Jury Awards Woman $1 Million After Being Denied Service at Gas Station Due to Race

A Portland woman won $1 million in damages this week after a jury found she was racially discriminated against by a gas station attendant who told her “I don’t serve Black people.”

Rose Wakefield, 63, had stopped for a fill-up at Jacksons Food Store in Beaverton on March 12, 2020, when she noticed the attendant had ignored her car and was instead pumping gas for other drivers who had arrived later.

The attendant, 23-year-old Nigel Powers, responded: “I’ll get to you when I feel like it” after Wakefield asked for service, according to the lawsuit.

Surveillance footage played during the four-day civil trial showed Wakefield going inside the gas station mart and speaking with the manager and another employee, who eventually went outside and filled up Wakefield’s car.

Read the source article at adn.com