Kate Lynn Blatt, a Pottsville trans woman, says anti-trans bias by a Walmart employee prevented her from accessing a female fitting room at the store.
On May 28, Blatt was shopping for clothes with her wife, Lindsey Nowak, at a Walmart store in Saint Clair when the alleged incident took place.
Blatt said a female attendant refused to allow her to try on a pair of shorts in a female fitting room. Instead, Blatt allegedly was directed to a “unisex” fitting room closer to the male fitting rooms.
Walmart fitting rooms are single-occupancy.
Blatt, 35, initially was interested in purchasing the shorts for an upcoming Memorial Day event. But due to the alleged mistreatment, she no longer was interested in the sale, and handed the item to an attendant.
A disturbance allegedly ensued, and Walmart personnel summoned Saint Clair police.
Onlookers allegedly became involved, hurling obscenities and death threats at Blatt.
“One man in a yellow shirt threatened to stick a knife in my face and ‘roll’ me in the parking lot,” Blatt said.
According to Blatt, a Saint Clair police officer arrived, but did nothing to stop the obscenities and death threats hurled at her. Instead, Blatt said, the officer told her that she may receive a criminal citation in the mail.
Blatt said she was left upset and shaken by the incident.
“It was awful. [The staff and patrons] were blocking my exit and I was terrified.”
Saint Clair Police Chief William M. Dempsey told PGN the responding officer, Bryce Lewis, was unavailable for comment.
Dempsey said witness statements are being reviewed, and it may be necessary to consult with the Schuylkill County District Attorney’s Office prior to deciding whether to issue any criminal citations.
Dempsey declined to say whether LGBT-sensitivity training would be offered to police officers on the Saint Clair force.
Dempsey released this written narrative of the incident: “On 05/28/2016 @ approximately 13:23 HRS, the Saint Clair Police were dispatched to respond to Wal-Mart Supercenter #2535, located at 500 Terry Rich Blvd., Saint Clair, PA 17970. Police were contacted by the Walmart for a report of a disturbance/assault. Several Walmart employees related to police that an individual assaulted an employee. This investigation is still under investigation.”
Blatt emphatically denied striking or assaulting a Walmart employee.
As of presstime, no citation had been issued to Blatt.
On June 6, PGN filed an open-records request for the official police-incident report pertaining to the incident.
A Walmart spokesperson couldn’t be reached for comment.