Macy’s has been slapped with another racial discrimination lawsuit – this time by a Hispanic cop who was wrongly busted for shoplifting and ended up losing her job over the racist arrest, legal papers state.
Jenny Mendez was shopping with her mother at the flagship Macy’s Herald Square on 34th Street when store security took her into a back room, emptied her bags onto the floor and accused her of shoplifting, according to the $40 million suit filed in Bronx Supreme Court.
“It is apparent that the sole reason for stopping [Mendez] was due to her Hispanic heritage and that the subsequent arrest, detainment, and prosecution were racially motivated,” the suit states.
The NYPD fired Mendez over the false arrest and she was forced to defend herself in a Manhattan trial, where she was found not guilty, the suit states.
A Macy’s store detective admitted during the trial to lying about Mendez’s arrest on internal paperwork under the instruction of Macy’s supervisors – falsely stating that Mendez signed a confession, according to the suit.
Macy’s has been hit with a barrage of lawsuits and complaints about its alleged practice of targeting minority shoppers.
A star of HBO’s “Treme” filed a federal lawsuit against Macy’s earlier this month saying he was cuffed by cops at the flagship Macy’s after buying a watch because he is black.
A black couple from Brooklyn slapped Macy’s with a $2 million lawsuit last month alleging that they were racially profiled while shopping at the department store in Roosevelt Field mall.