PHOENIX — An Arizona man is suing a national movie theater chain after he said a manager at an Ahwatukee location racially discriminated against him.
Larry Shelton says he was at a showing of "Captain Marvel" on March 8 when the manager at the AMC Ahwatukee 24 accused him of sneaking in without a ticket and had police officers escort him out of the theater.
"It was very embarrassing and I felt racially discriminated against. I don't know why he picked me out of everyone," Shelton told 12 News.
Shelton said he bought his ticket online for the late showing, got a pair of 3D glasses at the entrance and bought popcorn and a drink before heading into the auditorium. About an hour into the movie, Shelton went to use the restroom and that's when the theater manager approached him.
Shelton recorded the confrontation on his cell phone. In the video, you can hear the manager say, "Sir, you walked in the exit door and my staff informed me that they did not sell you a ticket."
SHELTON'S VIDEO: Arizona man records confrontation with AMC manager
Shelton, a mortgage broker, told the manager to check security video to make sure it was him. He says the manager refused so he headed back to finish watching the movie. The manager then called the police.
When police arrived, Shelton showed the manager and the officers his ticket.
In the video Shelton recorded on his cell phone, the manager tells him he should have shown his ticket to him earlier. Shelter responds, "No, I shouldn't. You just came at me out of the blue. He automatically assumed."
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AMC says it has apologized to Shelton for the misunderstanding. The theater company released a statement to 12 News Wednesday saying that it was an "unfortunate situation" and some it sometimes is "unavoidable" that they "misidentify unauthorized entrants" due to the high number of customers.
"AMC is committed to the safety of our guests and controlling unauthorized entry is critical for safety," the statement read. "We will redouble our efforts to minimize misidentification in the future."
Here is the full statement from AMC:
"AMC regrets that this unfortunate situation occurred. AMC is committed to the safety of our guests and controlling unauthorized entry is critical for safety. In serving more than 250 million guests a year, despite our best efforts, it is unavoidable that we would occasionally misidentify unauthorized entrants, as was the case in this instance.
AMC has sincerely apologized to Mr. Shelton for this misunderstanding, and we will redouble our efforts to minimize misidentification in the future.
Having said that, AMC’s record on hiring and featuring a beautifully diverse array of talent, and serving diverse audiences, speaks for itself. We are among America’s Best Employers for Diversity in 2019 (Forbes Magazine), America’s Best Places to Work for Disability Inclusion (American Association of People with Disabilities), America’s Best Places to Work for LGBTQ Equality (the Human Rights Campaign) and rate 100% on the Corporate Equality Index.
That record is who we are, and any assertion to the contrary is baseless and false."
Shelton is filing a lawsuit against AMC Theatres because he is concerned that the incident will hurt his reputation in the community and his business.
"I'm thinking, when they see me in the future, the public: That's the black guy who snuck in the theater and police had to take out," Shelton said.