Bed, Bath & Beyond Accused of Calling Cops on Black Shoppers for Spending Too Much

A Black couple in Ohio has accused workers at a Bed Bath & Beyond store in Toledo of racial profiling after the workers called the police and alleged that the couple may have been shoplifting.

Lamar Richards and his partner were shopping at the store to decorate their newly purchased home. The store, according to Richards, was having a closing sale and many items were 60 percent off. As a result, the couple spent roughly $600.

According to Richards and a report by Yahoo! News, a police officer approached the two to ensure that they paid for all of their items, too many of which allegedly were deemed to be expensive.

The officer also informed the couple that a staff member had suggested they were shoplifting. In a video recording of the incident posted to Twitter, the employee who accused the men claimed, “it’s my right to call.” Employees at the store also said they call the police about customers frequently because “they have our back.”

The officer subsequently broke up the dispute and told Richards and his partner to file a complaint with the company.

“I’ve have never felt so humiliated in my entire life,” Richards said in a Twitter post about the incident. “I sat in the car for more than an hr after this happened, praying asking God to give me peace and calm my anxiety.”

Civil rights attorney Ben Crump interjected about the dispute, suggesting on Twitter that Richards and his partner “deserve answers for this humiliating experience!”

Bed, Bath & Beyond said in a statement to The Messenger that it does not "tolerate discrimination of any kind."

"We are deeply concerned about the reported incident and are actively looking into the matter, as we do with any incidents described that are inconsistent with our policies and procedures," the company said.