Yep, everyone gets crappy service at Denny's, but when it happened to a black, batten down the hatches and lawyer up! The victim police are already on their way to this one.
And they should be. If you're going to have your staff check US currency, then you'd better give them some minimum training on the subject. Even a pamphlet would do.
That girl was not just denied her lunch. She was taken to a police office and questioned by a cop. She did absolutely nothing wrong. This is all - 100% - due to the stupidity of authorities. I hope her family gets a couple of bucks for the harassment.
I distinguish between this and cases like Dennys. If Denny’s is just crappy and in reality treating blacks no worse than anyone else, then my sympathy is with them and I don’t think they should be sued (they’re private citizens doing what private citizens do).
Now, when a state actor does something bad or stupid or negligent, that’s another matter. It was their idea to subsist on my tax dollars and not produce a tangible thing of value (though performing a service that helps society function), so they better know what they’re doing. The fact that the victim is black in this particular case is, given today’s political climate, just a convenient vector for well-deserved misery.
IOW, if both victim and perpetrator are private entities, apply common sense in determining culpability. If the victim is a private entity and the perpetrator is a state actor, apply strict scrutiny.