Tampa CVS shopper picking up posters she’d ordered claims a manager’s shoplifting accusation left her feeling ‘lower than I’ve ever felt’

A CVS manager in Tampa, Florida, allegedly confronted a customer with shoplifting accusations that left her feeling humiliated and targeted. Kyera Shabazz went to the pharmacy to pick up posters for a murder mystery party. Still, the visit turned into a public ordeal when a manager approached her at a self-checkout kiosk, according to Atlanta Black Star.

Shabazz says she emptied her pockets at the CVS manager’s request while recording on her phone. She also suggested checking the security footage to clear up the confusion, but says the manager refused. Beyond surveillance cameras, some CVS locations have introduced additional anti-theft measures.

She later described the encounter on TikTok. “For the next two minutes, he stood there accusing and belittling me in front of customers, making me feel lower than I’ve ever felt,” Shabazz wrote.

She says she was only replacing a lipstick she lost in a fire

The accusation reportedly centered on makeup. Shabazz says she had recently lost belongings in an apartment fire and was replacing personal items, including a tube of lipstick. The CVS manager allegedly accused her of stealing additional makeup products, though she maintains the lipstick was the only item she picked up.

As she left, Shabazz claims the manager threatened to file a report and said he hoped her tag wasn’t covered, an apparent reference to her license plate. Her husband later returned to the store to collect the posters she had ordered. However, she says the CVS manager told him the items were not at the location.

Shabazz described the toll in the same post. “I left that store carrying more than a lipstick. I left carrying the humiliation of being accused of something I hadn’t done, the shock of being treated that way, and the utter sadness of finally starting to rebuild, only to be kicked down again,” Shabazz wrote in her caption.

A CVS spokesperson reportedly said the company apologized to Shabazz and addressed the matter with the store team. “We want everyone who visits our stores to feel welcome and respected,” the spokesperson said. However, the company did not disclose whether the manager still works there.

According to Shabazz, she was still recovering from the fire. “The entire situation has been incredibly traumatizing. I went into CVS to rebuild what I lost in an apartment fire, and instead, I was made to feel like a criminal,” Shabazz wrote.

Florida law only protects stores that have real grounds to stop a shopper

Florida’s retail theft statute allows a merchant or employee who has probable cause to believe a theft occurred to detain a suspect. The detention must be reasonable and for a reasonable length of time, and police must be called immediately. Staff are shielded from false arrest claims only when they meet those requirements.

The encounter may not have amounted to a detention under the statute, as Shabazz says she could leave the store. The law’s definition of anti-shoplifting devices includes security video. However, nothing in it appears to require a store to show that footage to a customer it accuses.

Shabazz says she has been in contact with a CVS district manager about the incident. She still hopes to see the security footage, which she believes will show she did not steal anything.

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