A black Air Force veteran sued Best Buy Co. Thursday, alleging he was subjected to derogatory racial comments and spat upon by employees during visits to the Sherman Oaks store.
One store employee used the loudspeaker to warn other workers, saying “The big black dude is here. Check his bag. He stole something,” the lawsuit alleges.
Andre Bogan’s lawsuit in Los Angeles Superior Court alleges assault, battery, intentional infliction of emotional distress and civil rights violations. He seeks unspecified damages and a court order directing Best Buy employees to cease their alleged discriminatory conduct when Bogan shops there.
A Best Buy representative could not be immediately reached for comment.
The suit states that Bogan suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder because of his military service. He also has medical problems with his spine and knee and additionally has rheumatoid arthritis, the suit states.
Bogan is an avid collector of DVDs and other film media and has shopped at Best Buy for years, according to the complaint. He was assaulted by a Best Buy employee at the Sherman Oaks store in June 2014.
While checking out, the store manager said she needed to check Bogan’s bag, telling him, “Your people steal a lot, so I need to check your bag,” the suit states.
The manager, identified in the complaint only as Angie Doe, also is a defendant in the case. Bogan has never stolen anything from Best Buy and spends most of his extra money at the store, the suit states.
The incident prompted Bogan to stay away from the store for a while because of the trauma he suffered, but he eventually returned because it is the location most accessible to him, the suit states. He visited without any problems for a few months, but in April 2015 employees there accused him of wrongfully using the stall for the disabled in the men’s room, the suit states.
One of the employees spat on Bogan, the suit alleges.
Bogan is legally permitted to use accommodations for disabled people, the suit states.
Bogan continues to be harassed at the Sherman Oaks store, where security guards follow him “for possible theft at every moment,” the suit states. “Likewise, other employees of Best Buy lurk around Mr. Bogan to watch his every movement throughout the store.”
Although Bogan has not been physically assailed by Best Buy employees of late, he believes he is being singled out as a “bad person,” the suit states.
— City News Service