|
 Trayon Christian, a technical college student from Queens, had
sued Barneys and the city of New York claiming his civil rights were
violated when he was handcuffed and detained by police for two hours
in April, 2013 after buying a $349 Ferragamo belt with his savings.
Christian's lawsuit against the retailer and city, filed in the U.S.
District Court for the Southern District of New York, sought
unspecified damages and the amount of the settlement with Barney's
was not immediately known.
New York City agreed to settle its part for $45,000, Nick Paolucci,
a spokesman for the city's law department, said on Tuesday.
"Settling was in the best interest of the city," he said.
 The retailer could not immediately be reached for comment about the
case. The store has said it has zero tolerance for any form of
discrimination.
In 2014, Barneys agreed to pay a $525,000 fine, hire an
anti-profiling consultant and re-train its employees in a settlement
with New York state Attorney General Eric Schneiderman.
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After the Christian case became public, another black customer,
Kayla Phillips, also came forward saying she was stopped by police
officers at a subway station after she left Barneys with her
purchase of a $2,500 Celine purse in February, 2013. Phillips, a
nursing student, had received a tax return and decided to splurge on
the designer bag, her attorney said.
Civil rights groups organized protests outside the store and called
for a boycott, saying the two customers were unfairly targeted
because of their race.
(Reporting by Victoria Cavaliere in LOS ANGELES and Nate Raymond in
NEW YORK; Editing by Kenneth Maxwell)
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