Toys R Us accused of racial profiling
Aurora store denies charge, says family used counterfeit bill
By Robert Jackson, Rocky Mountain News
October 18, 2003
It started as a quick trip to an Aurora toy store so a 7-year-old could spend her birthday gift certificate.
It ended with charges of passing counterfeit money and theft, calls to the police, a traumatized little girl - and a request that high-profile attorney Johnnie L. Cochran Jr. consider a lawsuit against Toys R Us.
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Douglas Tasker, 34, a lead account manager at Citigroup, said he and his family were victims of racial profiling, discrimination and harassment.
A Toys R Us spokeswoman, however, said store personnel followed proper procedure and did in fact identify a counterfeit bill. She also said employees treated the Tasker family with respect.
Tasker and his wife, Rendezer Tasker, took their daughters, Tiffany, 7, and Rachel, 10, to the Aurora Toys R Us store at 13790 E. Mississippi about 9 p.m. Sept 16. The plan was for Tiffany to use the gift card she'd received as a birthday present.
"We approached the checkout counter to pay for our merchandise," said Tasker. "There was a white female in front of us. She paid for her merchandise with a credit card and was not asked for ID. When our youngest daughter approached the counter she had a $20 gift card. The total of her merchandise was $32.22. There was a balance of $12.22, so we paid it with our Visa card.
"We were then asked for identification. After I showed her my ID, my oldest daughter came to the counter with $32.22 in merchandise. She paid for it with two $20 bills she had got from the tooth fairy."
Tasker said the cashier marked the bills with a pen to see if they were counterfeit.
"One bill turned yellow, meaning it was fine," he said. "The other bill, an older bill, turned yellowish brown. She then held it up to the light to see if there was a watermark."
The clerk's thumb was covering the watermark, according to Tasker, so she couldn't see it. He said she handed the bill to another employee, who couldn't tell if it was counterfeit, and finally gave it to a third employee, who said the bill was fine and that they could go.
"Then the evening manager came up, and I suggested that we call the police," Tasker said. "She said 'No. It's 9:30 at night and I will not call the police.' She then demanded another form of tender and we said no. The cashier gave us the change from the $40, which was $7.78. She also gave us the receipt, so by all indications we figured the transaction was complete."
But when he and his family left the store, Tasker said the manager ran after them, yelling, "Stop. They're passing counterfeit money and stealing merchandise. Get their license plate."
"I walked from around the driver's side of my car to see what she was taking about," Tasker said. "She asked, 'Is that how you people do it? You're stealing merchandise. I'm calling the cops.' I said fine, that's what I wanted to do in the first place."
He said the manager ran back into the store and locked the doors.
"She locked us out as if we were criminals and were trying to harm her," he said. "Other store employees crowded around the door, looking at us as if we had just committed an atrocious crime."
Tasker said he called the Aurora police from his cell phone at that point.
An officer came and asked them to wait, he said.
"He walked into the store, returned and said that the pen is marking bills wrong and by all indications the bills were real. He then told us we could leave."
Aurora police officials said they did not file a report on the incident.
Tasker said the incident made his family feel degraded and dehumanized. He said his wife can't sleep and that Tiffany feels it's her fault because it was her birthday.
He wants a public apology from Toys R Us.
Susan McLaughlin, a Toys R Us spokeswoman, denied the accusations. She said that a bank has confirmed that the $20 bill was indeed counterfeit.
"Toys R Us treats all our guests with dignity and respect," said McLaughlin. "In the incident you described, our cashiers followed proper procedure for identifying counterfeit money by testing the bill. Our guest was treated with respect at all times during this process."
Tasker said he has asked the bank for certification that the bill was phony.
Meanwhile, Doug Tasker's parents, June and Webster Thompson, formerly of Denver and now of Las Vegas, sent a letter to Cochran Sept. 18 requesting his help. The Thompsons are longtime friends of the defense lawyer.
Cochran's office said he is out of the country but that they are taking the request under advisement.
Cochran is representing the family of Paul Childs, a mentally disabled 15-year-old shot and killed by a Denver police officer in July.
