Posted on 06/06/2007 10:53:36 AM PDT by Cagey
MIDWEST CITY, Okla. -- A former Home Depot employee said the company fired him and three other workers because they helped police catch several suspected shoplifters in May.
Midwest City Police said the men helped officers catch suspected shoplifters as they tried to run from a store with lawn equipment.
An internal memo from Home Depot outlines that associates cannot accuse, detain, chase or call the police on any customer for shoplifting. However, one of the fired employees said the company is selective in enforcing that policy.
"The loss-prevention guy at our Shields (Boulevard) store turned around and told me all we need to do is tell the shoplifter to have a good day as they leave the store. I said that just doesn't make sense," former employee Bob Stewart said.
Stewart said what really doesn't make sense is a termination letter Home Depot gave him and three other employees after they helped police catch the shoplifters.
"We saw them with the merchandise. We saw them run out of the store. I never kept my eyes off of them," Stewart said. "Then when we asked them for a receipt, and that's when they dropped the merchandise and they kept running. One guy still had a chainsaw while he was running, and that's when the cops tackled him."
The letter said Stewart and the others were fired because they "pursued and assisted in the apprehension of suspected shoplifters."
Stewart said all he did was call police, something he's done before. Less than eight months ago, he said that he received a letter -- a commendation letter -- for helping police catch a thief trying to steal $2,500 worth of wire.
On the top of the letter, written in bold letters was "Great job, Bob."
Home Depot officials said in an e-mail to Oklahoma City TV station KOCO that they have "standard operating procedures in place for situations like this," and that "from time to time, we find inconsistent execution in our stores."
However, they added that they do not discuss personnel matters and will not comment on this specific case.
Midwest City Police Chief Brandon Clabes said he won't comment on the store policy, but said they would probably not have caught the suspects or recovered the property or the stolen car they drove if it had not been for the help of these four employees.
Clabes said he is considering giving the four men letters of appreciation for helping catch the suspects.
The last time I was in a HD I tried using the self checkout line, since every other line was backed up 5 or 6 deep.
After having a lot of trouble getting the thing to work, I turned to a young “lady”/employee who had been standing only a few feet away and motioned to her that there was a problem. She was on the phone and kept right on talking. I got a little closer and said “ma’am”? She says, “oh, is there a problem?” I said “you know damned well there’s a %#*ing problem!”
SHe said, “Oh no you Di-ent!” and refused to speak to me. Called the manager and told him why I’d never be back, and I never have. I loathe HD, but not just for that. Their service SUCKs since about 4 years ago when they cut their workforce in half.
Lowe’s is closer anyway.
The lab boys have figured this dodge out.
Data as of 06-07-2007 07:00 PM CT
Last Price Day Change Volume
$37.66 -0.64 (-1.67%) 17,332,230
11 Years ago, I took early retirement and bought a professional paint pumper/air machine to repaint our house.
The repainting was a real catch 22. The home owner convenants at that time banned repainting your home a different color or with a different paint.
The Original stain/paint was the Olympic Gold/Green oil based. Olympic stopped making the stain in that color due to some enviral whacko stuff level at the state and maybe national level. None of the paint stores in our town would blend and match the color of the original oil stain.
My wife knew a good home decorator and told her of the problem. She recommened a young black man in a Home Depot in another city. We went over with the orginal color and he said no problem as long as I bought five 5 gallon cans. He blended the paint from four 5 gallon cans of Olympic Basic stain with others to get the desired color. I made 3 trips to get enough stain.
When our Home Depot opened, many of his fans here, got him transferred here. He was great, and then he decided to go into management. He never told me why, but apparently he no longer could pick who he could hire and firing was banned.
Your story of the paint department at your HD sounds like ours now except, you probably wouldn’t get any help. So I go to our local ACE for all small paint jobs and get great service.
What ever happened to the concept of a "citizens arrest"?
> It is simply illegal for anyone other than an LEO to attempt to detain someone.
Ummmm... depending on where you live, most people still have the right to Citizen’s Arrest.
Here in NZ, it is outlined in Sections 39-48 of the Crimes Act 1961. There are nuances about how and when it can be done: it is different depending upon whether the crime is committed during daylight or at nite-time. But it is certainly NOT illegal to detain a felon.
I’d be surprised if it is much different in the US.
Does that mean if you steal less than $25 worth, they will chase you and prosecute you?
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.