A Black customer at a Virginia Dunkin Donuts says she was asked to leave and had the police called on her for using the shop’s free WiFi.
Tirza told NBC4 she is a regular at the Fairfax location. On Nov. 7, she opened her laptop to work, and a woman who identified herself as the owner told her she would need to make a purchase to stay. “I felt racially profiled,” Tirza said.
She recorded part of the exchange on her phone, and the video was later posted to Facebook. In it, the owner, identified as Christina, says she has had problems with customers in the past and adds that she is not calling Tirza a problem. Tirza said she had not been loud or disruptive. According to the video, Christina said she has people of color in her family and called the situation offensive before calling the police.
Tirza said she stayed until officers arrived because she did not want to look like she had done something wrong. When police came, they escorted her out. She says that when she asked why she had to leave, an officer answered that it was because the owner wanted her to.
Dunkin Donuts responded with a statement saying it wants every customer treated with dignity and respect and that this did not happen in Fairfax. The company said it apologized to the customer on behalf of the brand and the franchisee, and noted that franchises set their own WiFi rules. Christina’s side of the story was limited to what was captured on video at the time.
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