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CVS Manager Calls Police On Black Woman For Using A Coupon

CVS Manager Calls Police On Black Woman For Using A Coupon

Written by Ann Brown

Jul 17, 2018

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A Black CVS customer in Chicago had the police called on her by a white store manager for trying to use a coupon.

Three policemen responded to two 911 calls made by store manager Morry Matson, who called the police on customer Camilla Hudson, 53, because he didn’t recognize the coupon she was trying to redeem. Hudson posted the video to Facebook after she said managers at a CVS in Chicago claimed her coupon for a free product was “fraudulent,” USA Today reported. According to Hudson, she received the coupon in the mail.

Matson, who has been dubbed “Coupon Carl”  in social media and the press, was a campaign delegate for Donald Trump’s presidential campaign and is also running for Chicago City Council.

Hudson was using a self-checkout lane in a CVS and was unable to scan her coupon. Matson came over to help. Then a second manager came as well. The second manager, who has not been identified, said he did not recognize the coupon and that they could not accept it, Diversity Inc. reported.

“You’re calling me a liar, you’re calling me a thief, you’re calling me a forger,” Hudson told Block Club Chicago. “It’s not that they didn’t take the coupon or refused to take the coupon, it’s how he did it. He was nasty, he was unprofessional, he was dismissive, he was accusatory–his entire tone and demeanor was offensive and problematic.”

Hudson decided to take action by recording the manager with her cellphone. Matson called the police–not once, but twice. “Hudson recorded the second phone call and posted a video to Facebook, but the post has since been deleted. She shared it again on Twitter,” Diversity Inc. reported.

Hudson also posted a photo of the coupon and the address of the store.

During the police call, CVS manager Matson is heard responding, “African American,” presumably to a question about Hudson’s race.

“No, I’m not African American. I’m Black. Black isn’t a bad word,” Hudson replied.

Three officers responded to the manager’s call but didn’t take any action.

CVS also took action and fired Matson as well as the second manager. The company issued a statement:

“We sincerely apologize to Ms. Hudson for her experience in one of our stores,” the company said. “Our Region Director in Chicago contacted Ms. Hudson as soon as we were made aware of this incident. CVS has begun an investigation and we will take any corrective action that is warranted to prevent it from happening again.”

“CVS Pharmacy does not tolerate any practices that discriminate against any customer and we are committed to maintaining a welcoming and diverse environment in our stores,” CVS added. “We have firm non-discrimination policies in place to help ensure that all customers are treated with respect and dignity. Profiling or any other type of discriminatory behavior is strictly prohibited.”

Ironically, Matson has somewhat of a shady past. “In 2016 he submitted a petition to have an issue voted on in that year’s election. It was later discovered that he had forged some of the petition signatures, and the issue was removed from the ballot. Not only did Matson admit to writing some of the signatures himself, he also told DNAinfo he’d been collecting names for about 15 months–even though people are only allowed 90 days to do so,” Diversity Inc. reported.

This is just one of several growing incidents were Black people in the course of doing normal everyday tasks — from sitting at Starbucks, to checking out of an Airbnb to relaxing poolside at their apartment complex — have had police called on them.

 

 

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