Photo: Getty Images
A Massachusetts tourist farm issued an apology after calling the cops on a Black couple they accused of stealing six apples. The couple blasted the farm in a blog post, prompting the public apology.
Mannika Bowman and Jeff Myers said they ventured to the Connors Farm in Danvers over the Labor Day holiday weekend, spending over $100 on admission to the farm, apple picking, food and drinks. During the trip, the couple said staff members at the farm confronted them over six apples that didn’t fit into their prepaid apple picking bag.
The couple said they intended to pay for the overflow of apples at the farm store, and had placed the fruits in their toddler’s stroller until they could get to the store to make the purchase.
"They accused us of stealing while we were on our way to their farm store to buy more stuff, to spend more money at their establishment," they wrote in a blog post.
Bowman, who serves as a vice chair of the city’s school committee, said that a security guard approached them, searching her purse and that the manager called the police when they demanded to get the farm owner’s contact information.
The officer who arrived on the scene told the couple they were “playing the race card.”
“By jumping straight into an assumption of the theft, Connors Farm created a scene, harassing us and causing our 7-year-old to burst into tears, anguish that lasted well into the evening,” the couple wrote in a blog post online. “We are left wondering, was it ever about the apples?”
In a Facebook post made Thursday (September 9), the farm said it apologized to Bowman and Myers and vowed to ensure staff members “undergo diversity, equity and inclusion training.”
Get the latest news 24/7 on The Black Information Network. Listen now on the iHeartRadio app or click HERE to tune in live.