Charges Filed Against Bed, Bath & Beyond Manager Who Refused To Allow 911 Call
Police have charged Elizabeth Miller, the manager of the Bed, Bath & Beyond in Lexington, Kentucky, who refused to let a couple use the store's phone to call 911 to report a three-year-old locked in a van, and refused to make an announcement over the store's PA system. The charge is "failure to report dependency, neglect and abuse, a Class B misdemeanor that carries a maximum sentence of 90 days and a maximum fine of $250."
The county attorney quoted in the Kentucky Lexington Leader-Herald article points out that common decency should always trump any store policy, misinterpreted or not. In fact, it's the law!
First Assistant Fayette County Attorney Brian Mattone told the Herald-Leader Thursday that under the duty-to-report statute, everyone has the duty to report dependency, neglect and abuse of a child if they have knowledge of it. Mattone said prosecutors thought that Miller, through witnesses, had knowledge of possible abuse or neglect. Moreover, there is language in the statute that says “nothing should relieve their obligation to report,” Mattone said.
The article also quotes another shopper who says she received a similar response from a different Bed, Bath & Beyond last summer when she saw a dog locked inside a car. Here's hoping that the company's "we're ashamed this happened" response is authentic, and that their employees learn that it's okay to offer help sometimes.
"Store clerk charged with failing to help child locked in van" [Herald-Leader] (Thanks to Michael and Donald!)
(Photo: Morton Fox)
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Comments:
Wow, I've only had good experience ar BB&B...
Anyways, what i really want to see is some Airline rep being cuffed, jailed and abused.
why would someone refuse to allow you to call 911?
This is AWESOME! So glad to hear the law is getting involved and showing someone that their actions (or lack thereof) are NOT okay, company policy or otherwise.
I'd like to point out that I mentioned in the previous article that refusing to yield a phone for an emergency is against the law in most States. I'm glad to see this A-hole being made an example of.
I agree that it's good to see a very solid reminder that there are responsibilities and considerations that outweigh "corporate policy" every time.
@tenio: Kinda odd to have a "Curious incident of the kind in the parking lot" policy. I would imagine the policy makers misunderestimated the stupidity of the average village idiot.
I think it's great they arrested the asshat. Best news I've read all day so far.
@Lucky225:
This is a special case - it's only because it's neglect of a child (special reporting requirements). If there were an adult having a heart attack in the parking lot, there wouldn't be a legal issue here.
Classic example of the popular phrase "Policies aren't laws." =)
I believe that the kids these days would say 'owned'.
YAAYYYYYYYYY! I hope she rots in jail, is mortally embarressed, and that if her children are ever in distress, that someone who attempts to call 911 has a dead cell phone- what a turd she is. Basic human decency, people!
Lets hear it for the Lexington PD and DA!
@Nick1693: that is a good one, i'm gonna pass it on.
that jerkoff gets whats coming to them for not calling the cops.
What happened to the Good Samaritan Law? Hell, what happened to common courtesy.
YES!! WHOORAH!
Yay! Let's all hope for a maximum sentence, m'kay?
great. I hope as punishment they lock her stupid ass in a car on a hot day.
Ugh. MY name is Elizabeth Miller. Stupid common name, making me sulk. I'm just surprised they didn't charge her sooner.
Justice! Get it while it's lukewarm.
I wonder if she'll lose her job for not being able to report to work for 90 days because of the jail sentence.
@NotYou007: The article says nothing about arrested, just charged.
She won't do time, I'd wager. She'll pay her fine and that'll be that, but maybe next time somebody comes into the store and says that they've seen something terrible and would like to use the store phone to report it, she'll think twice, and maybe other local businesses will think twice as well.
Lose your job because of your incompetence and a mild fine? Justice prevails (hopefully). Though it was almost too lean on the manager because of how the situation could have played out if it went un-called for much longer.
Some managers understand that policy is intended to be a guide, while others use it to defend their inability to make decisions.
Sadly, no matter what is done to her, this woman is very likely going to learn absolutely nothing from this, and will probably tell anyone and everyone who will listen how she was victimized by the county.
Regarding the quote, I have an honest question, as IANAL. "everyone has the duty to report dependency, neglect and abuse of a child if they have knowledge of it."
It's always been my understanding that certain professions (doctors, teachers, etc) are so-called "mandated reporters" in that, among other things, if they see evidence that a child has been abused they are required to report it.
I don't know, however, if it is correct that all citizens are mandated reporters in this case. Truth be told, you'd be a terrible person, but I doubt charges would be filed against an ordinary citizen who is not A) employed in a particular profession or B) involved in some capacity
Hey, I can have a fantasy can't I? LOL!!!
Yes, It won't do jail time but at least it was charged but it would have been a lot nicer if they where arrested.
I am really glad this person got punished, but there are millions of people like this in retail. It's kind of hard to blame BBB. I could see this happening at almost any major retailer, unfortunately.
I bet BB&B is going to take this news "very seriously."
Outstanding!
Surprised it took this long though. Myself and my colleagues would have taken her in during the initial response if it was reported to us when we got there.
The problem with this is people are getting to scared to do anything. You can say anything you want about this. Having been on this side. I no longer stop to help anyone. Its very sad. I stop to help this lady out when I was younger. The sister thought I was trying to take the car. I was not. I spent time in jail over this. I went in front of the Judge and the sister did say I was helping her. When the Judge ask how come you did not tell the police or your sister this. She said that she was not to be driving the car and she did not want to get into trouble.
This woman was going to let me go to jail. If not for a police officer I had known talking to this lady asking her. I would have.
In time I have been hit many times trying to help people. I no longer help anyone and I really do not talk to people anymore. My answers are now very short in person.
As a person that has ran stores. I would have just walk outside and took a look myself. She should have done something. Yes, but in the long run this will jade her now.
PLUS ONE for Common Sense!
Forget common courtesy, forget being a decent human being, I would have done something just because it breaks up the daily routine. My days in retail consisted of the same people, same type of customers, same grueling clean ups, restocking shelves, and pointing people to the bathroom that I welcomed any change in pace. Most people I worked with felt the same way too. Rogue shopping cart slams into a parked car? It'd be the talk of the store for days. Not only would doing something in this situation have added some excitement, but on top of that it would've actually made you feel good for doing something almost heroic. What kind of person would pass this up, and basically say, "no thanks, I'd rather reprint these SKUs and then maybe do a little cleaning in seasonal." Who I ask you, who?
This doesn't surprise me. One time I was at a BP gas station at about 2am, and I noticed that right across the street there was a guy passed out in his car with his foot on the gas. The car was in park, so it wasn't going anywhere, but the engine was smoking because it was damn near floored.
I didn't want to go mess with the guy just in case, and I wasn't sure if he had a medical problem or was just passed out drunk. Either way, I decided to call the police. I went to the pay phone, but it was out of order. I went into the gas station, told them the situation, and asked them if I could use the phone to call the police. They told me no. I told them that the payphone was out of order, and I really needed to use the phone. I asked them if they would call the police. They said no. They basically said it wasn't their problem.
Excellent result. But someone says they heard of a similar incident at another BBB.
If so, that sounds like a failure of corporate policy of some kind, not merely the criminal action of one clueless individual.
The BBB store manager will surely benefit from "maximum sentence of 90 days and a maximum fine of $250" worth of "training opportunity"!
"...I would have done something just because it breaks up the daily routine."
But that's exactly what some lazy people don't want.
And if the idiot was afraid of getting fired for following that "policy," real or imagined, I would guess that it would be a good case of wrongful termination.
What was that a few days ago posted on here... "Policy does not supersede law"? Yea, holds true here as well. Thank God.
@Nick1693: I've had the "policy does not equal law" discussion with a few stores (including costco). I have always come out on top, but it continues to amaze me how many people think that policy = law.
What human being doesn't have the sense to know that an emergency supercedes a store policy?
If a pregnant woman was waiting on the receipt checking line to exit Walmart, and her water broke, would a store employee detain her?
I don't like this jerk getting charged under THIS law. Knowledge of abuse and hearsay are quite different things.
@Lucky225:
I would like to point out that this is not what she was charged with.
@EricLecarde:
The Good Samaritan Law... I'm trying to see what tack you're taking here. If you mean that it means that someone has to act as a Good Samaritan, that's not what that means. OTOH, if you mean that the Good Samaritan law protects them in case someone tries to sue, it still does not keep them from incurring legal fees from some smart ass lawyer who thinks they can still win and files a case anyway. They still have to fight it, and they still incur their own fees.
@MyPetFly: your post reminded me of the Hope Depot employee who was fired for chasing a shoplifter, which was against policy:
[consumerist.com]
Moons ago, worked at a pizza parlor next to a donut shop in a bad neighborhood. We always had a 3-person crew, but the owner of the donut shop would constantly have only one person running the shop.
Of course, it's robbed at gunpoint with the 19-year-old college cheerleader working. The robbers make comments about coming back and "getting more" from her personally.
So, our night manager goes over to keep her company until someone else (police, donut shop owner, parents) can show up and keep her safe. He's gone for maybe 20 minutes.
Our store manager fires him for "dereliction of duty" and "walking off the job".
Two days later, the owner reinstates him and publicly humiliates the store manager in front of the staff about being a good citizen, helping others in time of need, and so forth.
The funny/ironic part: The owner is an immigrant from Thailand. The store manager got reassigned to a store in a worse neighborhood.
@JustThatGuy3: True. If a woman was being beaten in the parking lot, nothing would have been done.
I once saw a male creature abusing a woman outside of a clinic for for lower socioeconomic pregnant women. After sizing him up quickly and deciding that I could not straighten him out myself (really big and looked drunk), I pulled over to dial 911. The clerk gave me a look until her realized that I had a "look to kill" on my face, and yes, I could take him. He sulkily handed me the phone. A minute later, I saw the cops arrive.
@HPCommando: It is stupid of the owner to leave just one employee in a store. I see it happen around where I live all the time because this is a "small town where nothing happens." One day something will happen and I hope no one is hurt.
Time to fire up ol' sparky.
wow...I seriously never thought someone would get charged!
BB should be ashamed for having a crapy policy or no policy in the first place!