A 19-year-old college student is suing the New York Police Department (NYPD) and upscale retailer Barneys after he was wrongfully accused of fraud for purchasing an expensive belt, NBC News reported.
Trayon Christian arrived at Barneys in April to buy a Salvatore Ferragamo belt he saw one of his favorite artist's wear. Although he saved up enough money from his work-study job at the New York City College of Technology, a store clerk apparently did not believe he had the funds to buy the $350 designer belt.
After the sales associate asked Christian to show identification, he showed her his state ID. Still, she called the police and reported him for fraud, leading undercover officers to grab him outside of the store where they questioned "how a young black man such as himself could afford to purchase such an expensive belt," the lawsuit states.
Christian was transported to a local precinct where he showed authorities his identification, debit card, and belt receipt. Police officers were still not convinced his ID was real until his bank verified his debit card, according to the suit.
Once he was released, Christian returned the belt to Barneys because "I didn't want to have anything to do with it" at that point, he said.
"I kept thinking, 'Why is this happening to me?'" he told The New York Daily News.
"The detectives were asking me, 'How could you afford a belt like this? Where did you get this money from?'" he added.
An NYPD spokeswoman said Christian was only detained for 42 minutes as opposed to two hours, which is the amount of time his lawsuit states.
"Mr. Christian was held in police custody for approximately 42 minutes and as soon as we determined that the card was authentic, he was immediately released," said Inspector Kim Royster.
Michael Palillo, Christian's attorney, boasted his clean record and said the store clerk's intentions were racist.
"He's never been arrested. His only crime was being a young black guy buying a $300 belt," Palillo said.
His mother, Selena Christian, agreed.
"It's because he's an African-American," she said. "It's wrong. They shouldn't have done this."
The NYPD and Barneys have not released further comments on the incident.
