Teen charged after grabbing microphone at store, telling blacks to leave
By Merry "Happy Holidays" Firschein / The Record (Hackensack N.J.)
Tuesday, April 13, 2010
EDGEWATER, N.J. — A teenager has been charged with bias intimidation and harassment after grabbing a supermarket microphone and announcing, "All blacks leave the store," authorities said.
The 14-year-old girl, who lives in Edgewater, made the announcement over the Whole Foods Market [WFMI]’s public-address system Saturday afternoon, Detective Lt. William Skidmore said.
The store’s manager, Joel Sanchez, "immediately told an employee to call the police, and he kept an eye on her" until the police showed up several minutes later, Skidmore said, adding, "The store did an excellent job."
The public-address microphone is kept at the store’s courtesy desk, Skidmore said, and the teen "just grabbed it" before anyone could stop her.
The girl was accompanied by a 14-year-old boy, also from Edgewater, who has not been charged, Skidmore said.
"At this point, we can’t definitively prove (his) involvement," he said. "She was the only one who was by the (public-address) system."
There were no problems with shoppers reacting as if it was a real announcement by employees of the store, Skidmore said.
"I believe the reason there weren’t any problems was because the store acted so prudently in calling right away, and the police response was so quick that anyone who was in the store saw these people get grabbed immediately and put in a police car," Skidmore said.
There is no indication that the teens were under the influence of drugs or alcohol, he said.
Both teens were released into the custody of their parents, Skidmore said.
The supermarket chain does not tolerate such activity, said Michael Sinatra, a regional spokesman for Whole Foods.
"Store leadership contacted the police after one of the teens made racial comments over the store’s PA system without the store’s prior knowledge or permission," Sinatra said. "Whole Foods Market has a zero-tolerance policy regarding all matters of prejudice and continues to work with local law enforcement on this issue."
The incident is being investigated as a "copycat situation," similar to an incident last month in Gloucester County, N.J., that received wide media attention, Skidmore said.
In that incident, a person accessed the public-address system at a Wal-Mart in Washington Township on March 14 and said, "Attention, Wal-Mart shoppers: Will all the black people please leave the store. Thank you."
A 16-year-old boy was arrested several days later and charged with harassment and bias intimidation.