Wolfchase Galleria defends no-hoodie rule after arrests
After an uproar over the arrests of two black men over the weekend, Wolfchase Galleria doubled down late Monday on an unposted rule that forbids people from wearing hooded sweatshirts in the Cordova-area mall — even if the hood is down.
Here’s the full statement from mall owner Simon Property Group, as relayed by the group’s public relations firm:
“Wolfchase Galleria is focused on providing a safe environment for all customers and employees. We require customers to not conceal their identity while on mall property as a matter of public safety. It is important that our security cameras and security personnel be able to see the faces of everyone on property. Mall security personnel respectfully ask all customers concealing their identity to conform to the policy. Police are only called if a customer refuses or becomes belligerent. In this instance, a Memphis Police Department officer repeatedly requested the individual to remove his ‘hoodie.’ He did not comply with this directive and was removed from the mall. The incident on Saturday night was managed by the MPD and we refer all questions about the circumstances to MPD.”
Former Commercial Appeal reporter Kevin McKenzie, who took a video of one of the arrests, was himself led out in handcuffs by a Memphis Police Department officer.
McKenzie, 59, wrote a detailed account that traced the steps of how he was detained while attempting to film the arrest. His wife, Peggy, a former CA editor, shared her husband’s account on her Facebook page along with two videos McKenzie recorded during the encounter.
According to McKenzie, he was heading up the elevator to the second story of the mall when he caught sight of an older white security guard following a group of young black men.
After being detained, McKenzie found himself in the same small room as the young man initially arrested.
“The officers could have issued me a misdemeanor citation and released me, but I was told that because I continued talking, I was going to jail. Initially, officers told the young man whose arrest I captured on video that he, too, would be going to jail because I kept talking,” McKenzie wrote. “After he was thoroughly frightened, he was given a citation instead and released to appear in court later.”
Others ban baggy pants, ‘offensive’ clothing
While other Memphis-area malls don’t post explicit rules against hoodies, three others have policies that govern how mall patrons can dress.
“Carriage Crossing is committed to providing an enjoyable shopping environment for our community,” Amanda Bolton, marketing coordinator for the Collierville mall said in an email statement.
She referenced the mall’s code of conduct, which prohibits exposed underwear and baggy pants worn below the waist. According to a code of conduct posted on the Southland Mall’s website, “obscene or offensive” clothing is prohibited inside.
The rule at the Southaven Towne Center mall is more specific.
“Displaying or wearing any item which depicts sexually explicit activity, illegal activity or obscene or offensive language, wearing clothing or lack of clothing that is likely to create a disturbance or embroil others in open conflict or that offends community standards of decency, or that impinges on the sensitivities of others in the mall” is not allowed, the mall code of conduct says.
No spokespeople for Southland Mall, Southaven Towne Center, Oak Court Mall in Memphis and Tanger Outlets in Southaven commented to provide more specific information on their dress codes or enforcement policies.
The Commercial Appeal reporter Desiree Stennett contributed to this report.