The attorneys representing a man who accused AMC’s Ahwatukee theater of racial profiling nearly two years ago announced on Wednesday they filed a $100,000 lawsuit against the movie-theater chain. 

Larry Shelton, who is Black, said he was asked to leave the theater in the Ahwatukee Foothills neighborhood of Phoenix after being accused of not paying for a ticket and sneaking inside in March 2019. Despite eventually showing his movie ticket to staff, Shelton was ultimately escorted out of the theater by police and denied a refund. 

The video he took of the confrontation went viral at the time. 

A civil complaint filed on Wednesday in Maricopa County Superior Court accused the movie theater chain and employees, including an unnamed manager at the time, of three counts of negligence and one count of intentional infliction of emotional distress. It alleges they racially profiled, harassed and made false statements against Shelton. 

Shelton during a virtual news conference on Wednesday said the experience caused him anxiety to the point that he hasn’t been to another movie theater since. 

“I just want justice to be done so no one, no other Black person, would ever have to endure that embarrassment or the anxiety of feeling like you’re a thief when I clearly wasn’t,” he said. “It seems like you always have to prove yourself, by being a Black person, when someone white is accusing you of something.”

Shelton’s lawyers: This is about protecting Black people from profiling

Shelton’s attorneys Benjamin Taylor, Ben Crump and Jasmine Rand also attended the virtual news conference on Wednesday.

“He had to, as so often many African Americans have to do, fight against the presumption of guilt, fight against the presumption of being illegitimate, fight against the presumption of being the stereotype that many in society place upon African Americans,” Crump said. 

Rand explained the lawsuit was being filed now because attempts to resolve it privately with AMC hadn’t been successful and the two-year statute of limitations was fast approaching.

“If AMC was dedicated to equality they would’ve done right by Mr. Shelton because he was the one that was wronged and removed from the theater in this instance,” Rand said. “And because they have never done right by Mr. Shelton to this day, nearly two years later, that’s why we’re filing a lawsuit.”

A spokesperson for AMC did not immediately respond to a request for comment. 

March 2019: AMC manager called police on Shelton, accused him of sneaking into Marvel movie

Shelton on March 8, 2019, purchased a digital voucher online for the 10:30 p.m. showing of “Captain Marvel,” according to the complaint. He was given a printed paper ticket for the movie when he arrived to the theater, he said. 

About an hour into the movie, Shelton left his seat to use the bathroom and refill his drink. As he was walking back to his seat, he was approached by an AMC manager, who is white, who said he saw him “come through the exit doors with his own eyes,” the complaint said. 

The manager then told Shelton to leave while Shelton told him to check their surveillance cameras to see that he did not enter through an exit door, according to the complaint. Shelton returned to his seat in the crowded theater but the manager followed him. Eventually, the manager called a security guard and then police. 

“Defendant AMC’s behavior made it increasingly clear to Plaintiff that he was being racially profiled and that Defendant John Doe I falsely accused Plaintiff of entering through the exit door because of his race,” the complaint stated. 

Shelton at one point began to record the incident with his phone because “he began fearing for his safety,” the complaint said. Shelton later shared the video on Facebook, sparking outcry and prompting some to call for a boycott of the movie theater chain. 

Shelton ultimately showed police and the manager his movie ticket but was physically removed from the theater and refused a refund because the manager said he violated their code of conduct by having a cellphone light on while recording the incident in the movie theater.

AMC apologized to Shelton for the incident and offered him vouchers for a free movie, soda and popcorn. He at the time called the offer “insulting” and suggested the manager be fired and more diversity training implemented. 

In a statement to The Arizona Republic at the time, AMC officials said the incident was “avoidable” and “could have been handled differently to minimize frustration.”

“We understand that Mr. Shelton feels he was treated with bias,” the statement said. “Equality is of the utmost importance to AMC, which is why unconscious bias training is required for all AMC management associated, and we will be reinforcing that training at this theatre.”

Republic reporter BrieAnna J. Frank contributed to this report. 

Reach the reporter at [email protected] or follow her on Twitter @curtis_chels. 

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