The Racial Crimes and Offenses Police Station (Decradi) investigates a complaint of racism against a lawyer in a store in a shopping mall in the Barra da Tijuca neighborhood, in Rio de Janeiro. A video shows the moment the woman was approached by security guards as she tried to leave the store.
In a video posted on social media, Ingryd Souza said she was leaving Zara accompanied by her husband, with a bag containing a blouse and a dress purchased in the store, when she was approached by an employee after the sensor beeped.
Then the lawyer replied that everything had been paid. “[A funcionária] showed that on her tablet the system showed a silk blouse in my bag, and asked if I had bought it […] She released us and we tried to leave again, and the sensor beeped again and then the employee called security,” he said.
When the woman returned to the store, the store employee said that, in addition to the blouse, an unpaid pair of pants was also included in the system. “I opened my bag, took out the blouse I bought and the dress, showed the note and asked where the blouse and pants that were in her system were,” said the lawyer.
Ingryd said that the store employee and the security guard said they were acting that way to protect her in another store, as the system could beep, and that it had nothing to do with Zara.
The lawyer also says that when her husband started recording the approach, the employees apologized and said she could leave, and that the sensor would no longer beep.
Ingryd Souza reiterated in her post that her husband was not searched even though he had three bags and a backpack because 'he was seen as white'. Furthermore, the woman stated that she will sue the company.
In a post, the lawyer shared that she registered a case against the store this Monday (20).
In a statement, Zara's advisors reinforced that it is a company that does not tolerate any act of discrimination and regrets that the customer felt this way in one of its stores.
Furthermore, the company highlighted that “it is reinforcing all customer service processes and policies with the teams so that its stores are always a safe, welcoming and inclusive environment for everyone”, he stated.
The Rio de Janeiro Civil Police stated that the case was registered and remains under investigation.
Source: CNN Brasil
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