Old Navy Accused Black Customer Of Stealing His Own Jacket, Man Claims

An Iowa man accused Old Navy of racial profiling him as he was shopping in the store Tuesday, according to a Facebook post.

James Conley III, took to Facebook Tuesday and shared his story. The post garnered over 13,000 likes and 114,000 shares on the social media site. The Old Navy store, located at 6805 Mills Civic Parkway in West Des Moines, reopened Thursday after it temporarily closed its doors following the alleged incident, the Des Moines Register reported.

"I was accused that I didn't pay for my blue bubble jacket that I got for Christmas that I wore into the store," Conley wrote. "As I was checking out to purchase some hoodies, I was asked if I wanted to also purchase the jacket that I was wearing."

Conley claimed an employee questioned if the jacket he wore belonged to him. Conley assured the coat was a gift and that he had it upon entering the store. That’s when the store manager, identified in the post as Beau Carter, said that "anytime someone wears Old Navy clothing they have to always scan that customers clothing to ensure that it was previously purchased"

Conley asserted that the employees singled him out because of his ethnicity and that white customers who had on "identical" Old Navy apparel hadn’t received the same treatment. Conely said he asked the District Manager to play back the store surveillance cameras to prove he had walked in with the merchandise.

Liz Nunan, a spokesperson for Old Navy, released a statement regarding the matter.

"We are a company made up of diverse people — from all backgrounds and cultures," Nunan wrote, according to Des Moines Register. "We encourage diversity in thought, celebrate diversity in each other and demand tolerance and inclusion, always."

Gap Inc, which owns Old Navy, also released a statement regarding a "zero tolerance policy" on racial profiling of any kind.

"Gap is committed to ensuring that all shoppers, guests, and employees are treated with respect and dignity and are free from unreasonable searches, profiling, and discrimination of any kind in our store," the document said. "The participation by employees in such activities or the failure to report such instances of which they have knowledge is a violation of company policy. Employees who violate the company’s prohibition on profiling will be subject to disciplinary action, up to and including termination of employment. Gap strictly prohibits unreasonable searches and/or the profiling of customers by any employee."

Local civil rights attorney Thomas Newkirk pointed out that the video Conley took was not a good reflection of the company’s practices and standards.

"(Conley) has what’s called a denial of service case," Newkirk said, according to KCCI. "He could file a claim with the Iowa Civil Rights Act."