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Thursday, March 28, 2024 | Back issues
Courthouse News Service Courthouse News Service

Mall of America Accused of Racial Profiling

MINNEAPOLIS (CN) - A federal class action accuses the Mall of America of racially profiling black people for baseless interrogation by security guards. The 42-year-old plaintiff says he was drinking coffee and writing in his journal when mall security agents singled him out, called police, and interrogated him for half an hour.

Bobbie Allen says the Mall of America has a Risk Assessment and Mitigation (RAM) unit that, by the Mall of America's own admission, "specializes in behavior profiling." Allen says the behavior that RAM agents deemed suspicious was "talking to a female, writing in a notebook, looking around at people, and looking at his watch."

Allen says he was waiting to have lunch with a friend, a white woman, who worked at the mall. He says he filed a complaint with the Minnesota Department of Human Rights, which said he had probable cause to sue for discrimination.

Allen seeks an injunction and punitive damages. He is represented by Dorene Sarnoski.

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