Albuquerque teacher faces arrest; protests Apple Store policies
Posted at: 07/14/2012 9:29 PM
| Updated at: 07/16/2012 4:59 PM
By: Maria Guerrero, KOB Eyewitness News 4
An Albuquerque teacher risked being arrested in order to make her voice heard.
Jeanne Pahls and a group of residents spent Saturday morning at ABQ Uptown.
They weren’t shopping; instead they protested the Apple Store.
Despite getting a letter from ABQ Uptown management, threatening to be arrested, protestors still gathered at the shopping center to voice their anger.
“I've gone to AppleCare, I've gone to the supervisor of this store and they all blew me off," said Pahls.
She is one frustrated customer. She and others took their complaints against Apple, to its only store in Albuquerque.
"It bothers me when big corporations take advantage of working people," said Charles Powell of Albuquerque.
Pahls is an Albuquerque teacher and an outspoken activist.
She says this situation started when a student stole her iPhone.
"When I went to Apple to help with this, they told me the phone wasn't registered and they blew me off. It turns out they had sold me a used phone," she said.
More police arrived at ABQ Uptown when Pahls refused to get off the private property.
"I'm going to stand here. I'll be arrested if I have to," she said.
Others joined in her fight. T
hey also accuse Apple of corporate greed, exploiting workers and not paying their fair taxes.
Even a customer joined the protest. “If you're a consumer of a product you have an obligation to speak out to the company and demand better," said one man who didn’t want to be identified.
Apple wouldn't comment on the story.
ABQ Uptown issued the following statement, "ABQ Uptown's posted code of conduct is in place to help ensure that our shoppers enjoy a safe, quality shopping experience. Protests on private property are not part of that shopping experience."
Police say protests like these are always a delicate balance.
"We'll find the best way of making sure things stay peaceful and that everybody's has the opportunity to exercise that right to free speech," said APD Sgt. Ferris Simmons.
After an hour and a half, police gave Pahls a criminal trespass notification.
It said she was on private property and had to leave. If she didn’t, she could be arrested.
Pahls later spoke with KOB-TV. She said she wasn’t arrested but was banned from ABQ Uptown, and Cottonwood Malls.
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