Illinois Target Employee Threatened To Call Police On Special Needs Customer Not Wearing Mask

A Target employee in Illinois threatened to call police Saturday on a customer with special needs that wasn’t wearing a mask.

Bill Pratt had gone to the store with his daughter Emma, 22, who was diagnosed at a young age with cerebral palsy, autism, and sensory integration disorder and is confined to a wheelchair. Pratt said the two regularly went to the store because it was one of his daughter’s favorite places to visit.

“She loves Target,” Pratt told NBC Chicago-affiliate WMAQ. “She loves to walk around the store and buy videos there.”

He said the two went into the store wearing masks in accordance with Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s order that anyone over the age of 2 must wear masks in enclosed public spaces in response to the coronavirus pandemic. Pratt said he had some difficulty getting his daughter to wear a mask, but was able to get it on before going inside. However, Pratt said his daughter’s sensory disorder made the mask uncomfortable to wear and she asked to take it off.

“She goes, 'Can I take this off? Can I pull this down?' I said, 'Yeah, go ahead,” Pratt said.

Shortly after taking the mask off, an employee reportedly confronted the pair and asked Pratt to put the mask back on.

“I said ‘She’s got some sensory issues and, actually, I think she’s medically exempt if you look at the law,’” Pratt said. This was in reference to an exemption that anyone suffering from a medical condition that made wearing a mask problematic did not have to wear one.

“Then he said ... ‘Do you have documentation to prove that?’” Pratt said.

Pratt said the employee kept pushing to see documentation and threatened to call the police if he didn’t put the mask back on her or produce his daughter’s “papers.” In turn, Pratt left the items they were going to purchase, left the store, and called Target’s corporate headquarters to file a complaint.

“You can’t do this to people with special needs,” Pratt said. “It is not a blanket thing. Everyone cannot wear a mask.”

Target responded to the incident. “We appreciate the role our frontline team members are playing in this quickly evolving environment, and have taken this opportunity to reinforce the specific details of the Executive Order and local guidance, including exceptions for anyone who has a disability that prevents wearing a mask," the company said in a statement.

“We have also reached out to the guest with an interest to connect directly about their experience.”