1 Filtered Review of Arden's Garden

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saphiresumpter

Points +24

Vegan
18 Aug 2020

Incident at Arden's Garden - Main St

Location: Arden's Garden - 3113 Main St, East Point, GA 30344
Date / Time: Sunday, August 16, 2020 / Approx. 12:00 PM - 12:30 PM
Incident: Racial Discrimination and False Accusation

My partner has been an avid supporter and a loyal customer of Arden's Garden since 2015.

On Sunday, August 16, 2020, he placed an online curbside pickup order and called the store to confirm when he was arriving and what he would be wearing. He typically stands outside the store for his order to allow the delivery person a shorter distance to walk.

While waiting for the order that is taking longer than usual, he is approached by two police officers (Sergeant Starr and Officer Middlebrooks of the East Point Police Department) and told to place his hands behind his back. Without probable cause, he is immediately tightly handcuffed as the officers begin to demand to see his ID and the card he used to place the order.

My partner tells the officers he can show photos of his ID and debit card on his cell phone. An officer tells him he must search for the photos on his cell phone, while his hands are still tightly handcuffed behind his back. "That's the only way," the officer says.

As he stands inside the store searching for the photos, an Arden's Garden employee, possibly Stephany Velasco, asks if the officers can take my partner to the back of the store, out of the sight of other customers. The officers do so.

Once taken to the back of the store, my partner presents the photos on his cell phone to the officers. His ID and debit card are matched to the order he placed and it is determined he is not the suspect in question.

My partner is finally told by the officers there is allegedly a person who has placed an identical smoothie order for the past several days who is suspected of fraudulent activity. Although he never posed the slightest threat to anyone, he is told that he was placed in handcuffs for the safety of the officers, and now that it's been made clear he has been wrongfully accused, he is "free to go."


Updated from previous review on 2020-08-18