An earlier version of this story incorrectly described the findings in the case.
A jury in DeKalb County recently awarded an Atlanta musician $600,000 in a 2008 incident in which he was falsely accused of shoplifting from Dillard's at Perimeter Mall.
Damien Solomon, who lives in Atlanta and Los Angeles, sued the department store after being falsely accused of shoplifting a pair of Levi's jeans, and being arrested in connection with the false accusation, according to court documents.
The verdict, which was rendered March 3, included $250,000 in general damages and $350,000 in punitive damages.
Attorneys for Dillard's could not immediately be reached Thursday.
"Regarding the State Court of DeKalb County case involving Damien Solomon, it is important to note that this case has nothing to do with race. The judge ruled that there was no evidence of racial profiling or racial motivation in this case and further that the Plaintiff had no basis to inject race into this case. Race was simply never at issue and any statement to the contrary is a gross mischaracterization of the facts. Importantly, all Dillard's associates involved in the detention and arrest of Solomon including the Dillard's manager were African American. Dillard's intends to vigorously fight the verdict on appeal, " said Dillard's Spokeswoman Julie Johnson Bull in an emailed statement Friday.
While Solomon and his attorneys alleged the incident was a case of racial profiling in their complaint, the judge did not allow the plaintiff's lawyer, James Hugh Potts II, to use the phrase during the trial.
"We just called it 'profiling'," Potts said. "And thank God the jury could see what really happened."
Solomon, 36, who is black, said at the time of the accusation he believed he was targeted because of his race.
During a phone interview Thursday, Solomon said his life has been in limbo for nearly six years because of the incident. He said he's still trying to clear his name from the criminal charges and that he felt compelled to go through with the lawsuit because companies like Dillard's shouldn't be able to bully people.
"I didn't do anything wrong," Solomon told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. "I'm trying to make sure people don't have this problem in the future, because I'd hate to see someone else go through this."
Solomon said he'd already left the store and was making a purchase at a neighboring store when loss prevention officers from Dillard's approached him. He said when he left Dillard's his hands were empty, and video surveillance makes it clear that he did not take anything.
"I didn't have a bag, I didn't have a coat and I didn't have on a sweatshirt or anything," he said over the phone. "I couldn't have hidden anything. So why'd they pick me? Why did they do this to me?"
"Their pictures and the surveillance video prove Damien did not steal any jeans," Potts said in an email to The AJC. "Dillard's knew that. They just would not tell the truth."
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