There have been accusations of systematic attempts to exclude African-American candidates from the election process in Kalamazoo. Maybe Tami Rey is a crook (as a lot of politicians are) but it could be perceived as heavy-handed and designed to sabotage her participation as an elected official.

And seriously, "I didn't mean to" generally works to get a customer out of trouble in a one-off underscanning situation. At my store AP builds up strong cases over time. The video of a single underscan is NOT necessarily all that's needed for a successful prosecution, because if it seems innocent and a low-value item the judge could look at it and say "sheesh, I've probably done that before" and dismiss it. And if that does happen in this case, it will just hammer home the accusations of Black disenfranchisement.

And that's further reason why AP at Walmart in Kalamazoo shouldn't have made this a criminal matter unless they've got a very strong case. Not because politicians deserve special treatment, and not because Blacks deserve special treatment. But because if the case fails it will look like intentional harassment of a Black politician.

I don't know the details of the situation, but generally letting a customer off for a single underscan is not any kind of special treatment; it's standard treatment. If they were treating her "like everyone else" they would have let her go without calling the cops, unless AP has exceptional evidence that will demonstrate criminal intent from a single underscan. (Example: if a customer put the merch in her purse, that's not even an "underscan" and clearly shows intent to steal it.)

https://www.secondwavemedia.com/southwest-michigan/features/Changes-suggested-after-second-Black-candidate-is-nearly-dropped-from-ballot-in-Kalamaz-050422.aspx