Amarcord Worker Calls Cops On Black Shoppers, Sparks Protest

WILLIAMSBURG, BROOKLYN — A vintage shop clerk called police after a black attorney and her daughter left the store with what the employee believed to be stolen property. The women were proven innocent of shoplifting but tensions are mounting — spurring a rally and calls for a boycott — as both the women and store officials say they were victims of a racially motivated incident.

Brooklynites chanted “Black lives matter” and “Don’t shop here” outside Amarcord Vintage Fashion Friday night, exactly one week after three cop cars pulled up outside the store at 223 Bedford Ave. and NYPD officers placed Nancy Bedard and her 19-year-old daughter Isabelle in handcuffs, then searched their bags.

“The way they handled my wife and child, I think it’s appalling,” said her husband Philip Sturges at the rally.

“The clerk followed her out of the store berating her,” Sturges added. “The cops didn’t ask them a single question, they just handcuffed them.”

Sturges said the two women were hospitalized after the police let them go.

“They had injuries on their arms after being manhandled,” Sturges said. “My daughter has been traumatized by this.”

Sturges accused both the clerk and police of racial profiling - the former for accusing his wife of stealing and the latter for believing the clerk without evidence.

"The cops just accepted the word of this white woman,” he said. “They followed my wife and daughter down the street ... they were targeted.”

The rally was the culmination of a campaign against Amarcord that began online. Community members responded to the Ausbury and Sturges' call for action by posting the story across social media.

BOYCOTT Amarcord Vintage Fashion, 223 Bedford Avenue, Williamsburg Brooklyn www.amarcordvintagefashion.com Yesterday a white female employee of Amarcord Vintage Fashion falsely accused my dear brilliant friend and maven of all things vintage (who also happens to be an attorney for social justice!) of shoplifting, had the police chase her and her incredibly smart and talented daughter down in a cop car and violently handcuffed them before searching her bag and determining she was innocent. This was pure RACIAL PROFILING by the Amarcord employee. BOYCOTT!!!!! PLEASE SHARE!!! #amarcordvintage #brooklynvintage #vintage #vintageclothing #vintagefashion #vintagecouture #vintagestyle #vintageclothes #vintagebrooklyn #newyorkvintage #vintagenewyork #boycott #racialprofiling @amarcordvintage #notokay #boycottamarcordvintage
A post shared by Marcie Lakin (@marcie.jayne) on May 5, 2018 at 12:42pm PDT

At least 10 people took to Yelp to share what happened to Sturges’ wife and one man described having a similar experience.

"Falsely accused my good friend of shoplifting and followed my wife around the store like the secret service," wrote Yelper Patrick M. "Gee wouldn't ya know both women are black."

But Amarcord representatives published a different account of the incident on their website, describing themselves as a beloved small business and blaming the two women for the situation escalating by assuming it was a question of race.

"One of our employees politely approached two patrons to clarify a situation, which was immediately countered with the accusation that our intentions were racially motivated," a store representative wrote.

The statement also said the two women "threatened our employee’s safety, humiliated her and berated her race, class, and physical appearance."

"Shocked, our employee pursued them outside in an attempt to sort things out," the Amarcord spokesperson wrote. "The NYPD were called at the suggestion of these patrons, as well as our employees who hoped they could help to diffuse the issue."

"The patrons were uncooperative. What happened after that was beyond our control."

Amarcord was closed during the protest and its metal gate lowered, but someone had printed the statement and posted it on the front door.

The account did not ring true to Sturges, who said it was “replete with lies,” or to M’ral Broodie-Stewart, a colleauge of Bedard’s who came to the rally to support a woman she sees as a mentor.

Broodie-Stewart questioned the clerk’s ascertion that Bedard had been “throwing a fit,” she said.

“She’s completely cool and collected,” said Broodie-Stewart, who watched the protesters with a smile. “I hope everyone at that store learns their lesson.”

Patch contacted the NYPD for more information about the incident but did not immediately get a response.

Photos by Kathleen Culliton