Three workers at an Academy Sports + Outdoors store in Metairie, Louisiana, were reportedly fired for trying to stop a shoplifter who fled with a gun on December 16.
Michelle Sutton, who was a team lead, and two of her fellow employees were showing a customer a pistol when the incident happened, Fox Business reported Friday.
However, the man ran off with the gun which left the store’s workers in disbelief. When someone informed Sutton what happened via her radio, the young woman said she “took off,” adding she knew she needed a way to help police officers.
The trio searched for the suspected thief but were unsuccessful in locating the man.
A few days later, Sutton said the business’ firearm compliance personnel fired her and the others for how they responded during the tense moments.
Store policy apparently does not allow workers to chase or physically restrain someone suspected of theft who is running from the scene.
“Even though me and the other associate did stay on the sidewalk it fell under we left the front porch, as they call it,” Sutton told WGNO.
However, loss prevention workers or managers may detain a suspect who fled the store. Those individuals are told to approach the suspect at a distance and also request that they reenter the building.
“No clarification on getting like location for, you know, police,” Sutton commented. She hopes to be reinstated at her job but wants policy regarding such incidents to be made cleared for the future.
In July 2018, the manager of a Tallahassee, Florida, Academy store was fired after he subdued an individual who allegedly tried to steal a handgun, Breitbart News reported at the time.
The outlet noted that local law enforcement indicated the suspect had stolen two guns from Cash America Pawn a few hours before he went into the Academy store.
More recently, a grocery store employee in Centennial, Colorado, was fired for catching three men on video as they stole $500 worth of items from a King Soopers store, Breitbart News reported in July.
In yet another similar incident, an injured 68-year-old Lowe’s worker in Rincon, Georgia, who was fired for chasing shoplifters was offered her job back in July.
While speaking of the initial incident, Donna Hansbrough said, “They say that if you see somebody stealing something out the door, not to pursue, not to go out. I lost it.”
“I grabbed the cart. I don’t actually remember going out but I did. And I grabbed the cart that had the stolen items in it,” she added.
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