Old Navy employee is fired after grabbing black customer by the arm and accusing her of shoplifting
An Old Navy employee was fired after she grabbed a black customer by the wrist and accused her of shoplifting from the store. Lisa Calderon posted footage of her interaction with staff and security at Square One Shopping Center in Ontario on Facebook and claimed she had been racially profiled. She said she initially entered the Old Navy store on Monday to return a recent purchase. Calderon left and had been wearing an Old Navy top she purchased previously, which still had a clothing tag.But she was furious when a store worker named Stephanie followed her and grabbed her by the wrist, accusing her of stealing the top. In footage which has gone viral, the store worker can be heard telling Calderon: 'Did you pay for this shirt at Old Navy, the tag is still on it. 'You did not walk into Old Navy with that shirt on, we have cameras Mam, you can come with me. Why are you shaking, are you nervous?.'Calderon reacts furiously to the accusation as the worker refused to let go of her wrist and mall security can then be seen intervening. Lisa tells the worker: 'Let go of my hand, can you let go of my hand Stephanie, I will press charges against if you don't let go of my hand. 'I walked into the store with this shirt, you have no right to be holding my hand because of what you think.'You should watch the cameras, tell her to let go of my f*****g hand because I will pop.' She can then be heard telling security staff that she had bought the top the previous day and always leaves tags on recent purchases. Eventually, Calderon agreed to return to Old Navy, where Stephanie’s manager, who she identifies as Gillian, apologized and admitted the employee had no right to touch her. In a Facebook post, she wrote: 'I would’ve been more calm and understanding if she didn’t accuse me first, and would’ve been happy to show my receipt, especially because I voiced my racial profile complaint to the employee before I left the store.This needs to stop, Stephanie had no right to aggressively lay her hands on me and accuse me of stealing a $13 dollar top, had she not have done that this situation would’ve ended quietly.' In one of the videos, Calderon becomes increasingly upset, claiming she had never been in trouble before. The manager repeatedly apologized over the incident and security staff can be seen trying to calm her down as Stephanie disappears. Lisa told her the manager in the footage: 'There is nothing you can say that can calm me down, she put her hands on me because she said I didn't walk into the store.'This top cost $13, do you think I'd put my life at risk for $13 dollars, I have bills, I have a mortgage to pay. 'This has never happened to me before on my life. The only reason I'm crying is because I'm hurt, I never expected to this to happen to me, you see this on the TV and social media.' In a Twitter post, Old Navy addressed the incident and Calderon claimed she had been contacted by a district manager to say the employee no longer worked at the store. The post read: 'Old Navy was founded to be a place where everyone belongs. It’s been a part of our culture & values since day one, and that makes it even more upsetting when incidents occur that don’t reflect those values. 'We are so sorry that our customer Lisa Calderon had an unacceptable experience in one of our stores, and we apologize for letting her down. We investigated quickly & thoroughly. 'The employee involved in this situation is no longer with Old Navy.'
