In the suit, Trayon Christian of Queens said he went to Barneys on Madison Avenue in Manhattan on April 29 and purchased an expensive Ferragamo belt. After leaving, he was accosted by undercover NYPD officers, who said someone at the store had raised concerns over the sale. According to Christian's lawsuit, filed Monday in state Supreme Court in Manhattan, he showed the receipt from the purchase, the debit card he used to make it and identification to the officers, but was told the identification was false and "that he could not afford to make such an expensive purchase."
The lawsuit said he was detained at a precinct in a cell for more than two hours before being released with no charges filed against him. It said the incident was due to "discrimination based on plaintiff's race and age as he was a young black American male."
In a statement, Barneys denied that it was involved in any detention, saying "that after carefully reviewing the incident of last April, it is clear that no employee of Barneys New York was involved in the pursuit of any action with the individual other than the sale."
The New York Police Department said any officers' role is under internal review. The city's law department said it was waiting for a formal copy of the lawsuit, and would review the claim once it had been received.
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