HAMPTON, Va. (WAVY) — On Sunday, Feb. 18, at the Bath & Body Works in Hampton’s Peninsula Town Center, an employee who doesn’t want to be identified took pictures of suspected shoplifters with bags of merchandise.
“They filled them with products,” she said. “One girl turned to us and spoke. ‘Y’all have a good day. Peace out’ as they walked out the door without paying for any of the items.”
The employee noticed they walked towards a car that had plastic bags covering the license plates so they couldn’t be read, and the car was brazenly parked in front of a Hampton Police field office.
“When I said to her ‘thief’ before I got sprayed, and before I first walked out of the store,” the employee said, “I said you are on camera, and she said I don’t give a s***, and you can guess what happened next.”
She got pepper sprayed.
She then crumbled to the ground and had no idea where all the people involved in this were standing.
“I went into a defensive position,” the employee said. “I couldn’t see, and I couldn’t tell where I was.
She also called police, who took a report of a simple assault, and she certainly expects that to be upgraded to at least malicious wounding with a caustic substance, which is a felony.
It’s what happened next, she still cannot understand.
“I was told that I was going to be fired, and when I asked why, I was told because you are not allowed to go outside … following shoplifting suspects … and calling police,” she said. “I did not know that, and I did not understand.”
Sarah Hiliard-Allen, who once worked for a security company, could not believe the employee would be fired.
“She is thinking that she is doing something to honor and represent the store and protecting her store and putting herself at risk for her store,” Hiliard-Allen said. “And to turn their back on her is disappointing, very disappointing.”
When we told Hiliard-Allen the story, she decided not to go into Bath & Body Works in support of the employee.
10 On Your Side has covered this story all day, trying to get answers from Bath & Body Works at the local and corporate level. The local manager would not speak with us.
If we had the chance, we’d ask whether under these circumstances it was right to tell a loyal employee that she would be fired from her job after all she did to protect the company. She also believes that, due to her personal injury, she had the right to call the police.
She thinks the decision to terminate was made by corporate, and during our interview, she got a call of concern from a manager.
10 On Your Side found the Bath & Body Works Code of Conduct for employees, which states:
“You’re responsible for taking reasonable steps to protect Bath & Body Works property
Portion of B&BW Code of Conduct
under your control from theft, misuse, loss or damage.”
“’I just wanted to see how you are doing,'” she said he told her.
She answered, “all right, thanks,” and the call ended. “I got a call from a manager. They’re great … I think this is a corporate decision.”
“I called 10 On Your Side because I wanted to find them before they hurt someone else. If they did this to someone with asthma or elderly, they could have killed them.”