Yes. It IS an overreaction for a $3 bag of chips. The cops could have just as easily taken the boy back into the store to apologize for the theft. They could have CALLED HIS PARENTS, rather than taking him into a police car, and had them pay for the chips. That is what you call "escalating a situation which could have been handled more wisely." Would the cops have treated a white child like this? No, they wouldn't have.