A Black woman in Chicago had the police called on her for trying to use a coupon while shopping. The man who called the police has been dubbed Coupon Carl and was a campaign delegate for Donald Trump’s presidential campaign. He is also running for Chicago City Council.
Camilla Hudson, 53, was using a self-checkout lane in a CVS and was unable to scan her coupon. Morry “Coupon Carl” Matson came over to assist her, 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.
“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 said she then followed a manager around the store, recording with her cellphone, until he went in the back where customers are not permitted. Matson eventually reappeared and told her he’d called the police.
Matson then called the police a second time. 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.
I’ve been asked many, many times today to add the video to my Twitter post. Not sure how or if I can add it the original, but here it is:
# pic.twitter.com/gelGpUUDcc
— Camilla Hudson (@Camilla317) July 14, 2018
Matson is seen on the phone with his hand visibly trembling, although it’s unclear why. Matson starts describing Hudson’s clothing but she assures him she’ll still be at the store when police arrive, identification ready. She gives her full name and adds that her last name is spelled “like the river.”
The person on the other end of the line presumably asks what Hudson’s race is, as Matson is heard responding, “African American.”
“No, I’m not African American. I’m Black. Black isn’t a bad word,” Hudson says.
No police report was filed, and CVS told Block Club Chicago in a statement that the situation is being investigated internally.
“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.”
Incidentally, Coupon Carl has his own history of forgery.
In 2016 Matson 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’s 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.
And this wasn’t his first offense. He ran into issues in 2013 and 2014, too.
Matson currently serves as president of the Log Cabin Republicans in Illinois.
