Patch reports<\/a>: \u2018An at emotional news conference, attorney Carl Douglas said Walgreens only has armed security guards at four stores in the Los Angeles<\/a> area. \u201cEach of these stores are in the black, brown and homeless and LGBT communities, and we want to know why,\u201d Douglas said on behalf of Hart\u2019s family.<\/p>\n Walgreens released a statement:\u00a0\u201c[We have] extended our deepest and most sincere condolences [to the Hart family]. [As a result of the shooting] we immediately terminated the security company. We are committed to providing a safe environment for our employees, patients and customers in the communities we serve. We contract for armed and unarmed security, as well as video<\/a> surveillance, in our stores based on the public safety needs of each location. We operate in thousands of communities and neighborhoods across the nation and the suggestion that we would inappropriately serve any community is simply false. We firmly believe everyone should be welcomed and treated equally in all of our stores.\u201d<\/p>\n Douglas insisted Hart was not shoplifting but said that<\/a> \u201cHart and another black man<\/a> were in the store, and at one point while inside the store, one of them picked up a $2.99 water flavoring product. The guard confronted the men<\/a> and got into an argument with Hart.\u201d<\/p>\n Douglas added:\u00a0\u201cThe guard feels the man<\/a> push him one time.\u00a0The guard pushes the man<\/a> back one time. The guard watches as the man<\/a> turns to run toward the back door. The guard raises his gun and points at the man<\/a>. The guard says, `Freeze,\u2019 as the man<\/a> travels toward the door. The guard fires one shot, striking the man<\/a> in the back of the neck. The guard watches as the man<\/a> crumbles to the ground.\u201d<\/p>\n CBS News reported on yesterday\u2019s news conference, but omitted any reference to Douglas\u2019s charges that Hart was targeted because he was gay<\/a>:<\/p>\n<\/p>\n The L.A. Times reports<\/a>: \u2018Family attorney Carl Douglas also called on Los Angeles County Dist. Atty. Jackie Lacey to file manslaughter charges against the\u00a0guard who shot and killed Jonathan Hart on Dec. 2<\/a>. \u2026 \u201cWalgreens, the blood of Jonathan Hart is on your hands,\u201d said Douglas, who called for a boycott of the company. The lawyer said Hart was profiled, harassed and ultimately shot because he was a homeless, gay<\/a>, black man<\/a>.\u2019<\/p>\n Added Douglas: \u201cJonathan Hart was profiled because he was homeless. He was harassed because he was gay<\/a>. And he was shot, because he was black.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p>\n The post Family Sues Walgreens for $525 Million, Says Security Killed Unarmed Man Because He Was Black and Gay<\/a> appeared first on Towleroad Gay News<\/a>.<\/p>\n