The CEO of Barneys New York met with Reverend Al Sharpton on Tuesday to talk over recent allegations that the luxury department store racially profiled two young, black customers who purchased items there.
The New York state attorney general's office has also ordered to meet with Barneys, as well as Macy's, which faces a racial profiling lawsuit being brought against them by actor Robert Brown, who said he was questioned by police after buying an item from Sunglass Hut.
Sharpton described his private meeting with Barneys CEO Mark Lee at the National Action Network office in Harlem as "very candid," adding that an avenue for dialogue had been opened up.
President of the New York chapter of the NAACP Hazel Dukes, former Gov. David Paterson, along with other civil rights leaders, elected officials and pastors were present for the meeting.
Lee reported that Barneys had conducted its own probe into the event, and initial findings indicated no employees of the retail giant were directly involved in the two incidents.
"Our preliminary investigation has concluded that in both of these instances, no one from Barneys New York raised any issue with these purchases," Lee said, according to the New York Post. "No one from Barneys brought them to the attention of our internal security and no one from Barneys reached out to external authorities. I can only speak to what we know from the preliminary investigation."
Reports from the two incidents involving 20-year-old Trayon Christian, who was stopped by police after purchasing a Salvatore Ferragamo belt, and Kayla Phillips, who was followed by law enforcement who demanded to know how she could afford the $2,500 Celine bag she purchased from Barneys, appear to indicate that the department store's employees alerted police of suspicious activity.
NYPD chief spokesperson John McCarthy released a statement saying that officers were responding to information they'd been given by Barneys employees.
"In both instances, NYPD officers were conducting unrelated investigations and took action based on information brought to their attention by Barneys employees while in the security room."
But Lee stressed that his research showed no Barneys employees were involved in the two instances.
Sharpton responded with careful hesitation, according to New York Magazine. "If, in fact, NYPD takes it upon themselves to profile, that needs to be dealt with by retailers," The Reverend said. "If, in fact, there were rogue members in these department stores that have some collusion with members of NYPD that is not known to the heads of these companies, that ought to be dealt with by retailers."
New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman's office mailed out letters to executives at both Barneys New York and Macy's East that reminded the stores of laws against racial discrimination in place of public accommodation, the Associated Press reported.
"We're now demanding information from Barneys and Macy's to assess their policies and their conduct in this regard," Schneiderman said on Tuesday from Buffalo.
