Two black men are suing Walmart for discrimination after alleging police handcuffed them to the store while trying to return a television last year.
Dennis Stewart and Terence Richardson were visiting Walmart in Conroe, Texas on Sept. 10, 2020 to return a defective television when they said Walmart white employees accused them of stealing. The staff allegedly called the police.
The men allege in the federal lawsuit filed in the southern district of Texas, in the U.S. District Court, that they had been handcuffed despite Stewart showing Walmart employees the television receipt.
“Police showed up, arrested and handcuffed both Dennis and Terence in front of the store where other customers of the store were watching as they entered and left the store,” the lawsuit says.
The lawsuit alleges that employees took an hour to examine the receipt and, while the men were at the customer service desk, four white police officers “approached them from behind and instructed them to put their hands up. in the head and ordered them not to move, he searched their bodies, emptied their pockets and handcuffed them as criminals in plain sight in the vicinity. “
Stewart, a church deacon and former police officer, and Richardson, a church pastor, alleged that they were imprisoned and unjustly discriminated against because of their race. Stewart said in the lawsuit that he felt so degraded after being put on handcuffs that he broke inside the Walmart.
After Stewart and Richardson were released from handcuffs, a Walmart employee allegedly yelled at them to pick up the TV and take the “f — out of that store and never come back,” according to the lawsuit.
The men also allege breach of contract in the lawsuit, as Stewart was not allowed to change the item or get a refund.
“We do not tolerate discrimination and take allegations like this seriously,” Walmart said in a statement released to NBC. “When the claims were brought to our attention in April of this year, we investigated them. We are not going into further details given the litigation and we will respond to the court as appropriate.”
The men have sought a jury trial, as well as compensatory and punitive damages, according to the lawsuit.