missed their popular one day sales and this past October was no different, but little did she know how that day would change her life.
Khalid said after she already purchased a bracelet from the jewelry department, she spotted some earrings she also liked. Since she was already headed to the children’s department to shop for her two-year-old and 10-month-old, Khalid decided to pay for all of her items together on the 7th floor.
With her arms were full of bags from previous purchases, Khalid said she placed the earrings in her purse, fully intending she insists, to pay for her items. That’s when she was stopped by Macy’s loss prevention guards.
“I took out the jewelry and said to them I’m not stealing it. I’m going to buy it on the 7th floor. They never listened to me,” said Khalid.
Khalid was taken to the now infamous detention area of Macy’s, which she described to us as nothing short of a jail with bars. The Muslim woman, who wears a hijab, a Muslim head scarf, was forced to remove it.
They were no doubt checking for items she may have concealed there, but soon that will be forbidden, and shoplifters will have carte blanche to don hijabs, go to Macy’s, and stock up on their favorite items.
Khalid, who was 8 weeks pregnant at the time of the ordeal, lost the baby just weeks later.
“They kept me locked there for hours. They never allowed me to take calls. My husband kept on calling like nine times,” explained Khalid.
Despite insisting she would pay for her items, which her attorney said added up to less than $100, Khalid said she was forced to pay a $500 fine with her Macy’s credit card.
The NYPD was called, then Khalid charged with petit larceny and criminal possession of stolen property.
Khalid has now been vindicated, a judge dismissed her case for insufficient evidence.
But it appears the damage has already been done. Khalid was eight weeks pregnant at the time of the ordeal. She lost her baby just days after. Khalid and her doctors believe because of the stress she suffered.
This latest case, according to Doug Wigdor of Wigdor, LLC., who is heading up a larger federal civil case with now more than a dozen plaintiffs, only illustrates further Macy’s consistent targeting of innocent customers. Wigdor said Macy’s and other department stores desperately need to revamp their loss prevention program.
“They’re preying on the most innocent people on our society. People of color, often people from out of the country, often people who don’t speak English or speak English well. There’s a big problem at Macy’s with who they stop, why they stop them and the cover up after the fact to justify the stop,” said Wigdor.
“Macy’s policies strictly prohibit any form of profiling and we have zero tolerance for discrimination of any kind,” the retailer said to PIX11 News in a statement Wednesday evening.
Salah says
Claiming victim status à la Muslim Brotherhood.
Funny video:
http://crossmuslims.blogspot.ca/2014/04/al-jazeera-busted-strong-bias-of-al.html
CogitoErgoSum says
Several things don’t make sense to me about this story…on both sides. Putting shopping items in a purse, a pocket or a bag is definitely not a good idea. Even with the best of intentions a person can forget. It’s better to use a shopping basket or cart. Didn’t this store have such things available for shoppers? Also, why did store security guards stop the lady before she had checked out? Wouldn’t it be better to wait and confront any suspected shoplifter after he/she’s gone through the check-out line and is about to exit the store? That would make it more difficult for suspects to claim they were going to pay. Seems to me Macy’s does need to review its store security procedures….but not just because of claims of discrimination or Islamophobia.
Beth says
@CogitoErgoSum
“Wouldn’t it be better to wait and confront any suspected shoplifter after he/she’s gone through the check-out line and is about to exit the store?”
I thought the same thing.
Werner Daninski says
This is lame. I don’t know the laws of all states, but in all that I’ve lived in it’s illegal to try to detain a person for shoplifting before s/he has passed the cash register, or is out the door. Requiring security personnel to wait until such time prevents any confusion as to the intent of the shoplifter. They should have waited.
Kathleen Ball says
I agree it’s easy to accidently forget to pay for something. Once I took my coat off at Walmart. When I unloaded my basket at the car, I discovered something I had intended to buy was under the coat. So I took it back in, apologized and paid for it.
Mirren10 says
Not quite the same as putting a pair of earrings in your **handbag** !!
Charli Main says
Given the Muslim mind set, stealing from Kaffirs is not stealing. Muslims have the Koran given right to help themselves to any thing belonging to non Muslims.
Whats theirs is theirs and whats ours, is also theirs. Allah said so, so it must be true.
john spielman says
Yes! she is just doing what Muhammed would have done, ie stealing and lying!
Buraq says
Chop off a hand! It’s phasing in Sharia’h, Brunei style, right?
Clown!
veggiedog says
I am so tired of the Islamophobe defense. Time to admit ehat you did and suffer the consequence, and shame on the attorney.
Angemon says
“Khalid said after she already purchased a bracelet from the jewelry department, she spotted some earrings she also liked. Since she was already headed to the children’s department to shop for her two-year-old and 10-month-old, Khalid decided to pay for all of her items together on the 7th floor.
With her arms were full of bags from previous purchases, Khalid said she placed the earrings in her purse, fully intending she insists, to pay for her items.”
Yeah, check’s in the mail, i have a receipt… Blah, blah, blah…
“But it appears the damage has already been done. Khalid was eight weeks pregnant at the time of the ordeal. She lost her baby just days after. Khalid and her doctors believe because of the stress she suffered.”
Oh, please! It’s terrible that she lost her baby, but either prove it was caused by the stress or drop it. Don’t go around saying you “believe” it was because of the stress.
““They’re preying on the most innocent people on our society. People of color, often people from out of the country, often people who don’t speak English or speak English well. There’s a big problem at Macy’s with who they stop, why they stop them and the cover up after the fact to justify the stop,” said Wigdor.”
Except that she was stopped FOR PUTTING SOMETHING SHE HADN’T PAY FOR IN HER PURSE, not because of racial or nationality profiling. Grievance mongering demagogue.
Champ says
Shoplifting charges dropped? …so justice takes a hit!
C’mon she put these earrings in her PURSE; and since actions speak louder than words, then it’s clear what her INTENTIONS were: to steel the earrings. I mean hello!
Once again, islam and company get a pass, and justice is not served …
RaymondofCanada says
Chop, chop
Brian Hoff says
In the 1960’s where I live there was than security guard who false accue teenager of shoplifting. The owner of the department knew my family. I was waiting in line in the middle of the store to pay 75 cent for than paperback book it fell into than bag from than other store, he right way grad me accueing me of shop lifting I took the book out of the bag, the owner of the department who saw the whole thing ask the guard to step inside the office he fire him. In NY state at the time you have to leave the store for it to be shoplifting.
Tradewinds says
Muslim “Brian Hoff” who is really “defenderof islam” learn how to use “than.” It gives you away every time. Correct sentence structure would be a plus, too.
And admit you’re a Muslim, “defenderof islam.” “Brian Hoff” is not fooling anyone.
Champ says
So sorry that you were inconvenienced and harassed, Princess …
duh_swami says
In California, a judge will throw out a shop lifting case if the thief is stopped inside the store, the thief has to leave first.. It is not unusual for a thief to buy one item while stealing other. A successful shoplifter is one who looks natural whole thieving. I know of one case years ago where two men stole a rowboat from the sporting goods dept. Had it tied down in the back of their truck. They were caught when they came back in to steal the oars. The point is, they looked natural whole doing it, so no one questioned them. A trick is to buy a 99 cent piece of jewelry to get the sales tag. You hold the receipt with your teeth, pick of up a television and walk out the door mumbling, ‘thanks a lot’ as you head for your car.
Elise says
The next time I want to shoplift at Macy’s, I’ll dress like a Muslima.
Pumbar says
That’s it. The USA is finished. It serves you right for being such cowards; admitting all those muzzies into your country and even electing one.
Reality Check says
Lumbar,
The ordinary Americans did not admit the Muzzies into their country – the government did. Please direct your anger at the right target.
Mirren10 says
Nice one ! 🙂
Mirren10 says
That was directed at Pumbar, my fellow Brit.
pumbar says
😉
Jay Boo says
Bad Store Policy
The simple solution is to forbid any customers from wearing hijabs upon entering the store.
Roxane says
I read this story and a couple of things do not add up. You do not put merchandise in your purse if you do intend to pay for it. You carry it in your hand or you can get a shopping basket to carry your items. Loss prevention will usually wait until you are attempting to leave the story with the stolen merchandise so they have an air tight case against you.Why did they stop her before she was actually leaving the story? The article also claims the Muslim was “vindicated” only she was not. The charges were dropped due to insufficient evidence. She also paid a fine even though she claims “innocence”.
somehistory says
The story seems to leave out a lot of pertinent information and seems, to me, to be slanted for the muslima.
*Her arms were full of other purchases, so she put the earrings in her purse before heading to the 7th floor to !buy! things for her two kids.* (Supposed to be a good reason for putting items in her purse!)
Pray-tell, how was she going to carry more things, larger than earrings?
She had two kids…two years, and ten months. How was she carrying them? In a stroller, on her back, holding on to her burka skirt? Does the 10 month old know how to walk? If in a stroller, like many moms who shop with small kids, why not put the packages in the carrying pocket of the stroller?
Each store has a policy of how to confront shoplifters, with some utilizing each employee, other larger firms and chains having store security who have rules to follow. If she was *leaving* one floor to go to another floor in order to buy things for her kids, it may be store policy to stop a **customer** before she can leave the floor. Could it be that the store doesn’t allow customers to take unpurchased items from floor to floor due to the easy shoplifting of such items? I personally have been in such establishments.
Being a *frequent customer* doesn’t mean she has always been an honest customer. Taking advantage of one-day sales could mean that she knows the store will be crowded and the employees too busy to notice such a thing as putting a couple of earrings in her purse. (She thought).
And as for being made to take off her headgear…what about being made to take off one’s clothing to be strip searched? Evidently, the store personnel didn’t require that. Could she have been carrying other items inside her clothing? She may not have been, but she could have.
And if she lost a baby, that is sad and regrettable. But it isn’t the fault of the store personnel. She is the one who put the earrings in her purse. And sometimes, when a woman has too many babies too close together in time, losses to miscarriage happen. Especially under stressful conditions. Such as: shopping with two infant children, loading oneself down with purchases, and putting items in one’s purse, only later to be confronted and *detained* by store security.
As store security would have detained anyone in that situation. (This is a case where *profiling* is done, but it has nothing to do with race, religion, etc. It is a profiling of suspicious behavior and other known practices of shoplifters.)
Many are the ways shoplifters have of stealing: baggy clothing, extra large purses, backpacks, special places sewn into clothing, and even headgear, among others. (I not only worked in retail, but took courses in security/public safety/terrorism.)
As someone, I think it may be Mr. Rove, told us the meaning of islamaphobia: it’s the secular term for blasphemy against islam. Excuse me if I didn’t get that part right, but my memory says it is.
Reality Check says
“They’re preying on the most innocent people in our society. People of color, often people from out of the country, often people who don’t speak English or speak English well. There’s a big problem at Macy’s with who they stop, why they stop them and the cover up after the fact to justify the stop,” said Wigdor.”
I am sick and tired of hearing about racism against “people of colour”. It seems that “white” is not considered a colour at all. There seems to be more racism against American whites than any other group but no-one will admit to it. As far as I’m concerned, the blacks are some of the biggest grievance-mongers out there and so are the Muslims.
gravenimage says
New York: Shoplifting case against Muslima dropped amid hints of “Islamophobia” charges
…………………………
Good grief—anyone who slipped a pair of earrings into their pocket would have been suspected of shoplifting.
The most grotesque thing is that they are calling this “an ordeal” and claiming it caused the suspect to miscarry—what calumny. This makes it sound as if Macy’s security was beating or otherwise abusing her. Ridiculous.
Of course, under Shari’ah a Muslimah stealing from the “filthy Kuffar” would not even be a crime.
And this may well wind up being ipso facto Shari’ah—where no shop clerk or security guard will even approach someone who appears Muslim, lest they be accused of “Islamophobia”. Madness.
Cindy says
You got to be kidding me!!! Next thing you are going to tell me is that she is going to sue them for picking her out, after all she was just picking up earrings with a five finger discount and here comes the mean store owner was mean to her he doesn’t want her to steal from him. After all she is priviledged; she is a muslim after all and he is an outsider, he should owe her the earrings to be like a tax. They like to tax the non-muslim. I’m so sick of their bully attitude. They think they have the right to do whatever they want and it is about time someone stop this crap. And then the law falling all over themselves to let them go and not cause any waves because they are afraid.