Accused Walmart shoplifter dies

[Hum]

LITHONIA, GA -- DeKalb County police and the medical examiner's office are investigating how a man accused of stealing from a local department store ended up dead. The incident happened early Sunday morning outside a Walmart in Lithonia.

According to the DeKalb County police report, the store manager suspected a man of stealing two DVD players from the Walmart on Fairington Road at around 1:30 a.m. Authorities say the store security guard and two other Walmart employees followed the alleged thief, described as a middle-aged man, into the store parking lot.

According to the police report, the three workers confronted the suspect and when things got physical, they managed to subdue him only after a security guard placed a choke hold on the suspect.

Responding police officers reported all three workers were on top of the man when police arrived. An officer handcuffed the unresponsive man and noticed he was bleeding from the nose and mouth. Paramedics transported the man to DeKalb Medical where he was pronounced dead.

The department store chain describes the incident as a "sad situation" and says it's working with DeKalb County police to determine what happened.

In a statement, company spokesperson Dianna Gee says "our associates are trained that the safety of our customers and our associates is our first priority. No amount of merchandise is worth someone's life...Associates are trained to disengage from situations that would put themselves or others at risk."

Officials with Walmart say they are conducting their own internal investigation into the incident. They say the security officer will no longer work for them, and the Walmart associates allegedly involved have been suspended with pay.

Sources tell FOX 5 that the police officer who placed the man in handcuffs has also been placed on administrative leave while the investigation is ongoing.

No names have been released in connection with the incident. Authorities are awaiting for autopsy results to determine the cause of death.

source

[myxomatosis]

Poor Wal-Mart employees sheeps. Risking their security and to an extent their life for 2 poor DVD players and a ****-poor salary.

[Hum]

I wonder if they closed the Wal-Mart ...

[astropheed Veteran]

Everyone is at fault except for Wal-Mart, but surely they did their best when they trained these fine young security staff and team members; after-all "Safety is their top priority".

[theyarecomingforyou]

I wonder if they closed the Wal-Mart ...

Not in Corporate America?. Every death is an opportunity and Walmart offers 10% off coffins if its staff are implicated in the death.

[Growled Member]

Charge the Wal-Mart workers with manslaughter.

[Davo]

The thief used a cyanide pill. It'll show up in the autopsy.

[remixedcat]

Those must have been some damn good dvd players to make this worth it....

[Marshall Veteran]

Those must have been some damn good dvd players to make this worth it....

Walmart doesn't carry "damn good dvd players" :p

[*RedBull*]

In DeKalb sh*t happens. I'm not surprised. Those Walmart security need to go to jail. There's a big prison right there in dekalb. Right off the freeway not too far from the Walmart. Family can visit while other family members they're there.

[remixedcat]

Walmart doesn't carry "damn good dvd players" :p

I guess I was wrongasuarus rex about that one :(

[rfirth]

Bad things happen when you try to stop shoplifters. A few years ago a security guard at our Wal-Mart got shot and died after trying to confront a shoplifter. Turns out, the shoplifter was stealing a disposable camera.

http://www.wafb.com/...y.asp?S=1891279

[Growled Member]

Walmart doesn't carry "damn good dvd players" :p

Or good anything for that matter.

[Anibal P]

Don't do the crime if you can't survive the encounter.

It's a good thing I don't live there, I would never convict them of doing their jobs if I were on the jury when they get charged, and they will, this is America land of "it's never the criminal's fault"

[Rigby]

Don't do the crime if you can't survive the encounter.

It's a good thing I don't live there, I would never convict them of doing their jobs if I were on the jury when they get charged, and they will, this is America land of "it's never the criminal's fault"

I didn't realize their job was to kill shoplifters.

[Memphis]

And this is exactly why only the security guard at Walmart can attempt an apprehension. This is why wall mart fires greeters for even so much as asking if an item is stolen. Damned if you do damned if you don't.

[Shiranui]

Hmm. He should've read the sign on the door:

WARNING

SHOPLIFTERS WILL BE PROSECUTED EXECUTED

[LaP]

Don't do the crime if you can't survive the encounter.

It's a good thing I don't live there, I would never convict them of doing their jobs if I were on the jury when they get charged, and they will, this is America land of "it's never the criminal's fault"

Because someone else is a criminal it doesn't magically gives you the right to break the law.

Last time i checked murder is not legal in north america.

Only 1 of the 3 guys was a security guard from what i can read. The other 2 were not actually doing their job at all.

Responding police officers reported all three workers were on top of the man when police arrived.

[xendrome]

I didn't realize their job was to kill shoplifters.

Once you decide to break the law, you are responsible for everything that your actions cause after that point. So no one should feel sorry for these people, they put themselves in this situation all the time and it's their own fault. It's just a good thing no innocent people were hurt because of their actions.

Last time i checked murder is not legal in north america. This is surely not a case of self defence or i'm missing something.

But this isn't "murder" it's a "homicide" there is a HUGE difference. All deaths are homicides, but not all homicides are murders...

[thechronic]

Don't do the crime if you can't survive the encounter.

3 against the 1 man is a bit over the top though :/

[Growled Member]

That's one way to keep someone from shoplifting again....kill them off.

[McCordRm]

That's one way to keep someone from shoplifting again....kill them off.

It's 100% effective.

[Rohdekill]

Once you decide to break the law, you are responsible for everything that your actions cause after that point. So no one should feel sorry for these people, they put themselves in this situation all the time and it's their own fault. It's just a good thing no innocent people were hurt because of their actions

To some degree...yes. You're responsible for your OWN actions. And, if you break the law, you should accept the (possible) consequences of others. But, you're certainly not responsible for the actions of others.

[tiagosilva29]

I would be extremely ****ed if any store employee tried to help me doing my job. They usually just get in the way.

The thief used a cyanide pill. It'll show up in the autopsy.

Because ²¹⁰Po is too mainstream?