Thread: Kroger manager fired after he slams a knife-wielding shoplifter to the ground

http://news.yahoo.com/blogs/oddnews/...175837651.html

A customer in the parking lot of the Kroger recorded the incident on their cellphone. In the video, you can see the unnamed manager approach the shoplifting suspect. The suspect appears to have a knife in his hand. The manager shoves him into a parked car and gets the knife out the suspect’s hand before eventually slamming him down to the ground.

The alleged shoplifter is 51-year-old Claude Medlock. According to KDFW, Arlington Police say that Mr. Medlock has a, “lengthy criminal history that includes theft and robbery convictions.” They didn’t consider the manager’s actions a crime, but that didn’t matter to Kroger. Kroger sent a statement to KDFW, which read in part:

“The incident…is not a reflection of our company’s fraud prevention protocol, procedures or training…He is no longer employed by our company.”
The manager told the station that he had worked in loss prevention for 13 years, and “believed he handled the situation properly.”

These companies really don't care about catching shoplifters. They're more scared of a lawsuit than losing whatever item the shoplifter has.

It's a disgrace. This country is not ruled by the people, or representatives of the people. It is ruled by lawyers. If they all dropped dead tomorrow, there would be world peace for a thousand years.

It's not a disgrace. The employer isn't being arrested for charges of battery or assault... THAT would be a disgrace. But had that manager been STABBED while trying to apprehend a knife weilding shoplifter, that would have cost the company tens of THOUSANDS. A company doesn't stay in business by putting tens of thousands at risk for a $15 (or whatever the cost of the item that was stolen) item.

Originally Posted by Ravage!!!

It's not a disgrace. The employer isn't being arrested for charges of battery or assault... THAT would be a disgrace. But had that manager been STABBED while trying to apprehend a knife weilding shoplifter, that would have cost the company tens of THOUSANDS. A company doesn't stay in business by putting tens of thousands at risk for a $15 (or whatever the cost of the item that was stolen) item.

I could not disagree more vociferously. The moment we allowed thieves to get away with stuff because it was not worth that much or because we were afraid of a lawsuit is the moment we lost our balls and our morality. This has encouraged hundreds of thousands of retail theft rings where people rip stuff off with impunuity and sell it on ebay or wherever or return it to the same retailers they stole it from. stores shouldn't allow theft, PERIOD.

I work in a bank and we are specifically told not to try to be a hero if someone tries to rob it. Someone who isn't trained to stop someone wielding a weapon could get themselves killed and possibly others. Multiple people's lives are not worth stopping an item from getting stolen. You could not be more wrong here, Atwater.

Originally Posted by atwater27

I could not disagree more vociferously. The moment we allowed thieves to get away with stuff because it was not worth that much or because we were afraid of a lawsuit is the moment we lost our balls and our morality. This has encouraged hundreds of thousands of retail theft rings where people rip stuff off with impunuity and sell it on ebay or wherever or return it to the same retailers they stole it from. stores shouldn't allow theft, PERIOD.

So they should require or ENCOURAGE their employees to tackle knife weilding thieves? I guess employers should just hire BIG burly guys that know how to fight JUST in case they see a shoplifter? How MORAL is it to ask/require sales people to take the law into their hands and REQUIRE them to put themselves in danger?? It's has NOTHING to do with morality, as I KNOW that stealing is wrong, whether I risk my health to stop it or not.

How about instead of encouraging and needing your store clerks to be vigilantes, we simply call the police and let the ones that are trained and hired to do this type of thing do, do it?

Besides that, who are you to tell a company what THEY should do with THEIR merchandise? To say I lost my "morality" purely because I'm not willing to put My.. or my employees... health/life at risk, is absurd.

Great post Rav. And I think he absolutely should have been fired. Had he not been fired, it would have set an example that it's ok to take matters into your own hands, and it could have gotten the next employee killed that tried to do the same thing. There is no piece of merchandise or amount of money that is worth the life of an employee(s) or customer(s).

You guys are right. Punish those who stand up for what is right. Fire them and make an example to all what is not acceptable in our society. Shaking my head.

Additional training, not termination, should have been the response. Firing the guy was a bit overboard, IMO.

Originally Posted by atwater27

You guys are right. Punish those who stand up for what is right. Fire them and make an example to all what is not acceptable in our society. Shaking my head.

Putting the lives of your customers, other employees, and yourself is not "what is right". It's a freaking stupid thing to do. That's nice that he saved the day and all, but it doesn't always end up that way. If you aren't trained to stop knife/gun wielding criminals, then you should not be trying to fight those criminals in a public area with innocent bystanders. While that might sound great in that macho-man meathead of yours, it just doesn't work that way in reality.

Originally Posted by BroncoJoe

Additional training, not termination, should have been the response. Firing the guy was a bit overboard, IMO.

I would fully expect to be fired if a robber came in our bank and I tried to tackle him, as it has been explicitly made clear that that is the consequence. The manager had to have known. I get that you can get caught up in the heat of the moment and maybe he wasn't thinking clearly, but the company has to stick by their policies.

Originally Posted by BroncoJoe

Additional training, not termination, should have been the response. Firing the guy was a bit overboard, IMO.

The company probably had no choice and HAD to fire him due to the fact that he broke a pretty large rule that can cost the company THOUSANDS of dollars.

Originally Posted by atwater27

You guys are right. Punish those who stand up for what is right. Fire them and make an example to all what is not acceptable in our society. Shaking my head.

No no.. YOU are right. I think its a VERY moral decision to ask your employees to endanger themselves. I know if I was the store owner, I would feel VERY moral explaining to the manager's wife and kids at his funeral that it was his DUTY to run after that guy for stealing that bag of peanuts.

Originally Posted by BroncoJoe

Additional training, not termination, should have been the response. Firing the guy was a bit overboard, IMO.

I'm in this camp. No need to fire the guy, but what he did wasn't exactly smart.