Cops: Boca Raton Woman Allegedly Shoplifted, Then Claimed Security Guard Was ‘Racist’

Amanda Simmons (Photo: Palm Beach County Jail)

A Boca Raton woman is accused of shoplifting from a local big box store, then proceeding to cause a ‘disturbing’ scene after allegedly calling the security guard who caught her a racist.

Amanda Simmons, 35, is now facing charges of theft, disturbing the peace and resisting arrest without violence following the incident, which occurred Tuesday at the Target store in Boynton Beach. According to a police report, Boynton Beach officers were called to the store by a security guard, who was still engaged in a verbal dispute with the suspect when they arrived at 4:35 p.m. The officers said a large crowd had gathered around the entrance to the store and were recording the incident with their phones, with some appearing “visibly disturbed” by the fracas.

According to the report, Simmons vehemently denied attempting to steal merchandise from the store. The security guard told officers that Simmons selected numerous electronic items and loaded them into a shopping cart before allegedly exiting the store without paying for them. When the security guard, described as a black male, attempted to detain her, she “became aggressive, yelling and accusing [him] of being racist,” the report said.

The security guard, in a sworn statement to police, said Simmons allegedly proceeded to a self-checkout station and began to throw items while loudly yelling. Simmons was still in possession of some of the items by the time police arrived, the report said. The alleged theft was also captured on CCTV video from the store, which was reviewed by responding officers. During her encounter with police, Simmons is accused of resisting arrest by tensing her body, pulling away from the arresting officer and “dropping her body weight to the ground,” the report stated.

The total cost of the items in question was $360.54.

Simmons was released from the Palm Beach County Jail on Wednesday after posting a combined bail of $2,250 for the three charges.