A Michigan woman who alleges she was racially profiled and forced to strip at a Target store is seeking legal action against Target Corporation.
Ashanea Davis of Southfield, Michigan said a Target loss prevention employee handcuffed her and accused her of stealing a bikini. Davis says she was taken to a back room, where she was forced to strip to prove she was not hiding the bikini beneath her clothing. Only after stripping down was she permitted to leave the Target, she and her lawyer told local WXYZ.
“At first I was in shock, of course, and it was just very humiliating,” Davis said. “I felt degraded. It was sad. I was very upset.” She continued, “Someone needs to be held accountable and it shouldn’t happen to anyone else.
Davis plans to take legal action against Target Corporation for race and gender discrimination. Law&Crime reached out to her attorney Jasmine Rand for comment.
Target, meanwhile, said that they have looked into the incident and fired an employee who was involved. In a statement to WXYZ, a Target spokesperson said:
We want everyone who shops at Target to feel welcomed and respected and take any allegations of mistreatment seriously. We’re sorry for the actions of our former team member, who created an experience we don’t want any guest to have at Target. Upon reviewing our team’s actions, we terminated the team member who was directly involved and are addressing the situation with the security team at the store.
[Image via WXYZ screengrab]