Two California women were allegedly caught stealing extra cat litter from Walmart, but employees let them leave after being told about the incident.
A man who was shopping at Walmart at the same time filmed the two women. They were seen filling one jug with cat litter from another jug they did not intend to purchase. The man then told them that he hoped employees would catch them and stop them at the door.
One of the women turned toward the customer and argued that they were getting their “money’s worth” by filling the jug. The customer mocked their reasoning by asking, “isn’t that your grandma’s money?” After filling the jug, the other woman asked why she should pay for something that wasn’t filled to the top. “That’s how they sell it,” the man responded.
The man continued following the women as they went to pay for the cat litter jug they had filled. He then approached an employee and said that he was not a “snitch” before explaining what the two women had allegedly done. Instead of stopping them, the employee laughed.
After the employee took no action, the customer followed the two women toward the exit. When they reached the door, he told the security guard that they had stolen cat litter. The guard also did not intervene and allowed the women to leave the store.
“Does your mama know you’re thief?” the man asked as he walked alongside the women into the parking lot. “I no thief,” one of the women replied. The other then asked, “but is it stealing if they saw you walk out with it though?.” The man responded, “Yeah, you still took something that doesn’t belong to you.” The women continued defending themselves, with one arguing that the litter belonged to them because they had paid for it. The video ended with the two women laughing as the man continued talking to them.
Walmart generally discourages ordinary employees from physically confronting or detaining suspected shoplifters. Such situations are typically handled by trained Asset Protection personnel or managers. In this case, however, the customer said he informed both an employee and a security guard that the women had allegedly taken extra cat litter. However, neither stopped them from leaving. The video does not show what actions, if any, Walmart took after the incident.
Viewers Shocked After Walmart Employees Let California Women Walk Away
The video sparked reactions online. Many viewers expressed shock after seeing that Walmart employees did not stop the California women from allegedly taking the extra cat litter. One person wrote, “@Walmart should be disgusted at their employees reaction to shoplifters.” Another argued, “Did it ever occur to you that Walmart tells their employees to do nothing (policy)? Then there’s the fact that employees simply don’t get paid enough to try and play ‘hero’ and they have families on top of that. No not worth risking your health over. Walmart needs armed security or officers themselves if they actually cared about fixing this issue.”
More people criticized the women over the alleged theft. One person wrote, “Evil and perverse generation.” Another person said, “What kills me is that there is zero shame. It is a crime and immoral action in which zero thought about the rightness or wrongness of their action, entered their mind.” Others agreed with the women. “Shame on @Walmart for trying to sell half a [expletive] jug of kitty litter for a full jug price,” someone else commented.
The video also raised questions about whether stores should ever use partially filled jugs as justification for taking extra products without paying. It also prompted discussion about how employees should respond when they are told someone is allegedly stealing.
