MIRAMAR, Fla. – Two women who claim they were racially profiled at a Walgreens in Miramar held a news conference Wednesday, in which they said they are considering whether to take legal action.
"This situation was probably the most traumatic thing I have been through in my life," Crystal Davis said.
Davis and Santanna Neal said they are considering legal action after they were racially profiled on June 12.
The two women said they were shopping for their beauty business when store employees called the police and accused them of shoplifting.
"I literally could see my life flash before my eyes because, with everything that's been going on, just the thought of police approaching you is an uncomfortable situation," Davis said.
"Even after calling the Miramar police and telling them there were two African-American females in the store who were stealing, they didn't decline to have the Miramar Police Department come and check their bags, even after they cashed out and actually paid for their items," the women's attorney, Jasmine Rand, said.
Fellow shoppers captured the incident on their cellphones and circulated the video on social media, humiliating the two women, who use social media to market their beauty business.
Rand said a lawsuit has not yet been filed, but the women are not ruling one out.
"I worked my whole life to not to be a stereotype," Davis said. "I worked my whole life to take advantage of all the opportunities that were provided to me and, in one second, I was stripped of all of that and made to feel like, like nothing."
Walgreens released a statement Wednesday, saying, "We will be accelerating our existing unconscious bias and sensitivity training across all of our stores nationwide in the coming weeks. This training will be in addition to the anti-harassment and anti-discrimination training already in place.
"We have personally met with and apologized to the customers and their representatives. We take this matter very seriously and are sorry it happened."
