Woman says she was racially profiled, attacked by Safeway security guard
SAN FRANCISCO CA June 18 2020 A San Francisco resident says she was a victim of racial profiling when a security guard physically attacked her and accused her of shoplifting.
“Can you get a manager please? No you are not kicking me out when I didn’t do anything.”
Those are the first words recorded in a video by San Francisco Resident, Mildred Musni.
Musni says she was humiliated when a security guard assumed she was shoplifting at the Diamond Heights Safeway.
“I turn my purse upside down, which is a tote bag, and the items I had fell out to show that I had not taken anything. He said I looked stupid,” said Musni.
Musni points out that she was followed by the same security guard throughout the store as she shopped with a Native American couple.
Talking about the couple, Musni says, “She is indigenous, she’s Lakota. The husband, his tribe is near Yosemite. I believe they followed us due to racial profiling.”
Musni says she tried to show the store manager a receipt, but as she waited she says the guard became aggressive. In the video the guard can be heard saying, “I don’t argue with females, (expletive) go.”
Minutes later, another security guard can be seen kicking Musni’s groceries while she asked bystanders for help.
“Can you call 911 for me?” she asked.
One person responded, “No I cannot call 911 for you.”
As a response to this incident, the Public and Government affairs director for Northern California Safeway said they do not tolerate violations to racial discrimination policies.
The incident took place on May 7th. In a statement, Safeway added:
“We are conducting a thorough investigation of this incident, which involved a third-party security guard at the Diamond Heights store.”
Musni says she was cited by San Francisco police but now the charges have been dropped. What she wants now is for the guard to face consequences.
“We’ll see, time will tell if they handle this properly, but as it stands now he is still working there. I’m just disgusted that he is getting a paycheck for attacking women on the job,” said Musni.
Safeway says it’s premature to discuss the outcome of their investigation.
