A social media tempest erupts from copier teapot

CELINA - CVS is facing a social media storm after a local veteran wrote in a viral Facebook post that he'd felt disrespected by an employee, but the company maintains the worker was following the veteran's instructions.

Celina Police Chief Tom Wale told the newspaper the incident occurred at about 5:15 p.m. Tuesday. A CVS manager filed a police report claiming Larry Regedanz, 51, had made her feel unsafe. Regedanz had reportedly gone to the pharmacy to get a copy of his 1986 boot camp picture and was told he could not because the image was protected by a copyright.

In a Facebook post made by Regedanz and an email he sent to the newspaper, he wrote that his mother had tried to get a copy made of the photo to replace her damaged one, which she planned to use to submit for banners honoring local military members. He wrote that his mother was told the photo could not be copied since it bore a copyright.

Regedanz wrote that he then went to CVS himself to ask for the copy of the photo. He wrote the manager told him the copy had been destroyed but eventually found it still whole and "ripped it in pieces, smiling as she did it."

Mike DeAngelis, senior director of corporate communications at CVSHealth, wrote in an initial email to the newspaper that CVS was committed to ensuring every customer receives courteous, outstanding service and apologized to Regedanz and his mother.

"We are fully investigating this matter and contacting him directly to learn more about his version of what occurred. While our employees must adhere to copyright laws when reproducing photos, our expectation is that all customers be treated in a professional manner," DeAngelis wrote.

DeAngelis continued to write that CVS has a long history of standing with veterans, "including successful programs we have implemented in coordination with the Department of Veterans Affairs to increase veterans' access to health care services, philanthropic support we provide to military and veteran-focused organizations, and a veterans resource group comprised of over 2,000 CVS employees nationwide."

In a later email, however, DeAngelis wrote that company officials' investigation had revealed additional information.

"During their conversation, (Regedanz) told the employee to tear up a copy that was printed from his online order," DeAngelis wrote.

According to DeAngelis, the new information came from both Regedanz and CVS employees and added that Regedanz had spoken with a CVS regional manager on Wednesday afternoon.

Regedanz confirmed that he had told the employee to destroy the photo but had been expecting that person to put it through a shredder, not tear up the photo in front of him.

In the police complaint, the manager told officers that Regedanz had been "agitated and aggressive." She told the responding officer that Regedanz would have needed a letter of release from the U.S. government to obtain a copy of the boot camp picture.

The manager requested police tell Regedanz that he was no longer welcome at the store and gave officers the contact information of Regedanz's mother so they could reach him.

In the report, Regedanz contacted police and recounted his story to an officer and said he had not made any threats of physical harm.

Regedanz was warned not to return to the store, but no charges have been filed, Wale told the newspaper. However, Wale said the store had received multiple phone calls of an intimidating and threatening manner since the incident. He said that if citizens wanted to boycott the store or organize in some way, they could, but harassing phone calls would result in criminal charges if authorities discovered who made the call.

Regedanz told the newspaper he didn't condone harassing phone calls to the store. He also said he didn't ask anyone to boycott the store or want anyone to get fired. He'd just wanted a copy of the photo. He said he wasn't expecting his Facebook post, which has been shared thousands of times with more than 1,000 comments, to take off as it has and asked that people "just move on."