I had a Kroger's security guard accuse me of shoplifting. He said he saw me doing it. His belligerence diminished as I established that he did not see me steal anything and that he would find any items I might have removed from the shelves in my mother's shopping cart. She was visiting and I had given her some money for things she needed and I added a couple things I needed. When I left the store, the only ways out were through

I wrote to the president of Kroger, with a copy to a local radio program that was likely to have an interest in such things and another copy to the local ACLU, which noted that they had been receiving more reports about retail store security lately.

At a large store like that I would expect a claim check. If it were a uniformly enforced policy they'd have a system of claim checks. I have no objection to leaving my things while I shop. In a small shop, I don't require a check but I would at a place as large as Kroger's. I would never have crossed their threshold again except they now own the Fred Meyer stores.