One night as he worked his regular shift, Watson who was the night manager, heard an alarm that signaled an emergency door was open, so he ran to see what was going on. That’s when he spotted a man whom he says is a habitual shoplifter with a buggy outside the store, AL.com reports.
“When I caught up to the individual he turned and grabbed me, struck me in the face and dragged me to the ground,” Watson said. “I got loose and was holding him down” when security personnel from a neighboring apartment complex came to help until police arrived.
Rather than being rewarded for recovering the purloined goods, Watson wound up being fired 27 days later.
“It was just kind of strange,” he said. “It was strange that they came to this conclusion after 27 days. I thought I was protecting the company.”
Watson’s termination was on the grounds of “gross misconduct” for not keeping his own welfare in mind and for not complying with Wal-Mart security measures, AL.com reports.
The now former manager, who was making about $50,000 a year at his job, said he thought he was doing the right thing when the shoplifter ran out of the store and set off the security alarm, The New York Daily News reports.
Watson said he’d been trained not to follow a suspect for more than 10 feet outside the store, but there were no loss prevention officers on duty that night.
“I am expected to keep the shoplifting at a minimum,” he said, adding that when his associates receive bonuses, the amount they receive is affected when items are shoplifted. The more money that the store loses in thefts, the less money employees receive.
A Wal-Mart rep says the company has procedures that are set in place to keep employees safe and to keep situations from escalating.
“We have measures in place for the safety of our associates as well as our customers in situations like this, and rely on law enforcement to take the lead on apprehension,” a spokesperson for Wal-Mart told the Daily News.
“It is a tough situation anytime we have an associate that does something that unfortunately puts himself in danger,” Wal-Mart spokesperson Aaron Mullins said, per Yellowhammer. “We don’t think there is any amount of stolen merchandise that is worth anyone’s life. Associates are trained to follow certain security measures.”
Roderick Gray, 46, of Tallassee, was arrested following the incident which occurred on Jan. 4, and was charged with third-degree robbery, AL.com reports.
Court records show that Gray had $1,118 worth of merchandise on him when he was apprehended, Yellowhammer reports.
Prior to being apprehended by Watson, Gray had allegedly been recorded stealing about $3,500 worth of merchandise over the past nine days.
Gray is accused of allegedly punching Watson on the right side of his face. Bail was set at $15,000, AL.com reports.
