A teenager who worked at a superstore in Ohio was arrested and brutally humiliated for stealing “quarters of chicken” and “fruit cups” from his workplace.
In a video that surfaced on TikTok, a police officer handcuffed the suspect and led him out of the Meijer store in Seven Hills, Ohio. He could be heard telling another person it was an “active investigation.” The video, which appeared to be taken from the police officer’s bodycam, showed the officer holding several papers while asking the suspect if it was the first time he had taken food from his employers. Visibly scared, the teenager responded:
“It started off slow, it happened a couple of times just because I forgot my wallet or something, and then I meant to pay it back, and then when I got my wallet back the following day or something, I either just forgot or something.”
The suspect also admitted that he didn’t know whom to talk to about it when he couldn’t pay it back. He further said that he was called in a few months ago by his managers, who complained that his breaks were too long. However, his defense was that he spent most of his breaks “waiting in line to pay for the food.”
When the managers at Meijer reprimanded the suspect for his long breaks, they threatened to write him up if he didn’t do better. For fear of losing his job, the teenager then apparently resorted to taking the food items directly from the store with the intention of paying it back at a later time. Doing that would help him avoid the long wait lines it took to pay for the food, and also help him keep his job.
The officer put the teenager in the back of a police vehicle and advised him to stop talking about the incident so he wouldn’t further incriminate himself. “I know you’re saying a lot of stuff; I know I read you your rights. I don’t want you to incriminate yourself, so I don’t want you to keep talking about this. You can talk about it if you want, but I don’t want you to,” the officer said.
Users on social media have divided opinions about the incident. Some believe that having the teenager arrested was an abuse of power, and the Meijer corporation could’ve handled it better.
“He’s a kid, trying to survive in this overly expensive world that adults can’t manage and you fault him for being hungry and have him arrested after he WALKED to work! Meijer you are done,” one outraged user commented.
“For $110 worth of food? Boycott Meijer how shameful poor kid,” another user remarked. “Poor kid WALKS to work. I understand he took some, but to cuff him, and humiliate him, really> MEIJER 🚫😡”
On the other hand, other users supported Meijer and believe that the teenager should face the consequences of his actions.
“Stealing is stealing!!! It’s a crime,” one user commented. “Loss prevention needs to be terminated,” another agreed.
The officer who arrested the teenager could be heard telling him the crime was a “minor theft.” Further information about the charges is yet to be known.
