Farm calls police on Black couple it believed stole 6 apples

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DANVERS, Mass. (AP) — A Massachusetts tourist farm called police on a Black couple it accused of stealing six apples and is now apologizing after the family went public in a blog post.

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

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

They said that the overflow fruits were in their child's stroller and that 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 that a security guard instead searched her purse, and that 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 Thursday, said it apologized to the family and will ensure staffers “undergo diversity, equity and inclusion training.”