Walmart Greeter Who Was Attacked During Receipt Check Gets $20,000 Settlement
Remember the Walmart greeter who was attacked by a police officer when he tried to check the cop's receipt? His lawsuit has been settled for $20,000.
The Chattanoogan is reporting that the city of Chattanooga paid $10,000 and officer paid $10,000 to the greeter, and offers this recap of the incident, which includes shoppers being thrown through glass doors, and pants being defecated in.
The complaint said the greeter asked the officers for their receipts. It says Lt. McPherson complied, but Det. Freeman walked around the greeter and continued toward the door. It says the greeter asked officer Freeman to produce the receipt and he ignored him.
It said when the greeter touched him on the shoulder, he "suddenly and without any warning to plaintiff" turned on him and pushed him to the concrete floor.
Mr. Walker "struck the floor with the length of his body about five to six feet from the point of Freeman's push," it was stated.
It said officer Freeman stood over the greeter as he struck the floor.
The suit said as a result of the "physical assault" that Mr. Walker lost consciousness for a moment and defecated in his pants. It said his supervisor later allowed him to change clothing and get a clean pair of underwear.
The complaint said many members of the public came to the greeter's aid, including one "Good Samaritan" who "attempted to come between Freeman and the downed plaintiff, but Freeman pushed this person with such force as to drive him through the glass doors of the store."
All's well that end's well, we suppose.
Settlement Reached In Case Involving Shoving Of Wal-Mart Greeter [Chattanoogan] (Thanks, Jeremy!)
(Photo:oamg823)
Post a comment
Comments:
Welcome to the South. UGH.
Why did this have to get violent? As long as you don't ignore the receipt checkers they'll usually let you go. My standard policy is when they say they need to see my receipt, I respond "good for you" and keep walking. One woman did chase me out the door at Wal-Mart insisting she see my receipt. When I advised her that if she thought I stole something she needed to call Atlanta police and they would straighten it out, she gave up.
So is it OK for a greeter to touch a customer?
The person being a cop should have nothing to do with it. (it just add's unimportant information to the story)
If a greeter attacks me, and or touches me, am I not allowed to defend myself and push him away? (if he falls & poops himself, then he should not have touched me)
The 71-year old got $20,000 for pooping in his pants. That's awesome, but I question if that was a pre-existing problem or not. What about the guy who got thrown through the glass door?
There was nothing in the article about whether either officer was disciplined, the one for committing a crime and the other for watching the crime being committed. Is there any further information on that? This type of conduct is unacceptable for anyone, much less for a police officer.
Cops are out of control.
probably worth the 20K.
@coan_net: If the greeter bumps into you it is not ok to pull out a firearm and kill him.
Lets talk proportional response.
If he puts his hand on your shoulder, it is not ok to shove him to the ground, but it probably would be ok to remove his hand from your shoulder, but I'd recommend against it. the better way to handle it would be saying "Do not touch me"
@coan_net: You're associating attack and touch - a frail old man touching you on the shoulder isn't an attack.
Him being a cop should have something to do with it - the man should be trained to handle situations without entering a physical altercation.
I've heard recently that there are a lot of corrupt Tennessee police, but I agree if someone/anyone touches you that you have the right to defend yourself. Especially after hearing other receipt horror stories where a person is kidnapped or detained for no reason. @coan_net:
@Scoobatz: I think it needs to be clarified if they mean pushed through the GLASS of the door, as in stuntman, shatter the glass type meaning (probably unlikely) or through the glass DOOR as in he was pushed so hard that he hit the doors and the force caused the doors to open (im guessing this is what they mean).
What about the guy who went through the glass? Does he see some of that 20k?
@H3ion: The guy grabbed him on the shoulder. You don't grab a stranger you don't know and expect nothing to happen.
What are my rights at Wal Mart when someone wants to see my receipt? Can I say no and keep walking?
Typical Wal-Mart employment practices:
Elderly greeter just attacked by customer, knocked unconscious, soiled himself?
"Change your pants and get back to work!"
@hi: I feel I must correct myself.
I wrote "a stranger you don't know.." when all strangers are people you don't know... i know i know
Humm...for 20 grand I'd defiantly let myself be pushed through a glass door and poop my pants.
Any takers?
@hi: You know, I don't think the police officer was in any sort of danger of being kidnapped and detained by the 71 year old greeter. And for future reference, you do *not* have the right to defend yourself with disproportionate violence if someone touches your shoulder. A touch to the shoulder doesn't stand up in court as something you need to defend yourself against.
@coan_net: If the old man spit in the officer's face, the appropriate response is to put the man under arrest, not spit back. That's how it works. As for the bystander -- it takes an incredible amount of force to break the kind of glass used for a Walmart door. And why didn't the old officer intervene?
@ptkdude: Seriously? Would it kill you to show your receipt? They usually only ask if you have stuff that doesn't fit into a plastic bag, like electronics. They aren't singling you out specifically as being a shoplifter - you show the receipt, they pretend to glance at it and you keep walking.
If you don't like the policy, shop somewhere else. Being an ass about it just makes you look like an ass.
@coan_net: The fact that he's a cop has everything to do with it - police are held to a higher standard than ordinary citizens when it comes to how they're dealt with. People curse at cops all the time - when they're caught responding in an inappropriate way (such as by throwing a punch or shove), they generally have harsher penalties than you or I would.
@winshape: You both have a point. On the one hand, you never have to be rude to another person; you always have a choice. On the other hand, you have no obligation to stop.
So if you choose not to stop, be polite about it. Making other people feel bad gets you nowhere.
@H3ion: I agree...the officer committing the assault should have been fired and the one that sat there and watched, if he didn't arrest the other officer, should be reprimanded and/or fired as well. just because he was a cop does no mean they should be able to do what they want. i bet if i did that and those cops were there, i probably would have been tasered, cuffed and dragged to jail.
If the greeter signed up with your typical personal injury lawyer, that means said greeter walked away with $12,000, less expenses, for this incident.
Not a bad haul for going after a customer and physically touching them because they ignored your demands to produce a receipt.
Granted, the cop's violence wasn't justified, but you can knock me down and I'll shit my pants for $12,000 every day of the week.
@ptkdude: I will only refuse to show a receipt when I don't have time (i.e. I'm rushing to work with donuts or candy for my team). Otherwise, I comply with the greeters' request because hey, it's their job - while it may seem annoying and redundant to us, they're proud of it (at least enough to work there) and I don't want to be a self-important jerk who doesn't have the time to let an elderly or disabled person make their contribution to society.
@coan_net:
Knocking people 6 feet through the air or through plate glass doors is not a proper response to a tap on the shoulder. ESPECIALLY FROM A POLICE OFFICER.
@Scoobatz:
I was wondering about that guy too. Seems like if pooping yourself and getting knocked down is 20k, going through plate glass is worth 40k.
I have a couple friends that work for a city police department in Texas. We talked about this story back when it happened. Neither had any question in his mind if you did something like this, on duty or off, you would be terminated immediately. Their department really pushes the "you will be held to a higher standard" philosophy. I wish more police agencies would do the same.
No discipline for the officer? Seriously?
Can't say I'm surprised, though. I've heard about many of the men and women in blue taking advantage of their positions to get away with things such as ignoring receipt-checkers in stores. In a town not far from here, the police routinely expect freebies from local businesses, e.g. free coffee at the donut shop, and businesses that don't comply get the short end of the stick if there's a problem (such as taking a couple hours to respond to a burglary call).
The police need to be respected, but by the same token they should conduct themselves in a way that earns that respect.
@ptkdude:
See, why do people have to make the jobs of others harder. You think she WANTS to check your receipt? Do you think phone operators WANT to call you at 5pm during your dinner? They are just doing their jobs, just like you. What do you think her supervisor will say to her if she just let everyone walk on past without checking their receipts, despite his order to check every single one?
Assault on an elderly person where I'm from (Boston) is a felony of 3 to 5 years. This cop should have faced a jury
Lol I thought that too. I've seen it many times in low wage jobs. I remember when a guy was hit over the head by a falling flourescent light, and touched his hand to his head and it came back covered in blood. I believe they were hesistant to send him home. (Roses dept. store).
Really? People are that offended by the fact that someone would touch you on the shoulder? REALLY? I can't believe that anyone would be saying the police officer's reaction was justified.
If you read the article, it states that store policy was that the greeter needed to ask for a receipt if the alarm went off, and it did with the officers. I think this is a rather unfair policy for the greeter, as they aren't exactly security guards. But still, I might not like the policies to see receipts, but if the alarm had gone off, I would show mine. And I certainly wouldn't push an old man (the article says he's 5'4") on CHRISTMAS EVE (that was my favorite part).
Come on, that guy should be terminated.
I think police departments need to get a little more strict with their psychological evaluations b/c it seems like so many control freaks and loose cannons become cops.
$20K? Thats IT? Isnt assault like... a crime, with... you know... REAL punishment behind bars? The cop needs some time on the other side of the bars in order get his head straight... I think the best we can do spread the name of the cop around and make sure his community knows exactly the kind of person he really is.
People like that cop eventually learn the hard way when they try that un-called-for shit on someone that's capable and willing to put him to the ground and make him cry for his mama.
What that idiot fails to understand is, no matter how badass you think you are, there is always someone more badass, more disturbed, more unstable, and more unpredictable.
And shoving a Walmart greeter to the floor makes him a pussy. He should be barred from law enforcement for life.
Well, I may have not pushed a 71 year old man to the floor, but if a receipt checker touched me, I'd be pretty mad. Imagine if it happened at Best Buy? Come on.
@PsiCop: While I do believe police should be held to a higher standard, "ignoring receipt-checkers" is not something you "get away with". Showing your receipt is merely a courtesy you can choose to extend to the receipt checker. You're under no obligation to do so, unless you're shopping at a place like Sams Club where you agree to it in the terms of your agreement as a member.
@Landru:
Yeah, I probably would have been like "whoa, hey there" then said "what's up?" ...like a reasonable person!
Quite frankly, that's a matter between him and his manager.
@ptkdude: There is a much happier way to handle it and it always works for me. Simply say, "Have a nice day!" and keep walking.
@shoelace414: If a greeter grabs my shoulder (not bumps me, not touches it, but grabs it), and it startles me into turning and possible resulting in the person that grabbed me in stumbling and falling backwards a few feet and pooping themselves - then they should not have grabbed me.
As for the next incident where he pushed another through a window, I have not read where if the that person started the physical confrontation with him or not, but again, responding in pushing someone away is a response that I would have also. (If they stumble and go through a glass windows - Opps, I guess they should not have grabbed me.)
@JoeDirt: Most of them are not, but that one apparently was. Even if he was being attacked, the described situation does have a ring of excessive force to it.
I'm not trying to be an apologist for the officer. When your job is to determine the amount of force necessary to deal with situations, you'd think some better judgment would have been used.
Still, we're all human.
I hope he received significant discipline for this incident. I'm not saying he should lose his job, but that sounds like an excellent time to have him take 90-180 days of unpaid leave.
@chattanooga: If you don't like it here, why not move? Nobody is forcing you to stay and actually, we'd probably prefer it if you went.
He wasn't fired? Or did I miss that part? There is no way this loose cannon with a gun and badge should be allowed any authority over the public.