Safeway groceries are horrible people.

maidentl

And why should the fact that she was previously in the air force mean she shouldn't have been arrested? Does that mean that if a former member of the armed forces commits any crime then they should be exempt from prosecution?

Only if they're pregnant.

MFPAddict

The store video has been released!!!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sN62PAKoBfE

livnlite

I eat stuff in stores all the time, sometimes its the only way to quiet our little one. Sometimes the store says "don't worry about it".. quite often Shane eats a banana while we shop and I always hand in the peel and they rarely charge...

I would just like you to know that the store employees hate you. They don't say it to your face, but seriously, you are stealing bananas and it's not OK. They just don't want to go to the trouble of calling the police and having you pitch a fit and call the newspaper.

If someone is so hungry they have to eat RIGHT NOW then they should pay for that item and then finish shopping. Do you know how many times people get up to the register and then don't have their wallet with them? Then whatever they've eaten or opened is loss because you know they aren't going to come back and pay for it.

Poster 2) I wouldn't necessarily suggest anyone "hates' over an issue like this .. I would think perturbed would be more appropriate or irritated. THEY can't consume anything without paying first .. why should a customer?

Poster 1) "They rarely charge?" .. like you do that often? You mean the store employee rarely charges you, I am assuming. Someone who has no authority to give merchandise away. And you think THAT is ok? That is still stealing something that doesn't belong to you, and NOW you have an accomplice.

Also, of course they rarely charge. Produce is sold by the weight. When you hand them the freaking peel what are they supposed to weigh?

Good point. .. even though it would probably add up to less a dollar .. It's not about the cost of the thing ... I just can't imagine feeling entitled to just help myself.

myofibril

This is theft:



Leaving a store with goods you have forgotten to pay for isn't necessarily theft though, well certainly not in the UK anyway. You must show dishonesty as well as intention to permanently deprive. Neither being arrested is synonymous with guilt and nor being charged.

Thomasm198

This is theft:



Leaving a store with goods you have forgotten to pay for isn't necessarily theft though, well certainly not in the UK anyway. You must show dishonesty as well as intention to permanently deprive. Neither being arrested is synonymous with guilt and nor being charged.

In Ireland the requirement is to just deprive the owner of the item. There doesn't have to be an intention to permenantly deprive

myofibril

In Ireland the requirement is to just deprive the owner of the item. There doesn't have to be an intention to permenantly deprive

Good thing I don't live in Ireland then or I would be stuffed!

Thanks for the clarification though. I should have said England & Wales if I was being truly specific.

inskydiamonds

As for suing, yeah, I think they should sue. The manager had a ton of options to deal with this. And yes, theft is theft, but there are DEGREES of theft. So now because he wouldn't take $5 for the sandwiches, Safeway is dealing with legal fees, bad press, possible boycotts, and the parents have been left with a kid who will probably be freaked out for some time to come.

Please tell me, what are they going to sue Safeway for?
People may not agree with how Safeway responded, but Safeway did not do anything illegal by wanting the police to come and encouraging the police officers in the arrest. No good attorney would take this case.

There has to be a basis for suing. You can't just say, "You could have handled this differently and you didn't, so I'm suing you." That just isn't how the legal system works. There has to be a legal cause of action to base the suit on - in this case the only people that could be sued are the woman and her husband who left without paying for the sandwiches.

shelby623

Take the sticks out of your a$$es! Laugh, it will burn some calories!!!!!!!!!!

Typically people laugh at jokes that actually are funny.

Well then you must be that ONE person that finds George Lopez funny.

awdhemi

I was shopping and had placed a greeting card in the seat part of the shopping cart. Then I sat my purse down on top of it. Continued shopping. Went through the check out line and paid for my stuff. When I got to the car to load my purchases I found the card still under my purse. I had forgotten to pay for it! I loaded my things. Picked up my purse and the card and went back in to pay for it. The cashier looked at me like I was nuts! Guess they are more used to people trying to steal, than being honest. It could have very easily been a different story! I could have been stopped as I was leaving the store and arrested for shoplifting.

People do sometimes just make honest mistakes. I find it sad that the store couldn't have taken that into consideration before having 2 people arrested and the child taken into protective custody! How could management not known that if the parents were arrested the child would be taken?

HA, I've done the same. My son wanted some toothpaste, and was walking around with it in his hand. He apparently got tired of holding it, and stuck it in his pocket. When he went to get in the car, he realized it was in his pocket. Being at Walmart, of course, I was not about to go through the lines again. So I found one of their employees who takes all the carts inside and said "here. We forgot to pay for this". The employee didn't want to take it, but I didn't want to steal. I knew he thought I was nuts!!

i_love_vinegar

I was shopping and had placed a greeting card in the seat part of the shopping cart. Then I sat my purse down on top of it. Continued shopping. Went through the check out line and paid for my stuff. When I got to the car to load my purchases I found the card still under my purse. I had forgotten to pay for it! I loaded my things. Picked up my purse and the card and went back in to pay for it. The cashier looked at me like I was nuts! Guess they are more used to people trying to steal, than being honest. It could have very easily been a different story! I could have been stopped as I was leaving the store and arrested for shoplifting.

People do sometimes just make honest mistakes. I find it sad that the store couldn't have taken that into consideration before having 2 people arrested and the child taken into protective custody! How could management not known that if the parents were arrested the child would be taken?

HA, I've done the same. My son wanted some toothpaste, and was walking around with it in his hand. He apparently got tired of holding it, and stuck it in his pocket. When he went to get in the car, he realized it was in his pocket. Being at Walmart, of course, I was not about to go through the lines again. So I found one of their employees who takes all the carts inside and said "here. We forgot to pay for this". The employee didn't want to take it, but I didn't want to steal. I knew he thought I was nuts!!

Something similar happened with me and my ex boyfriend. We were in Safeway (haha) and had placed a bunch of cases of beverages at the bottom of our cart. We left the store and we unpacking the stuff into his car when we were like, "...did...did we pay for these?" XD So we went back and were like, "...we didn't pay for these" and the people looked at us like we were nuts too XD

livnlite

This is theft:



Leaving a store with goods you have forgotten to pay for isn't necessarily theft though, well certainly not in the UK anyway. You must show dishonesty as well as intention to permanently deprive. Neither being arrested is synonymous with guilt and nor being charged.

Granted people can make an honest mistake .. but when faced after the fact when someone acuses you of stealing, it's hard to convince anyone that it was all just a mistake. Fact remains, when you leave an establishment without paying, it's considered as theft .. It can happen at any kind of store or even a restaurant. Ever left a restaurant thinking that your SO has paid the bill, and they think YOU have. What do you do then .. after someone comes running after you in the parking lot. Pretty hard to play dumb and be convicing enough to explain your mistake. It happens .. a lot!

Some people are allowed the benefit of a doubt .. sometimes ..not. You have to take your chances, and hope that you are convincing enough to get out of a bad rap.

Prisons are full of 'innocent' people. .. some who 'really' are and some who just 'say' they are. Hard to tell them apart.

TheBraveryLover

I just find it odd that people eat in a grocery store with the store's items. If I had a child I'd bring my own snack from home for them to munch on, or bring my own water bottle from home; not grab something off the nearest shelf, open it up and gulp away. That's just really weird to me. I've never seen anyone do that in person.

JellyJaks

I will admit that I eat and drink while in the store. I've actually brought up empty bottles of water because I drank all of it while shopping. I pay for it and then ask the cashier to throw it away. Never seems to be a big deal here but then again I ALWAYS make sure to pay and that it's not something they need to weigh for price. If my kiddos decide they want something that needs to be weighed, my husband shoots through the line with the one item and keeps the receipt to prove we already paid. It's much easier than dealing with crying children while trying to shop.

That being said, I think this case was taken to major extremes. Yes she shoplifted and it's within the stores rights to press charges but her child being taken away was too much. It doesn't surprise me to hear that they want to sue. That's one of the problems with our justice system. Anyone can sue anyone at anytime for any reason. Don't get me started on how it backlogs the courts for people that actually NEED to use it...I might break my other ankle when I fall off my soap box :laugh:

Jorra

I feel this warrants another mention:

The child was "taken away" simply because someone needed to watch the child while the parents were being processed. Seriously, can we just call it "babysitting"? Because that's really what it was.

livnlite

I will admit that I eat and drink while in the store. I've actually brought up empty bottles of water because I drank all of it while shopping. I pay for it and then ask the cashier to throw it away. Never seems to be a big deal here but then again I ALWAYS make sure to pay and that it's not something they need to weigh for price. If my kiddos decide they want something that needs to be weighed, my husband shoots through the line with the one item and keeps the receipt to prove we already paid. It's much easier than dealing with crying children while trying to shop.

That being said, I think this case was taken to major extremes. Yes she shoplifted and it's within the stores rights to press charges but her child being taken away was too much. It doesn't surprise me to hear that they want to sue. That's one of the problems with our justice system. Anyone can sue anyone at anytime for any reason. Don't get me started on how it backlogs the courts for people that actually NEED to use it...I might break my other ankle when I fall off my soap box :laugh:

I don't think Childs Aid was there to take the kids away .. There was a legal obligation to take care of the kids while the parents had to deal with their legal matters, I suppose. I don't understand why they couldn't call someone (like a relative) to pick the kids up .. I'm not sure why Children's Aid just HAD to be called.

I'm thinking this was ALL about setting an example.

unsuspectingfish

I just have to say, that, technically, at least under the law of this state (I don't know about other states or countries), eating and drinking items in a store prior to paying for them is theft and is a punishable offense in and of itself. Most people are not punished for this because it's more hassle than it's worth and people generally pay for these items. So, this woman potentially committed a crime just by eating the sandwiches, even if she did intend to pay for them.

Also, I worked in a dining hall at one point where so many people ate their food items before going to the check so that they didn't have to pay for them that they actually had to cut people's jobs. You can wave off one sandwich all you want, but when there are multiple people stealing one sandwich every day, it's bad for business. In this light, I can understand why any store would want to make an example of someone. I can guarantee that, at least for awhile, people are going to think twice about stealing from there.

DWilbanks

Oh for ++++'s sake, stealing is stealing. If you take something, and don't pay for it. it's stealing. Doesn't matter if you take a little or a lot, it's stealing. That's like saying, I'm only a little preggers... you either are pregnant, or you aren't.. sheess:huh:

MisterDubs303

I have watched people in grocery stores actually throw away bottles and food wrappers while shopping. They had no intention of ever paying for it. If she supposedly "saved the wrappers so she could pay for them later" then what happened to them? Why weren't they just in the cart or something to be scanned at checkout? Is it different than shoplifting, or just a more clever way of doing it? An honest mistake is an honest mistake, but who knows.

SDkitty

Oh for ++++'s sake, stealing is stealing. If you take something, and don't pay for it. it's stealing. Doesn't matter if you take a little or a lot, it's stealing. That's like saying, I'm only a little preggers... you either are pregnant, or you aren't.. sheess:huh:

olivetree_

Oh, please. I shop at Safeway all the time and I've never had even the tiniest problem with it. Blaming all Safeway stores simply because one did something you don't agree with is plain idiotic.

No matter how you put it, it was theft. She ate something that belonged to the store, and didn't pay for it. Safeway's theft policy is very strict. They did have a right to call the police. I'm not saying she's a criminal, but ALL criminals deny or come up with an excuse once they've been caught. No, I don't think her husband should have also been arrested, and I don't think her child should have been taken away, but if she was arrested it's hardly a big deal.

The point is: she took something without paying, she was arrested, but NOW SHE IS OUT.

I'd like to see her try to sue. "Oh, I just ate a sandwich and didn't pay for it! That's all. And then they arrested me as if I stole something." If I was a lawyer and she asked me to be hers, I'd turn her down right away.