A woman claimed she and her friends were racially profiled in the middle of her boyfriend proposing to her.
Marie Cleone wrote a Facebook post about what occurred at Angry Orchard in Walden, New York, on July 21.
“So…I got engaged today! But we’ll get to that part later. Let me set the stage…This weekend was my fiancé’s 40th birthday, and we had multiple events planned for this weekend,” Cleone started her post.
She had brunch in New York City before heading upstate for the rest of her day with her fiancé and friends.
“We then decided to drive an hour an a half north to Walden, NY to Angry Orchard. A group of 8 of us went there to enjoy an afternoon with some hard cider. My boyfriend walked me out to an empty table on the lawn, and before we could sit down, a young lady from security approached us and said to him, ‘I’m sorry sir, but I have to check you back pocket. I was told that you stole a T-shirt from the gift store.’ My boyfriend then emptied all of his pockets, while still trying to keep the ring box hidden from my sight.”
Apparently, that wasn’t the end of the couple’s dealing with security.
“She then walked away, and my boyfriend and I sat down at the table, and he began his proposal speech. MID PROPOSAL, the same young lady from security walks back towards and says to me, “I’m sorry, I need to check your bag. I was told that he gave it to you, and you put it in your bag.” Mind you, my bag isn’t even large enough to fit a T-shirt.”
Cleone emptied her bag and asked the security guard if she was doing this because they were black, and mentioned that they were the only black people there. She wrote that the security guard denied racial motivations.
“She departs again, and shortly after my boyfriend pops the question! I say yes, of course. People started cheering. And then the other 6 our friends walked over to us to hug and congratulate us. Then surprise, surprise…the same young lady from security walks over to the group of us and says, ‘I’m sorry, I didn’t realize you all were a part of the same party. I have to check all of your purses and pockets.'”
Cleone wrote that “a larger confrontation ensued and more security guards approached her group.” Cleone and her friends decided to leave.
“On what was supposed to be one of the best days of my life, I was chased out of Angry Orchard by security, who followed us all the way to the parking lot. I’m sorry, and not to sound pretentious, but as a doctor, I have no reason to steal a $28 T-shirt when I could afford to buy ALL of the T-shirts in their gift shop,” she wrote.
She also advised the company personnel to look at their security camera footage to find out whether or not she or her friends stole something, and suggested that they put up a sign saying that they don’t welcome black people if that is the case.
Cleone included a photo of the security guards who she said followed her to the parking lot.
The ‘Angry Orchard’ location is a farm and orchard connected with the Angry Orchard brand of alcoholic drinks, according to the company’s website.
Angry Orchard responded to Cleone’s story, telling The Washington Post in a statement.
“We reached out and spoke directly with the guest involved to express our apology and offer to make it right. Our security team approached a group of guests based on what they thought was credible information at the time. We believe that we mishandled the situation and we’re now working on additional training for our team to prevent something like this from happening in the future. We’re deeply sorry. The situation didn’t reflect our values of respect and creating a welcoming environment for our guests.”
— Angry Orchard (@AngryOrchard) July 23, 2019
The company posted to its Facebook page on July 23 about the action it has taken.
“For those who have reached out about a recent issue at our orchard, we would like to provide an update. As soon as we learned about this incident, we launched an investigation into what happened and got in touch directly with the guest involved, to express our sincerest apology, and offer to make it right. We recognize that we badly mishandled this situation, and our team’s response was inexcusable. As of yesterday, we have replaced the security team members working that day and the manager who was on duty.”
The company also said it would provide more training and that it is “treating this moment as a valuable learning experience for our staff.”
