A Sainsbury's worker has been dismissed from his job after confronting an 'aggressive' Champagne thief on the very same day he performed CPR on the store's only security guard. Gary MacArthur, from Bromley, had worked at the store in West Wickham, south-east London, for 15 years before being fired in March for gross misconduct. The supermarket accused him of failing to follow its guidance on 'prevent[ing] incidents'.
Dismissal for 'Visual Deterrent' Role
In his dismissal letter, supermarket bosses stated that Mr MacArthur should have acted merely as a 'visual deterrent', even though the thief hurled glass bottles at his colleagues. The worker, who had previously lost teeth after being punched by a thief at the shop, tackled a repeat offender and dragged him from the store. He then opened the shoplifter's bag to find it contained multiple bottles of alcohol, believed to have been stolen from a neighbouring shop.
Heroic Actions Before the Incident
The fracas took place an hour after Mr MacArthur's shift was supposed to have ended. Earlier that day, he had performed CPR on the shop's security guard and called an ambulance after the guard suffered a suspected stroke. He then stayed at work late to help the all-female team feel safer in the evening.
Mr MacArthur mounted an unsuccessful appeal to keep his job and admitted he has been devastated since losing it. He told LBC: 'The job was my life, really. I don't have much. The friends that I do have are generally my work colleagues. I've got a couple of people who are really close to me. Apart from that I've got five fish tanks and two snakes, and that's pretty much me.' He also bemoaned the lack of 'civic duty' in the country and the general indifference felt towards shoplifters.
Previous Warnings and Training
Mr MacArthur is understood to have received a written warning in August and been given extra training on the supermarket's policy after challenging a shoplifter. But he admitted he 'can't let it go' when he witnesses people stealing. He confronted the latest shoplifter when his female colleagues screamed that there was an 'aggressive Champagne thief'. The thief is known locally for stealing bottles of Moët, Bollinger and Veuve Clicquot and has targeted the same branch repeatedly. He is said to have a reputation for being aggressive to women, and Mr MacArthur grabbed him and physically escorted him out of the shop. The shoplifter later re-entered the store and then started smashing bottles before throwing two at colleagues.
Supermarket's Response
A Sainsbury's spokesperson said: 'We are seeing incidents of violence, aggression and theft happening in our stores on a daily basis, threatening the safety of colleagues and customers. We are responding by investing in extra security measures, ensuring addressing this issue remains a Government priority and sharing intelligence with police forces around the country, not asking our colleagues to put their safety on the line by tackling offenders. That's why our guidance to colleagues on responding to retail crime prioritises keeping everyone in our stores safe and is specifically designed to prevent incidents from escalating.'
Similar Cases Across Supermarkets
Mr MacArthur's sacking is the latest in a string of supermarket workers to be dismissed for tackling thieves. It comes after Sean Egan was fired from Morrisons after 29 years at the Aldridge branch when he intervened during an 'abusive' altercation with a prolific thief. Walker Smith, who worked at Waitrose in Clapham Junction for 17 years, claimed he was fired by the retailer two days after he confronted a 'repeat offender' shoplifter when a customer told him someone had filled their bag with Easter eggs. Shadow home secretary Chris Philp wrote to the supermarket, claiming the case reflected a 'wider and growing problem' of offenders acting 'brazenly and with little fear of consequence' and suggested Mr Smith should be given back his job with a bonus for 'bravery and initiative'. Meanwhile, Sean Egan was fired from Morrisons after 29 years at the Aldridge branch when he intervened during an 'abusive' altercation with a prolific thief. And an Asda supermarket worker who confronted a shoplifter was sacked after 25 years' loyal service for trying to prevent him from getting away. Gavin Ramsay, 49, worked as a porter collecting trolleys and shopping baskets at the Asda supermarket in South Shields when he saw a group of rowdy young people emerge from the store with bottles of alcohol they had stolen. He was dismissed for gross misconduct two weeks after the incident for not adhering to the retailer's policy that staff should not physically challenge shoplifters.
