Lawmaker says daughter profiled at Clackamas mall

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — An Oregon state representative is encouraging people to loiter at Clackamas Town Center after she says her teenage daughter was harassed and racially profiled by mall security for sitting in her car with friends.

State Rep. Janelle Bynum, a Democrat from Clackamas, said her 17-year-old daughter was in a parked car with two other friends Friday, trying to decide what to do because they couldn’t get into an R-rated movie, when one friend didn’t have a license with her to prove her age.

Bynum said the encounter occurred about 5 p.m. She said her daughter and friends were sitting in the car for about 10 minutes when the mall security officer parked, walked up to them and told them the mall had strict “no loitering” policies.

The Oregonian/OregonLive reports that by Sunday, Bynum urged others on Facebook to participate in what she called a week-long “loiter-in” at the mall for her daughter.

Messages left for Clackamas Town Center management and security were not returned.