CHARLESTON – Two Black customers have filed racial discrimination lawsuits against Dollar General.
Kitrena Mitchell and Alexandria M. Shoffner filed their separate complaints September 13 in Kanawha Circuit Court against Dolgencorp doing business as Dollar General and Joyce Roberts, who was store manager of a South Charleston location.
According to the complaints, the plaintiffs, who are friends, were shopping together August 2, 2022. They say they realized they were the only people of color in the store. They said Roberts “looked shocked” as they entered the store.
They eventually began to exit the store without purchasing anything, but they say the anti-theft detectors sounded despite not sounding when they entered the store. They say Dollar General uses an anti-theft system that allows employees to manually trigger the detectors.
Because the plaintiffs didn’t have any merchandise in their possession, they said they were surprised by the alarm. But they say they returned to the store to clear up any confusion.
They say they voluntarily opened their purses to show Roberts, who is white.
“Well, if y’all beeped, that means you took something,” Roberts told them, according to the complaint.
The plaintiffs say they soon realized Roberts was targeting them because of their race. Roberts called the police alleging the women had stolen merchandise. The women said they heard Roberts describe them as “all black” in front of other customers.
Roberts then told the women they could leave the store, but they didn’t because she already had called the police. South Charleston Police Department officers soon arrived, and Roberts told the officer the women had stolen merchandise.
The officer then told the women he needed to go through their purses to search for stolen merchandise, and he walked them through the anti-theft devices one at a time with each purse. The detector did not sound, and no merchandise was found on the women or in their purses.
No criminal charges were filed against the plaintiffs.
After talking to Roberts again, the office told the plaintiffs he needed their identification because Roberts was banning them from all Dollar General stores.
The women accuses the defendants of discrimination in violation of the West Virginia Hunan Rights Act. They also filed a tort of outrage.
They seek compensatory damages for loss of dignity, embarrassment, humiliation, aggravation and emotional distress. They also seek punitive damages for the willful, wanton and intentional actions of the defendants. They also seek pre- and post-judgment interests, court costs, attorney fees and other relief.
The plaintiffs are being represented by Rodney A. Smith and M. Alex Urban of Rod Smith Law in Charleston. The cases have been assigned to Circuit Judge Carrie Webster.
Kanawha Circuit Court case numbers 23-C-810 (Michael) and 23-C-811 (Shoffner)