Suspected shoplifter dies at metro Walmart

[kydo]

Suspected shoplifter dies at metro Walmart
By Jill Vejnoska


The Black Friday shopping weekend took a tragic turn early Sunday morning when a suspectedshoplifter died while being apprehended by employees and a contract security officer outside a Lithonia Walmart.

Two store employees who helped catch and subdue the suspect before police arrived have been placed on leave. The security officer, who police say may have placed the suspected thief in a choke hold, is no longer working for Walmart, the company said.

The cause of death had not been determined Sunday evening, and police investigators were awaiting results from the medical examiner.

“No amount of merchandise is worth someone’s life,” Walmart spokesperson Dianna Gee said Sunday in a statement that emphasized that it was early in the investigation. “Associates are trained to disengage from situations that would put themselves or others at risk.”

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[hobbit709]

1. “No amount of merchandise is worth someone’s life,”

Unless of course it's in one of the factories supplying walmart.

[lbrtbell]

2. BIG violation of Walmart's policy

I was arguing with some moron store employee on Reddit about store policies regarding the confrontation of shoplifters. This is the kind of thing that happens, when people with her mentality are unleashed upon customers.

I'm glad at least Walmart did the right thing this time, by firing the murderer. The other employees should get the axe, too. It's against Walmart policy to subdue a shoplifter--you're supposed to just let them go, to avoid this very kind of confrontation. Therefore, the other two employees should be fired, even though they may not have directly murdered the alleged shoplifter.

[kydo]

3. This is what happens when ...

You let bullies become security guards. In most cases many (not all) of the people that apply for security job don't meet the psychological requirements to be on a real law enforcement official - lots of anger management issues. Zimmerman is another example.

Its sicken.

[onethatcares]

4. dead for 2 dvd players.

wow, that would have hurt the bottom line.

[KurtNYC]

5. If you call your sale "Black Friday" aren't you a little bit responsible when people die?

It is sick that the measure of this day after Thanksgiving sale thing has become how many people were trampled, arrested and killed. I am serious that companies know they are fostering an environment which is unsafe. They want people to go into a herd mentality and max out their credit cards buying disposable goods.

When I worked for a ski resort we changed the old names of ski runs because they just didn't sound right in a court room after some skier was injured on them. Hard to stand there and say that your resort is safe when you have named ski runs "Pinball", "Brain Damage" and "Lobotomy"