A bookstore in Chicago has been accused of asking a woman who was allegedly an Illinois police officer to leave the premises because it was not a "cop-friendly" business.
A cop from Illinois who simply wanted to purchase a Bible was allegedly turned away by a Chicago bookstore as they were not a "cop-friendly" store. News of the incident came from a May 17 Facebook post by a woman named Jo Riv Bridges, who claimed she walked into her "beloved" Pilsen Community Books (PCB) in the cultural neighborhood of Pilsen in Chicago, where she wanted to purchase a Bible while dressed in her on-duty uniform.
"When I walked in, in uniform, I was told I couldn't be in there because of my equipment. I told her I was on duty, and could carry," Bridges wrote on Facebook. "She went on to say 'this is not a cop friendly space.'"
Bridges, who described herself as a "gay Mexican-American woman, whose served her country and continues to serve her community," admitted that she was "shocked and heartbroken" over the treatment she received from the staff of the Chicago bookstore. She recounted how she had lived in Pilsen for seven years and was dismayed about how she was treated.
Bridges said her voice "cracked" when she told the Chicago bookstore staff that "as a woman, a Mexican, a member of the community," she "couldn't believe what she was doing." She vowed never to visit the bookstore again.
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Chicago Bookstore Turned Away a Customer for Wearing a Police Uniform
Bridges' Facebook post has earned almost 500 reactions and more than 100 comments, most of which were shocked at how she was being treated. According to the Christian Post, Pilsen Community Books took to Twitter a day after Bridges wrote the Facebook post to share that its policy is to keep "a police-free store"
"Fighting for a world where everyone is free is more than a cheeky t-shirt, a slogan or a few well-timed tweets; to us, it means fostering a space where the most vulnerable feel welcome and safe," the Chicago bookstore's May 18 tweet read.
In another tweet in the same thread, PCB defined the community welcome to visit their store as "young organizers," teachers and parents. The Chicago bookstore said, "THESE people are our community, and these people are always welcome."
The Chicago bookstore asserted, "In the interest of fostering a safe space for all of these people, whenever possible, we aim to keep PCB a police-free store." The tweets were accompanied by a photo of several books, including one about abolishing the police.
PCB is associated with "Liberation Library," a movement to provide books to incarcerated youth in Illinois and "fight for a world where prisons no longer exist," the Chicago bookstore's website read. Under the U.S.' Civil Rights Act of 1964, businesses must not discriminate by refusing service to customers based on their race, color, religion or national origin. However, discrimination based on one's profession is not a protected class.
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