Fired Manager Fights Shoplifter, Sparks Debate

0:00On April 22nd, a 46-year-old supermarket manager named Sean Egan just got fired for Morrison's after 29 years on the job for tackling a violent shoplifter. He started working there as a teen and rose to manage a store near Walsall, but broke their deter and not detained policy by getting physical with the thief. The shoplifter, Daniel Kendall, a repeat offender with over 100 crimes tied to his heroin addiction stole two bottles of Jack Daniel's worth. $90 total. When Egan confronted him, Kendall spat in his face three times and turned aggressive. But police nearby arrested him on the spot and later jailed him for 46 weeks. Egan's life has fallen apart since. He's battling depression, suicidal thoughts, and money woes, leaning on family handouts while his pension sits. Frozen. With a wife, two young daughters, and a nice home, he worked hard to build through long shifts and big bonuses near $100,000 a year, he feels humiliated and rejected.

1:03Customers love Egan for his friendly vibe and charity runs raising thousands, so they're protesting at the store demanding he gets his job back. His boss is called a gross misconduct after a hearing, even though no police charged him. Meanwhile, Morrison sticks to their safety rules to keep staff and shoppers out of harm's way amid rising shoplifting. Egan says he'd do it again to protect folks, sparking talk on whether companies should back workers standing up to crime.