Apple farm apologizes for calling police on Black family

DANVERS, Mass. — A Massachusetts farm is apologizing after its staff accused a Black family of stealing apples and called the police.

Manikka Bowman and Jeff Myers said in a blog post that they’d visited Connors Farm in Danvers on Labor Day, spending more than $100 on admission, apple picking and food and drinks.

But the Cambridge, Massachusetts couple said they were confronted by farm staff over six apples that did not fit into the pre-paid apple picking bag.

They said the overflow fruits were in their child’s stroller but they intended to pay for them at the farm store, where they also planned to buy cider donuts.

Bowman, who is a vice chair of the city’s school committee, said a security guard instead searched her purse, and the manager called police when the couple demanded the farm owner’s contact information. The responding officer, the couple added, accused them of “playing the race card.”

“By jumping straight to an assumption of 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. “We are left wondering, was it ever about the apples?”

The farm, in a Facebook post, said it apologized to the family and will ensure staff “undergo diversity, equity and inclusion training.”

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