Kayla Phillips, 21, was stopped by police in February at the 59th St. and Lexington Ave. subway station after purchasing a Céline handbag from Barneys at 61st St. and Madison Ave.
Four plainclothes cops accused a black woman of credit card fraud after the Brooklyn mom bought a $2,500 designer bag from Barneys — stoking a fresh round of outrage against the high-end store.
Kayla Phillips, 21, a nursing student from Canarsie, told the Daily News she had long coveted the orange suede Céline bag. Armed with a cash infusion from a tax return, she took her Bank of America debit card and headed to the Madison Ave. flagship store on Feb. 28.
Phillips made the purchase without incident but says she was surrounded by cops just three blocks away, at the Lexington Ave. and 59th St. subway station.
“There were three men and a woman,” she recalled. “Two of them attacked me and pushed me against a wall, and the other two appeared in front of me, blocking the turnstile.”
The cops started peppering her with questions and demanding to see her ID.
Phillips says the four cops blocked the turnstile and began to pepper her with questions about what she was doing in Manhattan and how she could afford the bag.
Aaron Showalter/New York Daily News
Phillips says the four cops blocked the turnstile and began to pepper her with questions about what she was doing in Manhattan and how she could afford the bag.
“They were very rough,” said Phillips, who has filed a $5 million notice of claim with the city of her intention to sue the NYPD. “They kept asking me what I bought and saying, ‘Show us your card.’ I didn’t know what was happening.”
RELATED: HAMILL: IT’S BUSINESS AS USUAL FOR BARNEYS TO RACIALLY PROFILE
Phillips’ attorney, Kareem Vessup, says an additional civil rights lawsuit against the NYPD and Barneys is pending.
The 5 p.m. confrontation was eerily similar to a clash between cops and 19-year-old Trayon Christian, who filed a discrimination suit this week accusing Barneys and the NYPD of racially profiling him. Christian, who is black, alleged he was followed into the street by undercover cops and accused of fraud after he used his debit card to buy a $349 Ferragamo belt at Barneys on April 29.
The young Queens man was cuffed and taken to the 19th Precinct stationhouse, but released with no charges, his discrimination suit said.
Phillips, a nursing student from Canarsie, Brooklyn, told the Daily News she had long coveted the orange suede Céline bag.
Phillips, a nursing student from Canarsie, Brooklyn, told the Daily News she had long coveted the orange suede Céline bag.
Both Christian and Phillips were amazed at how quickly they were swarmed by police. A Barneys exec told Phillips’ mother, Wendy Elie, that store employees didn’t call police on her.
Elie told The News a security guard told her the store has law enforcement on patrol inside the store — part of an NYPD fraud task force. A source confirmed that undercover cops are periodically inside the store because of repeated fraud complaints.
Police said there were 53 grand larceny complaints for credit card fraud at the Madison Ave. store and more than 47 arrests. A racial breakdown of the suspects wasn’t immediately available.
NYPD officials wouldn’t say whether there was a dedicated task force working at Barneys or other luxury retailers.
$349 n them lock up di young fi 2hrs smh no man this is a disgrace
APPHELL N FRENS UNNU SEE WHEY UNNU CAUSE !!!!!!!! N.
him fi sue dem till dem cannot open another store… damn brite
Dem really rude fi true they cannot see my face again fi sure
MET how Apple dem get whe wid soo much??? No man dis no fair
A: Looking like high end hookers we help cause de clerks don’t know is who dem a fuc fi get get dem fired…now going in looking like madam bull up a top nah wuk….lol
Me feel fi de young, black male. BUT NOT fi miss thing. ME NAH TEK ME 2k gi NO WHITE MAN ESTABLISHMENT IF A NU FI MORTGAGE or CAR!!! NOPE, NOPE, NOPE!
$2500 bag wat I wud do with sum adat money now
u know mi cudda buy a nice tub fi 1800 and tek di rest pay smaddy n have change ooooo dem need fi bring di money come
Met u can see that Miss ting is about har labels eno see her Burberry skin ova fi the camera deh hahahaha boy a just so some ppl live ya man.
Yes Chuetty, with an attitude
Met u know I just read that she has a 1yr old plus pregnant again , and this is how she spends her money? Wth, how about a college fund or bonds for the children’s future. Smdh.
Priority, priority. some of us have a problem when it come to that word .
Burberry coat … Check
Louis Vuitton and Celine bag… Check
One Pitney and one a come…check
Probably lives at home with mom
A hope is a claw foot or hand beaten bronze tub…lolol
Black people have dem priorities messed up! Have money a gi billion dollar companies while onu a live below poverty level. A wonda who a pay fi dis oman nursing class fi she can a spend 2k pon one bag whey can’t tek rain or body oil.
I don’t see nothing about that bag worth $2,000 dollars just the name she pay for to hype.making the white people richer and they don’t appreciate your sales.they just always think black people broke. Minorities need to stop spend their last on these namebrands to make the designers richer..Remember when Tommy Hilfiger was popular remember his comments about black people.
Hifiger comments were inline with exactly this. Somebody talked about him pricey clothes being sold to urban/innercity black youths (HF, Head, Le Coq.,Swiss, Gucci were the 80s lick) and he was right to say he didn’t make his clothes for that market. Cause here Celine can say the same thing and rightfully so given how dis oman use har tax return pon one bag she couldn’t afford otherwise.
De likkle youth me give ley way to for youthful indiscretion.
tawkchuet u noh see har GUCCI bag too.
2 cents lollllllllll mi Neva see it but a see it now yessssssssssss gawdddddddddddd is a label hog
You know say them fe sue them.
Cause them a goh about it the wrong way, guess they losing out when all the ppl goh in their with stolen card and buy things.
I wonder how many young, white people come in & buy things & dem question??????????
And I wonder outta di 53 grand larceny complaints, how many ah dem involve white people????
I BET YOU SEH is MORE white people dan Black!!!
Lol Kayla is a teef man lol mi wa see wa come out of it … Tax refund??? Lmfaoooo
FP come here wooooooooiiiiieeeeeeeee whey u say???????????????
When FP guh fi talk di tings dem di tings dem talkkkkkkk upppppuppppp. Whey yuh sey Kayla is whattttttt? Dis year Tax filing never start until about late February, suh Kayla yuh did duh rapid refund? Mi jus a ask since FP have ??? after Tax Refund :nerd
Lol no but look how long tax season pass .. This girl real??? Good excuse!
All dem do a Brooklyn a pare credit card scam ! Kmft nah look.
This n Oprah is different! I go a Barney’s nuff & no cop may run mi down o
What mi wah know is why apple dem can’t get catch all now it too puzzling man but we wondered about Flippa & it came to pass .. Impatiently waiting … APPLE N JADION sickening
Lot of credit card scamming going on in Bklyn …..my mothers tenant grand daughter and her posse were caught using other people credit cards at Apple store in NY last year. They bought the apple merchandise them sell the at a lower price
Me get my refund inna september. It depends on when and how it was filed. Especially with the farce this year some took longer.
lie di gal ah tell bout tax refund I AM NOT LOOKIN
Happle nd Jayden keep shopping online and have the stuff ship to people yard and don’t enta Barneys. Stop frequent Short Hills Mall. Dem nuh play inna dat white town wid black people especially tief like unuh. Is a warning mi a give unuh. The African man inna Prada on to unuh. Suh yuh cannot sey mi neva warn unuh.
Dat $2500 cudda help towards mi tuition next semister. Barneys always come off as one a dem store dey whey nuh like black people unless dem have Entertainment status. Dem and Bergdorf. Like Ms Met sey dem fi sue dem suh til dem cannot afford to keep the store open.
White people able fi tief inna dem store dey causen sey is Black dem train fi watch, suh when di white dem a teif, dem watch di blacks.
You see the samething happen to Oprah abroad the other day..The woman didn’t recognise Oprah..Oprah asking to see a bag and the woman telling Oprah she can’t afford it and I’m sure the woman look at Oprah skin alone and make the assumption she’s Broke.
Met mi did email yuh
when ooo?
Bout dis same thing, right as mi sen it mi see seh yuh put it up, Iwas issuing a warning to Happel and her multicolored man oo
mi did too shame fi put in u warning ooo :nohope:
yuh not nice :sorry
:mewek
2,500…..I hope her child have books to read. (Yes am being negative) that money could’ve put into a college fund for her child.
Mi agree wid u. A young mom, just got her tax refund n take it buy one bag wid mortgage money……..no ambition and I don’t care what nobody says. I would sincerely hope all her important bills are covered. Having said all that, she does not deserve to be unfairly treated….,just swift junk in the head for being riduculous
Kayla is a swipper like all da other young Brooklyn gal she broke like dog n is pregnant again she only doin a come up but it aguh back fire cause she Neva cash out she need to stop cause da lil boy got harasses because of her n her pairs
Yeah I think there’s more to ms. Kayla’s story….we will see.
That bag too sophisticated fi she. kmt i despise label whores. do it for the love.
A goodly tax return scam dat well popular tuh
I always shop deh especially sales time my wife live in deh lol but nuttn like dem tings yah Neva happen….wiz khalifa did seh him get profile in deh to, suh dis look serious smfh.
21 yr old mother and not working and she tek har $2500 buy bag. she want a gaza bax
The funniest post pon dis ting yah. I’m in complete agreement wid u
DWL!!!!!!! What tha hell is a gaza box? :hammer :hammer :hammer
What an ass! Before she fund her education she buying bags??
2500 bag n probably live in public housing smfh
People when are we gonna learn, to stop taking our hard earning money and supporting these racist people business. Money could never replace that embarrassment that young lady had to dealt with NYPD that day. Wake up people your money is your RACIST BUG FIGHTER..
Met, I bet any money this 21 yo old mother of two.. doesn’t own a car… does not live on her own…. boyfriend is a hustler and she has no where to store her new Celine bag because the pickney dem tings pack up inna di likkle 2 bedroom she a share wid mummy….
I see this story play out too many time! We all have guilty pleasures and indulge/over spend on certain items etc. But when are we as black people going to see that we are supporting people that hate us and we are continuously making a mockery of ourselves being slaves to these high-end designers! It’s different when you can afford to splurge but if your taking your tax money to make such a purchase then you cannot afford to buy it! SIMPLE!!!!
MET yuh know my point a view pon them type a topic yah aready. dem shoulda lack har u fi plain stupidity alone me nuh response. yeah a fi har money and rae rae. but them ole naygah yah a hold black people back.
a full time we come together and starve the beast. me decide years ago from the cristal incident fi stap support the racist pussyole overpriced brand name f**kery.
Kayla a teif she don’t even own a bed her fake batty MUMMA a tief her baby fada a tief…mi NUH know who she a fool.she have one pickney and twins on the way before she take her money n save for her kids she buy bag I never see her wear.N she is not no nursing student she need if cut it out