Posted on 01/01/2024 9:44:53 PM PST by SeekAndFind
In the latest example of corporate stupidity, three sporting goods employees were fired for chasing a man who stole a pistol. Apparently, trying to stop someone from stealing a deadly weapon is against company policy.
This is yet another story in which a major company punishes employees for trying to protect it from entitled thugs who think they have the right to take what they want.
Michelle Sutton, along with two other unidentified workers at the Academy Sports + Outdoors in Metairie, Louisiana, said that the shoplifting incident happened Dec. 16.
The sales associates said that they thought they were about to make a sale and were showing a customer a pistol, when he took off with the firearm.
Sutton, who was working as a team lead at the store, said once she received word on her radio, she immediately dropped what she was doing and jumped into action.
"I just took off," Sutton told local TV news station WGNO. "I knew I needed some form of way to help the police."
Four days later, Sutton said the store fired her and the two other employees for trying to stop the thief. “Sutton said that they were let go due to Academy Sports + Outdoors policy on loss prevention, which states that employees are not allowed to chase or physically restrain a fleeing person suspected of theft,” according to the report.
Sutton criticized the store’s decision in a conversation with a local news outlet, arguing that she and her former colleagues were not properly trained.
“There’s no clarification on getting [the suspect’s] location for police,” Sutton said. “I know my store director had said that they want you to be able to get the make and model of a vehicle, you know, maybe a direction in which way the vehicle went.”
In this case, Sutton says the suspect wasn’t in a vehicle.
...
“Every store that sells firearms, especially pistols that are concealable, need to have clear policy,” Sutton said. “They need to have extra training. They need to prepare for the unexpected.”
Clothing company Lululemon came under fire last year for firing employees for violating a similar policy. During a wave of organized shoplifting operations in Atlanta, the company terminated two employees for – get this – talking back to thieves who were looting the store. Even scolding thieves was too much for Lululemon.
The looters had hit the same outlet a dozen times prior, but this time two female employees had had enough, with assistant manager Jennifer Ferguson telling them, “No, no, no, you can march back out.” The looters were undeterred, however, and knowing that they probably faced no consequences in today’s world, simply came back for more. “Seriously? Get out,” the frustrated former employee said.
“Chill, b–tch, shut your ass up,” one of the robbers responds. The women watch the thieves get in a getaway car but never tried to physically intervene.
So why did they get fired? For daring to speak to the robbers, and for calling the police…Which is against company policy. No, I’m not kidding:
“We are not supposed to get in the way. You kind of clear path for whatever they’re going to do,” Ferguson told 11Alive.
“And then, after it’s over, you scan a QR code. And that’s that. We’ve been told not to put it in any notes, because that might scare other people. We’re not supposed to call the police, not really supposed to talk about it.”
JUST IN: Lululemon employees confirm they were FIRED FOR CALLING THE POLICE on thieves ransacking store.
pic.twitter.com/2uRyS6mCYm— Mike Sperrazza (@MikeASperrazza) May 26, 2023
These policies, combined with local and state governments that essentially tell criminals they will not face consequences if they rob and steal, are a recipe for disaster. They reveal a disturbing inclination to protect criminals, even if it means punishing their victims or people trying to stop the theft.
Then, the people supporting these policies wonder why the crime rate is so high. Or perhaps they don’t actually care.
In the old days stores and banks had armed guards sometimes hidden in sniper positions to handle such situations.
Let them steal. The business is insured. These corporations use shoplifting as an excuse to price gouge.
These establishments need to go under. The problem though is most of corporate America is like this. The whole culture is nearly like this. The left is very successful and reversing our values to that of a third world $hithole.
And the sheep keep voting for it, in between getting their covid boosters.
My stepdaughter works for a large cosmetics company (and has been working there for years) and they have punk little rich teenager girls come in the store just about every day and steal stuff. They don’t even try to hide their thefts because they’re well informed about the company policy for employees to not get involved with saying or doing anything about the theft.
A few weeks ago the stepdaughter gets to work and is called to the office. The “new” manager holds up a piece of eyeliner pencil and asks what it is ?
Stepdaughter says it is an old eyeliner pencil. new manager says it was found in your locker and accuses her of stealing it from the store !!!
Stepdaughter says I’ve had that for over a year and I bought it. She adds that She doesn’t even use it anymore because She had Her eyebrows tattooed on by a friend who is getting her Cosmology License and need the practice to pass the exam.
The meeting ended with her waiting for new manager idiot to decide what will happen. Meaning getting fired or not for “theft of the pencil.”
I haven’t heard anything about a decision yet so I’m going with no news is good news.
I keep waiting for Rod Serling to tap Me on the shoulder and say “just messing with you.”
The store policy is why the thief chose the store to steal a gun.
Those balls are just too common sense for here in the States.
Nothing like a squirt of POM, Mace or other refreshing face spray as they depart.
>If we don’t support retailers who continue to sell firearms and
No. If Lululemon wants to be the free yoga pants store and tell its employees to let that happen, that’s them and their bottom line. Worst thing that happens is hideous thug females wear gross pants.
When a FFL allows people to walk out the door with a firearm they’re creating a whole series of violent crimes that that thief will commit with that firearm.
Similarly: if someone buys a $$ pair of pants including the markup the store has to make to cover the free stolen ones, that’s their choice. When we go into our LGS and purchase legally:
- we fill out federal forms that (unlike Hunter Biden) will get us in jail if we make a mistake or lie;
- we undergo a background check wherein the federal government gets sent all that nice information (and doesn’t keep it ha ha) and decides if we’re worthy to finish a sale;
- The store and its employees severally put their livelihoods on the line every time that process occurs cause ATF is dying to shut down FFLs over typos;
- Then, finally, we have the privilege of paying $$$$, and still in some states and some firearms then registering same with local authorities;
- The FFL has to keep our records for decades, and ATF has been grabbing those illegally; and
- Depending on local law, we forever incur potential liability should a thief get their hands on that firearm and commit further crime, or we fail to report said theft.
So no, there’s no room for slack on our part. Especially big stores with big woke mentalities whose boards are all about their bottom line and not that a weapon just got stolen to go commit more crimes need to get with the program or do something else.
I’m not a lawyer but if I had anything to do with Academy I’d suggest they a) build out their store so it has a separate space for arms with friendly but locking doors; b) legally turn their firearms division into a sub-company and separate employees; and c) run their FFL business like everyone else’s, which is to say stealing a weapon becomes a stupid and probably fatal decision.
They won’t though, because their board is woke and they want the crime because far worse to them that people die or have their cars, possessions, even children stolen is that someone call their precious selves a name ending with ‘-ist.’
It all comes down to money.
Going after the thief risks higher insurance, costs of lawsuits (from store employee and the perp), etc. that would have to be paid by the company.
The loss of merchandise? That cost is borne by all the paying customers, and is spread out over a large number of items so it’s unnoticeable.
So as twisted as it seems, it’s a business decision.
That establishment just became the accessory to all crimes committed with the weapon.
I will stay away from these establishments from now on since their attitudes support criminals.
Muriatic acid in a Super Soaker.
Black Privilege
In practical terms, for the present day, that is a catastrophically FALSE presumption. The government has abandoned its post. We're on our own.
In long-range policy terms, it is a catastrophically bad presumption to encourage. Safety is ALL of our responsibility. Crime prevention is also ALL of our responsibility. The cops, our servants, are just there to take reports and clean up the mess. When seconds count, the cops are only minutes away.
I buy ammo sometimes from my local Bass Pro Shop and I always have to check the boxes for full count because thieves open the boxes in the aisle and pilfer 5-6 10 rounds and then put the boxes back on the shelf
It’s actually pretty standard in the retail world. Don’t put yourself, or anybody else, at risk for the store, the store has insurance.
That's an open invitation to steal anything and everything. Penny wise, pound foolish, socially disastrous.
No is pound smart. Nobody wants to be the store where a gunfight happened killing customers. It’s been standard procedure in most places for over 40 years.
If they let people ‘walk out with guns’, then they are guilty of an illegal transfer. ATF will crucify them.
Paintball gun with muriatic acid injected paintballs.
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