A Walmart employee sprang into action to try to stop a suspected shoplifter. And all he got for his trouble was stabbed and then fired from the store.
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John Zalesky spoke with The New York Post about his recent firing from Walmart. He said he formed a partnership with a Walmart cashier inspired by TV's Starsky & Hutch. The two were on the lookout for potential shoplifters during his 10 months there. He said the company even gave him an award. They gave him a a glass "Shrink Buster of the Month" award in February.
"In 10 months, I stopped well over 100 people," Zalesky said. "There were days we had eight, nine people in one eight-hour shift. I was a valuable asset to [the store]. If I see somebody stealing, I'm gonna' do everything I can to stop them."
However, that changed after Zalesky tried to stop an alleged repeat shoplifter. He stopped her at the door and asked to see inside of her bag. "You got the receipt for this stuff?" he asked.
Instead, he said she tried to run.
She wasn't even denying it, she just took off," he said. "And I thought, 'You know what? I've had enough of this crap. I'm done with these people stealing, this one's going to end it.' So I actually chased her out to the car she was in, which was backed into a handicapped [spot] right outside the front doors."
She hopped into a vehicle with her accomplice. Zalesky said he opened the door to grab the woman's purse. That's when the man stabbed him in the arm. He said the man almost stabbed him again before fleeing. Fortunately, it was a small wound that didn't need medical attention.
Walmart Employee Stabbed
"It was probably three-quarters of an inch wide — nothing big," Zalesky said of the cut. "I don't worry too much about it. I mean, if it was serious, I'd have taken it more serious."
Fast forward a week, Walmart fires Zalesky. They said he broke policy by following the shoplifter outside. "They said, 'We just don't have a choice, it comes from corporate,' " Zalesky said. "I was disgusted. Nobody had ever attempted to stop me from what I was doing before — hell, they were glad.
"They didn't complain because it's saving the company money and making the store look better because now your losses aren't bad," he continued. "They all knew I was real good ... at detecting people stealing stuff."
He said that he's disappointed that the company threw him away after all of the good work he did.
"I'm sad I lost my job because I had some fantastic people that I worked with," he said. "I looked to work there for 10 years, then hopefully retire and enjoy life. But you're trying to do the right thing, and you get slapped for it. That's what's most perturbing about it. I was disappointed that with all the [things] I've done, this is how Walmart thanks you. You save them thousands and thousands and thousands of dollars of merchandise being stolen. And you have one thing, with a little bitty stab wound, and you fire the guy for it?"
