Crime (Fighting) Doesn’t Pay
A now-former employee of a Whole Foods supermarket in Ann Arbor, Michigan has discovered that crime fighting does not pay. Hence his employment status. Said former employee stopped a shoplifter in the store by tackling him - and was promptly fired by management.
John Schultz said he lost his job as a fishmonger at a Whole Foods Market in Ann Arbor after he knocked a suspected shoplifter to the ground and detained him.
Schultz was fired on Monday. "Our policy is clear and listed in the employee booklet," said Kate Klotz, a Whole Foods spokeswoman.
"The fact that the employee in question touched the suspect is grounds for termination."
Schultz said he was acting as a private citizen and not as a Whole Foods employee. "The fact that I worked at the store at (the time of the robbery) is coincidental," he told The Ann Arbor News.
Well, Whole Foods certainly has sent a strong message, hasn't it? Employees have been told to let thieves alone and the thieves have been told it is open season at the store. Absolutely brilliant. Let's see what Whole Foods' shrinkage figures jump to in the next few months.
By Maggie, Friday, 28 December , 2007 @ 1:11 pm
Gaius -
I saw this on the news last night.
Dumb.
People should find someplace else to shop for awhile, eh?
I wonder how many job offers the guy has gotten since this aired.
By LYNNDH, Friday, 28 December , 2007 @ 1:22 pm
Of course you are forgetting that the store could be sued by the person who was tackled. That is why the policy is in place. Cheaper to have the shoplifting than a lawsuit for injuries. And, what if the wrong person is “detained” by the “touching”? Wrongful imprisionment? anguish? Unlimited lawsuits. Which is not right.
By NortonPete, Friday, 28 December , 2007 @ 1:54 pm
I worked at my college bookstore where shoplifting had gotten so out of hand that thieves would just grab a stack of textbooks and brazenly walk out the door. I noted a deep concern by the manager who was fearful of losing his job. So the next time it happened I chased the individual down the street and he eventually had to drop the books. I didn’t know what I was going to do if I caught him, but he got away. Everyone else who worked in the bookstore was angry with me and the manager told me if I ever did it again I would be fired.
By Maggie, Friday, 28 December , 2007 @ 2:41 pm
NortonPete -
One of those “Damned if you do … Damned if you don’t” moments.
By martian, Friday, 28 December , 2007 @ 3:08 pm
Lynndh, people are detained for shoplifting all the time in retail outlets across the country without being sued. Many of those detained do not go peacefully and have to be subdued by some level of physical force - again without the business being sued. Laws in most states say that a person making an arrest (yes even a citizen’s arrest) can use a level of force equal to or, in many cases, one step higher than the force being used by the suspect to resist the arrest. Trust me on this, I have a professional background in both private security and law enforcement.
I agree with Gaius, there are going to be people all over the country (or at least in those places where there are Whole Foods supermarkets) who will see this report and decide to do their weekly shopping, sans cash, check, credit, or debit card at the local Whole Foods store. They just have to make sure nobody writes down their license plate number to be reported to the Police (who, presumably, will not have the Whole Foods aversion to making an arrest) or, even better, go shopping in a stolen car so the license doesn’t come back to you anyway.
I liken this to the PC trend lately of telling Police they can no longer chase suspects in vehicles. It tells any and all criminals and felons that all you have to do to get away with a stolen car is crank up the speed for a few minutes until the cop behind you gives up the chase. If you’re commiting some other crime all you have to do is make it to your getaway vehicle and you’re home free - especially if it’s a stolen vehicle and you can’t be identified by the license plate.
Why don’t we just declare it open season and fire all the cops and security people?
By Robby Lane, Friday, 28 December , 2007 @ 4:21 pm
DON’T TAZE ME BRO!!!!
By NortonPete, Friday, 28 December , 2007 @ 4:41 pm
I agree with martian, telling police not to chase people in vehicles is a major breakdown of law and order and thus society.
This is the only good thing about living in NJ. The state police will and do shoot people who don’t stop even for speeding, which I kind of like.
You won’t see many TV car chases from NJ.
By sam, Friday, 28 December , 2007 @ 4:51 pm
I needed to pick up some food on the way home from work, but I’m low on cash. Thanks for the tip.
By Thomas, Friday, 28 December , 2007 @ 6:15 pm
I can understand Whole Foods take on it. If this guy wasn’t, in fact, a shoplifter then he’s got a solid case for assault against Schultz and a pretty strong civil case against the store. I know that I’ve been treated as a shoplifter several times because my belt buckle set off the security alarm or because the cashier forgot to deactivate the anti-theft device. If someone in the store, especially someone who is not an authorized member of the security staff, were to knock me down on the pretense that I had stolen something when I had not, you’d better believe I’d sue.
I want to know two things. though. One, while I can’t argue with doing the right thing, I’m a bit curious as to why Mr. Schultz so dedicated to his eight dollar an hour job that he was willing to risk injury by physically confronting a shoplifter. Two, when was the last occasion when someone in the United States used the word “fishmonger?”
By NortonPete, Friday, 28 December , 2007 @ 6:30 pm
I can answer both of these easily.
1. Some people do there job regardless of the pay and have standards that dictate whats right and wrong that perhaps are higher than those who are paid far more money but accept theft.
2. Google “Fishmonger” its a real profession. And yes they have a work ethic that might just be above the average.
By Ted Goldman, Friday, 28 December , 2007 @ 9:33 pm
Whole Foods:
Organically and politically correct.
Whole Fools!
By LYNNDH, Saturday, 29 December , 2007 @ 11:22 am
Evidently Mr. Shultz is an ex-Marine. Says a lot there.
Martin, being detained (which I have done myself when I worked retail) is one thing, chasing someone who is outside the store, across a street and tackling them when they continue to resist is another. I do not advocate doing nothing, please understand that. Mr. Shultz did the “right thing”, but against company policy. Who gets sued?
Oh, what if the “perp” had a gun or knive?
By martian, Saturday, 29 December , 2007 @ 1:29 pm
Lynndh, the case is actually stronger if the thief is outside the store when apprehended. In many states you can’t make an arrest UNTIL the person actually leaves the premises with the unpaid for merchandise - the theory is that anytime the person is still inside the store they can simply say they intended to pay for the item before leaving the store. Here in Florida the law states that the mere act of concealment (sticking the item in a pocket, purse, under a coat, etc.) shows the INTENT to commit the crime of theft and the person can be apprehended immediatly - makes it much easier on the Security people.
I agree with NortonPete that Mr. Schultz apparently has a personal moral code that prompts him to do the right thing regardless of the amount he is getting paid. Personally, I applaud him for this. The fact that he’s a Marine (just ask any Marine, they’ll tell you there’s no such thing as an ex-Marine) means that he has been instilled with the personal self-confidence to assume that he could handle the situation. If the “perp” had been armed, one must assume (or at least hope) that Mr. Schultz would have been smart enough to back off.
Oh, Thomas, I actually know a fishmonger - yes, he calls himself that. The fellow owns his own seafood wholesale business. Want an even weirder profession? I used to know a fellow who was a professional Banana Ripener.
By LYNNDH, Saturday, 29 December , 2007 @ 4:56 pm
Martin, I have no quarrel with what you say at all. But, there is a difference between a criminal case - Whole Foods vs. the shoplifter, and a civil case - Shoplifter vs. Mr. Schultz and Whole Foods. Whole Foods worries about the civil case. In this day and age with some of the juries that have ruled in such cases you can see Whole Foods point, to a degree.
Oh, as to ex-Marine or Marine, not active duty is the difference. Of course to me being a swabby, he is still a “Jarhead”, said with great respect.
We do need more people with “personal moral codes” that allow them to take action.