A Lowe’s employee in Georgia got a black eye trying to stop shoplifters stealing more than $2,000 worth of merchandise, the Effingham Herald reports. Now she’s out of a job.
On June 25, Donna Hansbrough saw three people attempting to leave without paying at a store in Rincon, Georgia, about 20 miles north of Savannah. When Hansbrough grabbed the group’s cart, the person pushing it, Takyah Berry, allegedly punched Hansbrough three times in her face, according to WJCL-TV.
The blows led to Hasbrought’s right eye swelling and the surrounding skin blackening.
Berry, her uncle Joseph Berry and Jarmar Lawton then fled the store with the unpaid goods, according to the Rincon Police Department.
Despite working for Lowe’s for 13 years, the company terminated Hansbrough’s employment because she violated a policy that prohibits employees from attempting to stop shoplifters, according to WTOC-TV.
“They say that if you see somebody stealing something out the door, not to pursue, not to go out. I lost it,” Hansbrough told the Herald. “I grabbed the cart. I don’t actually remember going out but I did. And I grabbed the cart that had the stolen items.”
Hansbrough said her instinct prompted her to pursue the thieves but she did not think she would be fired. “Maybe a reprimand or a suspension,” Hansbrough said in an interview with the Herald. “I just got tired of seeing things get out the door. I just, I lost it. I basically lost all the training. Everything they tell you to do, I just . . . I just lost it.”
Despite being attacked and fired, the 68-year-old isn’t staying put. She said she is back on the job market and looking for a new place to work.
“I can’t sit at home. I’m not that type of person,” she told the Herald.
Takyah Berry and Joseph Berry are still at large. To report information about their whereabouts, call the Rincon Police Department at 912-826-5200.
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