Bob Collins(Post is updated at bottom of page to include full SA statement)
What little credibility a claim of anti-American bias against a soldier at a SuperAmerica station still had, appears to have evaporated today when the company released the results of its investigation into the allegation, a day after the soldier’s father recanted his original Facebook post.
The brouhaha started when Dave Boucha of Minneapolis posted that the SuperAmerica station denied service to his daughter, Caitlin, because nearby immigrant cab drivers hated America and were offended by a member of the military. That sparked online outrage and calls to boycott the convenience store company.
On Tuesday, SuperAmerica and Boucha said it was a “misunderstanding.”
By Wednesday afternoon, Boucha backtracked on his story, acknowledging that there was no factual evidence the incident occurred.
Boucha has since deleted all references to the allegation from his Facebook page.
WCCO reports today that the woman was not at the store where the incident allegedly occurred.
On Thursday, SuperAmerica released an update on their investigation into the incident, saying that they worked with the Minneapolis Airport Police Department as well as military personnel.
They said that security video showed that the serviceperson was not at that location and didn’t use her credit card there. After initially refusing to meet with law enforcement, she was not able to identify the store employee from a lineup, SuperAmerica said.
SuperAmerica’s corporate parent has not yet responded to a request for more information.
Mr. Boucha has also not returned any messages.
Update 4:03 p.m. – Here is the full statement from SuperAmerica (Northern Tier Energy)
SuperAmerica Statement
The investigation into the alleged incident at the Post Road SuperAmerica location has been completed. The Minneapolis Airport Police, military personnel, and SuperAmerica senior management were involved in the investigation. The investigation included interviews with the store employees, the customer and members of her family, a review of both internal and external store video, and a review of credit card and debit card transactions. A summary of the findings as outlined in the Minneapolis Airport Police Report is provided below:• Security video shows that the customer was not at the SuperAmerica location at 5201 Post Road
• SuperAmerica credit card transaction history shows the customer did not use her credit card at 5201 Post Road
• The customer initially refused to meet with law enforcement
• The customer was unsure how the store employee’s comments were discriminatory
• The customer’s story is not consistent with her credit card/debit card statements
• The customer could not identify the store employee from an employee lineup
• SuperAmerica was fully cooperative with any requests
• SuperAmerica answered and/or returned all phone calls immediately
• SuperAmerica has proven its efforts to locate this alleged incident and handle it professionally
• Overall, security video shows that the customer was not present at SuperAmerica and her credit/debit cards statements are consistent with the video results.SuperAmerica thanks all of the individuals and organizations involved in this investigation as well as the public for their patience during the time of this extensive investigation.
SuperAmerica continues to support our military through numerous opportunities including being designated a yellow ribbon company for its support and employment of our nation’s veterans, the Minnesota Military Family Association, and our Defending the Blue Line program for military, police, and firefighters. Their dedication and sacrifices are greatly appreciated by all of our SuperAmerica family.
