Black Women Claim Security Guard 'Harassed' Them at Self-Checkout, Internet Says She Was Doing Her Job

Two sisters, who are Black recently accused a Safeway security guard of profiling and racism after she alleged that they were bagging items without scanning them.

One of the sisters took to their Instagram on April 29, 2026, sharing a series of videos that captured the altercation with the security guard.

In the caption of the Instagram post, the woman explained that the incident occurred at Safeway in American Canyon, CA.

She explained that when she and her sister were scanning and bagging items, she suddenly noticed a security guard, identified as Anna, appeared to speak to a sales associate, whisper something, before she stood nearby and watched them closely.

The shopper said that when she turned and asked why she was watching them, she immediately accused them of not scanning items, which she alleged was completely false.

"We were literally in the middle of checking out. She accused us of stealing CHICKEN WINGS at that. The jokes literally write themselves," the woman explained.

She further admitted that they were not calm after being accused of stealing, claiming they felt "targeted and harassed," and started giving her "the same energy she was giving us."

"We called out what it was; profiling and racism. So no, we weren’t soft-spoken in that moment. We were standing up for ourselves," she added.

The Instagram user claimed their pushback towards Anna was labelled as "aggressive," and stated that she started calling them aggressive, and tried to "flip it and call us racist."

The situation escalated when the security guard allegedly began to follow the sisters outside the store, tried to take pictures of their license plate, and continued to harass them.

"She got on the phone describing us as 'loud, aggressive Black women,' clearly trying to paint a narrative," the woman continued.

However, the sisters chose to walk away, "Not because we were wrong, but because I have real life on the line right now. I’m on probation for another month, and I refused to let a situation SHE escalated cost me anything. So I removed myself," the woman explained.

In the first video, one of the sisters, who was recording the encounter, could be heard telling the security guard that they shop at the store "all the time," while the guard stood by unbothered.

In the second video, the woman was heard telling the guard, "I could show you aggressive," as the guard appeared to make a phone call.

Meanwhile, the third video featured the woman outside the store, while Anna stood at the entrance on a call, as another customer asked her to leave the sisters alone.

In the caption, the woman said that the security guard continued to follow and provoke them even after they left the store, and further accused Safeway employees of not intervening.

"The only people who had our backs were other Black customers; an older man and a young woman, and even other shoppers said she has a history of doing this to people," the woman stated.

She called the incident "humiliating," and "unnecessary," adding, "And it was wrong, ESPECIALLY coming from a Latina woman, who is apart of another marginalized community."

The incident sparked mixed reactions from social media users, with one user stating:

"Self checkout especially if you're black they're gonna watch you. Whenever I see lots of eyes on me I will ask for help so instead of them watching me they can scan my groceries for me."

"Usually the one who is the maddest and loudest are guilty…They was doing something and got mad cause they was being watched," another user stated.

A third user stated that the security guard was doing her job.

"God forbid a security is doing their job," they remarked.

Another X user expressed similar views, writing: "security guard just doing what he paid for and these two turn it into “racism”… they make uncomfortable moment a federal case. keep playing victim, y’all the reason stores got 10 guards now."

In 2024, Safeway decided to remove self-checkout services from a few stores in the Bay Area due to concerns about theft.

"Operational changes have been made at select stores throughout the Bay Area given the increasing amount of theft," Safeway stated in a statement to KTVU.

"Self-checkout kiosks have been removed at a few stores. Like other local businesses, we are working on ways to curtail escalating theft so we can ensure the well-being of our employees and foster a welcoming environment for our customers.”