WOOD VILLAGE, Ore. — An Oregon man won a $4.4 million verdict against Walmart after he sued the big-box retailer, claiming a Wood Village employee racially profiled him in 2020.
Michael Mangum, who is Black, brought the suit after he said that the employee “spied” on him as he shopped, ordered him to leave the store and then called police when Mangum refused, KGW reported.
Mangum’s lawsuit alleged “negligent retention and action against person who summons police with improper intent” against the Bentonville, Arkansas-based retail behemoth.
According to Mangum’s lawyers, Walmart allowed the employee to continue working for several months after the incident, even after police warned managers that the employee targeted by the suit had a history of filing false reports involving customers, the TV station reported.
According to the lawsuit and a news release from his attorneys, Mangum, who was 59 at the time, visited the Walmart in Wood Village on March 26, 2020, to buy a light bulb for his refrigerator. Mangum soon noticed store employee Joe Williams watching him as he shopped.
When Mangum refused Williams’ order to leave the store, Mangum’s lawyers said Williams told Mangum he was going to call the police and tell them that Mangum had threatened to “smash him in the face,” The Associated Press reported.
According to Mangum’s legal team, deputies from the Multnomah County Sheriff’s Office responded to Williams complaint but “refused to take action against Mangum,” citing both the employee’s “shifting explanations” for making the call and his “reputation for making false reports to police.”
Per KGW: “According to Mangum’s lawyers, the following day, MCSO Sergeant Bryan White and an unnamed deputy returned to the store and met with Kelly Cooper, the director of the Wood Village Walmart, and assistant manager Dugan Harris. They explained that deputies had noticed a ‘pattern of behavior’ in which Williams would call police to report ‘dangerous active situations, such as customers physically assaulting him or other employees.’ Deputies would later determine that Williams was reporting things that were not happening.”
The retail giant ultimately fired Williams on July 9, 2020, for “mishandling $35 of Walmart property,” the TV station reported.
In a statement sent to KGW, Randy Hargrove, Walmart’s senior director for national media relations, questioned some of the claims by Mangum’s lawyers and said the company considers the verdict “excessive.”
“We do not tolerate discrimination. We believe the verdict is excessive and is not supported by the evidence,” Hargrove stated, adding, “Mr. Mangum was never stopped by Walmart’s Asset Protection. He interfered with our associates as they were surveilling and then stopped confirmed shoplifters, and then refused to leave despite being asked to repeatedly by our staff and Multnomah County deputies. We are reviewing our options including post-trial motions.”
-- The Associated Press contributed to this report.
©2022 Cox Media Group
