Racist store announcement: Teen charged
March 22, 2010, Monday
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A 16-YEAR-OLD boy who police said made an announcement at Wal-mart ordering all black people in an American store to leave was charged with harassment and bias intimidation, authorities said on Saturday.
The boy, whose name is not being released because he is a juvenile, grabbed one of the courtesy phones at Wal-mart's Washington Township store in New Jersey last week and calmly announced: "Attention, Walmart customers: All black people, leave the store now," police said.
The teen was arrested on Friday and released to the custody of his parents.
"This was an extremely disturbing event on many levels," Gloucester County Prosecutor Sean Dalton said. "Any statements like these that can cause harm or grave concern must be addressed as quickly we possibly can."
Dalton said the case would be handled in juvenile court in neighboring Atlantic County, where the boy lives. He would not say whether the boy has a criminal record, citing the teen's age, and would not disclose the teen's race, saying that did not factor into the investigation.
The 16-year-old has been charged with harassment and bias intimidation.
Authorities would not say whether the announcement was planned or made impulsively. Police said they were also investigating a teenage boy who accompanied the suspect to the store, but the other boy has not been charged.
Wal-Mart Stores Inc officials said the announcement was "unacceptable," and Dalton praised the company for its strong cooperation in the investigation.
"We're pleased this matter is resolved," said Wal-mart spokesman David Tovar. "We have updated our intercom system at this store to prevent this from happening again. We again apologize to all of our customers and associates who had to listen to something so offensive."
Although a manager quickly went on the intercom system and apologized for the remark, many customers expressed their anger to store management. Some community members said on Saturday that they've heard reports of similar incidents happening at the store in recent months that were not reported to police.
"We are concerned about that, and we're looking into these incidents. We want to work with the community to make sure these types of incidents don't happen," said Loretta Winters, president of the Gloucester County chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People.
The boy, whose name is not being released because he is a juvenile, grabbed one of the courtesy phones at Wal-mart's Washington Township store in New Jersey last week and calmly announced: "Attention, Walmart customers: All black people, leave the store now," police said.
The teen was arrested on Friday and released to the custody of his parents.
"This was an extremely disturbing event on many levels," Gloucester County Prosecutor Sean Dalton said. "Any statements like these that can cause harm or grave concern must be addressed as quickly we possibly can."
Dalton said the case would be handled in juvenile court in neighboring Atlantic County, where the boy lives. He would not say whether the boy has a criminal record, citing the teen's age, and would not disclose the teen's race, saying that did not factor into the investigation.
The 16-year-old has been charged with harassment and bias intimidation.
Authorities would not say whether the announcement was planned or made impulsively. Police said they were also investigating a teenage boy who accompanied the suspect to the store, but the other boy has not been charged.
Wal-Mart Stores Inc officials said the announcement was "unacceptable," and Dalton praised the company for its strong cooperation in the investigation.
"We're pleased this matter is resolved," said Wal-mart spokesman David Tovar. "We have updated our intercom system at this store to prevent this from happening again. We again apologize to all of our customers and associates who had to listen to something so offensive."
Although a manager quickly went on the intercom system and apologized for the remark, many customers expressed their anger to store management. Some community members said on Saturday that they've heard reports of similar incidents happening at the store in recent months that were not reported to police.
"We are concerned about that, and we're looking into these incidents. We want to work with the community to make sure these types of incidents don't happen," said Loretta Winters, president of the Gloucester County chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People.
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