CVS Apologizes After Manager Calls Police on Black Customer

CVS Pharmacy has issued an apology after a manager at a Chicago location was caught on video calling the police on a black customer, apparently without cause.

The video was recorded by Camilla Hudson, a 53-year-old who says that she was simply trying to use a manufacturer coupon in the store when the manager became “agitated and rude.” The two managers — one named Brandon, the other named Morry Matson, according to Hudson’s post — both threatened to call the police if she did not leave the store.

Hudson recorded the tense moment when Matson called the police. Though she spoke calmly and clearly, his left hand shook violently as he held the phone to his face. When police arrived, they found nothing out of order. They left without taking any action, according to a report by the Associated Press.

Now, the company has offered an official apology to Hudson. CVS is reportedly investigating the matter, and assured hudson that it does not tolerate discrimination against customers.

“An apology is a good place to start,” Hudson wrote on Facebook.

Since the incident, Matson has been identified as a candidate for alderman in the 40th Ward on Chicago‘s Far North Side. According to a report by Block Club Chicago, he is a self-described Log Cabin Republican — a group of Republicans sympathetic to LGBTQ causes.

Matson’s campaign website was taken down as of Monday. In it, he reportedly claimed to be a delegate for President Donald Trump’s 2016 campaign, though his name did not appear on an official list. It is unclear if he is still running for office.

Hudson spoke to Block Club Chicago about the incident, reflecting on the recent surge of viral videos showing white people calling the police on black people, apparently for no reason.

“I think it’s resonating because we see and we hear these things, and even though… for me, as a black woman, I know this is real — you’re never really expecting it,” she said. “In Charlottesville, that’s where you expect these things to happen. Not when you turn randomly into the CVS at 11:30 p.m.”

Hudson also said that she only pushed the issue because Matson’s co-worker was presumptuous and disrespectful to her.

“It’s not that they didn’t take the coupon or refused to take the coupon, it’s how he did it,” she said. “He was nasty, he was unprofessional, he was dismissive, he was accusatory — his entire tone and demeanor was offensive and problematic.”