Pharmacy giant CVS has apologized to a Black Chicago woman after an Edgewater manager—a white, openly gay man who is also running for 48th Ward alderman—phoned the police after she reportedly attempted to use a coupon he didn't recognize late on July 13.
Camilla Hudson posted a cellphone video to social media July 14 that showed a visibly trembling Morry Matson speaking on the phone with police after she attempted to purchase an item using a manufacturer's coupon he alleged that she'd forged. The video was deleted by Facebook at one point, but Hudson was able to repost it.
The CVS outlet in question is at 6150 N. Broadway.
Prior to announcing his aldermanic bid, Matson said that he was heading up an effort to revitalize the local branch of the Log Cabin Republicans. He has long been active in an effort to further extend the Lakefront Path; that effort was at one point derailed when a referendum petition Matson organized was discovered to have a number of fraudulent signatures.
Chicago Sun-Times reported on the apology by Woonsocket, Rhode Island-based CVS July 14. Spokesperson Mike DeAngelis told the paper that, "We sincerely apologize to Ms. Hudson for her experience in one of our stores. 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."
Hudson noted on Facebook that Matson's trembling, visible on her video, only started when he phoned 911 a second time.
"Morry Matson was not shaking and not having tremors of any kind when he first started assisting me at the self-checkout register in the store," she said. "He also did not have any tremors when we moved over to a regular register for him to assist me with the sale. He had no tremors when he initially warned me of having called the police. The tremors began when he called the police for what he said was the second time—which is the 911 call I videotaped."
State Rep. Juliana Stratton, D-Chicago, who is also running to be the state's next lieutenant governor and is a childhood friend of Hudson's, weighed in on the matter on Twitter: "Yesterday the police were called by a @cvspharmacy employee who assumed she had the wrong coupon. We cannot take lightly the calling of police on black people carrying out normal, everyday activities. It's traumatizing and it's wrong."
State Rep. Kelly Cassidy, D-Chicago, added on Twitter: "Dear Mr. Matson: This isn't how we treat our neighbors in Edgewater. You're an embarrassment. … Let this racist fool know the people of the 48th Ward deserve better."
Chicago Sun-Times' article is at bit.ly/2LmJTcx .
