I gathered from the article that he used his debit card for the purchase. They usually don’t ask for ID for debit card use, but over a certain dollar amount some stores do. Getting the cops involved is really where they crossed the line.
If someone at the store called the cops then the kid will own them. If the bank OK’d the purchase that should have been the end of it. Having worked in both retail and in transaction settlements I can tell you that involving the police is NOT the store clerk’s job.
FWIW I’ve made *much* larger purchases with debit cards while dressed like a slob and never had a problem. Smart shopkeepers know that if you treat your paying customers like criminals, pretty soon only criminals will walk through the door.