Report: Man Handcuffed Inside Apple Store at North Point Mall

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A man who ventured into the Apple store at North Point Mall last month to purchase a laptop computer said he was detained in a case of mistaken identity.

According to WSB-TV, Omar Chery, 22, said Alpharetta police on Nov. 22 handcuffed and detained him inside the store while they investigated a report of four men allegedly trying to use fake financial information to purchase items.

Chery said he was “embarrassed” and “humiliated” by the experience, and repeatedly told officers they had the wrong person.

George Gordon, spokesperson with the Alpharetta Department of Public Safety, said the store manager called to report “multiple black males were attempting to purchase two cellular phones with fraudulent credit card information.”

According to an incident report released by the police department, the store manager obtained a Tennessee identification card from one of the men accused in the scheme and Chery’s Georgia identification card as part of the purchase verification process.

The card from Tennessee was verified as being fraudulent, and the store manager told that information to the officer, Gordon said. Additionally, the store manager believed Chery was part of the group accused in the fraudulent operation.

The manager identified Chery from the card while the officer waited for back up “since it was believed multiple suspects were in the area perpetrating the fraud,” Gordon added.

Chery, along with another man the store manager believed was working as a ”lookout” for the operation, were both detained and questioned.

“The officers spoke to the detained males and determined evidence did not exist to warrant an arrest,” Gordon added. “They were both released.”

Gordon added that when an officer believes multiple suspects are involved in a crime, that one or more suspects possibly pose a flight risk or if it’s possible for a situation to escalate, “it is appropriate for the officer to handcuff a suspect and place her or him in investigative detention.”

“This allows the officer to safely and securely investigate the situation and determine if an arrest should be made,” he added. “Our police officers followed this protocol and acted professionally.”

For his part, Chery told WSB he did not blame Alpharetta police for their actions, as they were just responding to the call.