It must be pretty easy to shoplift at Whole Foods because if any of their employees touch you, they’ll be fired.

John Schultz says he was let go from Whole Foods after a manager asked for help with a shoplifter. Mr Schultz was on his break when a man was seen leaving the rest room after entering with a basket full of food. The man then filled a cloth grocery bag with more food and walked out of the store.

Schultz says he had just punched out for a break at 7 p.m. on Sunday when he heard a commotion at the front door of the store, 3135 Washtenaw Ave. He said he came to the aid of the manager who yelled for help in stopping a shoplifter. Schultz, the manager and another employee cornered the shoplifter between two cars in the parking lot.

Schultz said he told the shoplifter he was making a citizens arrest and to wait for the police to arrive, but the shoplifter broke away from the group and ran across Washtenaw Avenue and toward a gas station at the corner of Huron Parkway.

Before the man could cross Huron Parkway, Schultz caught up and grabbed the man’s jacket and put his leg behind the man’s legs. When the manager arrived at the intersection, Schultz said, the manager told him to release the shoplifter, and he complied, and the shoplifter got away.

The next day Schultz was fired. Whole Foods told the paper: “The fact that he touched him, period, is means for termination.”

Grocery worker fired for stopping shoplifter [mlive] (Thanks, Eric!)
(Photo:smcgee)

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