The Arden Fair mall is being accused of racial profiling black teenagers in its enforcement of a new mall policy.
The policy — located inside the mall at the entrance between Starbucks and Johnny Rockets on the wall in fine print — says Arden Fair may require minors to be accompanied by a parent or guardian “during periods of high occupancy, localized crowding or special circumstances, the center may require minors to be accompanied by a parent or guardian.”
Arden Fair spokesperson Jamie Donley said Monday was the first day the rule was being enforced, due to high traffic. Dec. 26 is the second-busiest shopping day each year for the mall.
But several people who spoke with ABC10 News under the condition of anonymity said the new rule seemed to be in effect mainly for black boys — particularly teenagers.
“It just makes me feel like trash, honestly. I work hard. I don’t need to be [discriminated against] because of the way God made me,” one black 16-year-old boy told us while waiting to be picked up outside the mall.
An adult woman said she had seen groups of black teens escorted out.
“I’m seeing a whole lot of other nationalities in here as well, and they’re not being singled out at all,” she said.
Three white girls, ages 14, 13 and 11, walked in to the mall past a group of police officers talking to five black teenagers. When asked whether they were told that they needed to be shopping with a parent, one of them said, “No, but I did hear that a cop said that to one of the young men there.”
Another group of white 15-year-old teenager boys said that ABC10’s question about the policy was the first time they had heard about it, despite the fact that they were standing within sight of several police officers.
Sacramento Police Department officer Matt McPhail said there were at least 40 police officers at the mall on Monday. Two years ago, on Dec. 26, 2014, a huge fight broke out at the mall resulting in the arrest of two teenagers. That fight, in addition to the high traffic at the mall, led to the high number of officers on-site.
McPhail denied any allegations of racial profiling.
“Sacramento Police Department personnel have been uniformly applying mall policy in an effort to provide a safe and enjoyable environment for all patrons," McPhail said in a statement. "The Sacramento Police Department has a clear no-tolerance policy for bias in all its forms and encourages anyone with concerns about biased enforcement to report such concerns to our Internal Affairs Division or the city’s Office of Public Safety Accountability."
Donley, the mall spokesperson, said shoppers claiming uneven enforcement are mistaken.
“We are making sure every minor, regardless of race or other demographic – they’re all being told they can’t be here without a parent,” she said.
