Fired Waitrose Worker Fights Shoplifter, Sparks Backlash

0:00On April 6th, a 54-year-old waitro's worker, with 17 years on the job, just got fired for stopping a shoplifter red-handed. Walker Smith was at the Clapham Junction store in South London when a customer tipped him off about someone stuffing Easter eggs into a bag. Against company rules, he stepped in, grabbed the bag, and a quick tussle spilled lint bunnies everywhere. Weeks after a warning from his boss, managers called Smith in and let him go, escorting him out the back by the bins. He says it crushed him. He felt like family there, but was crying inside while staying stone-faced. The backlash hit hard, with politicians piling on and folks rallying behind him online. Smith's now hustling for work and customer service or warehousing, thanking supporters on Facebook and keeping a real about avoiding shoplifters next. Time. Waitro's is doubling down, stressing staff safety above all, since workers have ended up hospitalized from past run-ins. They say nothing in the store is worth a life, and policies are crystal clear to prevent tragedy.

1:03This saga highlights the tightrope retailers' walk amid rising thefts. They're pushing for retail crime to be its own offense while sticking to their... guns on this firing.