Target Employee commits suicide after wrongly accused of theft; Target forces "Walk Of Shame"

a reply to: Anyafaj

I know. If it's an internal policy, you won't find anything on it. I was basing that comment off my experience in dealing with loss prevention agents from a variety of retailers, including Target.

The closest I've ever seen to a "parade" such as the mom alleges is loss prevention walking somebody back to their office. I don't really see any other way to handle it than that.

originally posted by: Cuervo
a reply to: Anyafaj

I can totally relate to that poor kid. I was fired after being wrongly accused of theft. A decade later, my friend who worked with me casually brought it up and said he was the one who was stealing the whole time and acted like it was no big deal.

He had no idea how much damage that did to me.

Until you've been wrongly accused of something, it's easy to treat the accused as guilty but every since that day, I've always been super gentle to those I accuse of something and always give the benefit of the doubt.

If they had done that with this kid, he'd be alive today.

Not only am I sorry you were so wrongly accused and fired for it, but to find out years later the real truth? Very cruel. My apologies that you went through that. I know how I would feel if it were me. Stores should have proof before they fire you.

originally posted by: olaru12
Rush to judgement killed that young man.

He killed himself when he jumped off the roof. That was 100% a choice he made.

Are you saying he had no choice?

Should the mother not be going after the person who made the false claims and instigated the entire situation?

Kind of like getting someone SWATed when they did nothing wrong.

originally posted by: Jamie1

originally posted by: olaru12
Rush to judgement killed that young man.

He killed himself when he jumped off the roof. That was 100% a choice he made.

Are you saying he had no choice?

Would he have jumped off the roof if false charges hadn't of been made?

Apparently there are plenty of witnesses that saw the young man being humiliated.
The lawyer is going to kick Targets butt....right in the bullseye!!!


perhaps a bit of research might be of benifit...

law.jrank.org...

en.wikipedia.org...

That will be the basis for the law suit and Target will settle out of court to avoid further embarrassment.

originally posted by: Shamrock6
a reply to: Anyafaj

I know. If it's an internal policy, you won't find anything on it. I was basing that comment off my experience in dealing with loss prevention agents from a variety of retailers, including Target.

The closest I've ever seen to a "parade" such as the mom alleges is loss prevention walking somebody back to their office. I don't really see any other way to handle it than that.

I figured I'd look anyway though, just in case other's had made comment on it. You never know. But if it did happen in the way he describes, whether on the basis of a manager, or internal policy, it CAN damage someone who is Aspie. Because they WILL obsess over this. That is the danger. If they are handcuffed, walked in front of their friends to the office, then walked to the cop car and taken to the police station, it truly does affect them.

a reply to: Anyafaj



He obsessed over it, the embarrassment was too much for him to handle. An average person would be embarrassed, angry and hurt. But an Aspie will generally dwell on it day and night. It disrupts their routine and causes havoc in their lives.

With Aspergers negative emotions are amplified 100x. It becomes crippling. He did choose to commit suicide but it wouldn't have happened if this incident didn't occur.

May his young soul rest in peace. That being said, what the hell is happening to our youth for something like this to drive a person to suicide??? Come hell or high water if you were to point your finger at me for something I didn't do, you wouldn't hear the end of it until my point gets across. Man up, grow up, don't let anything hinder your successes and happiness. Idk maybe some people just lack the drive to thrive.
a reply to: Jamie1

originally posted by: safetymeeting
May his young soul rest in peace. That being said, what the hell is happening to our youth for something like this to drive a person to suicide??? Come hell or high water if you were to point your finger at me for something I didn't do, you wouldn't hear the end of it until my point gets across. Man up, grow up, don't let anything hinder your successes and happiness. Idk maybe some people just lack the drive to thrive.
a reply to: Jamie1

The problem is, this isn't just a "regular" youth. This guy was special needs, and this seems to be a point most people are not getting. He was high functioning, but special needs nonetheless.

One example.

You LOVE Oatmeal. You MUST have oatmeal every morning for breakfast. No problem. Sunday through Saturday, you have Oatmeal every day. Only the next Monday you ran out of Oatmeal. You bought more Monday for Tuesday morning, but you are still upset because you didn't have oatmeal for Monday morning. Wednesday you wake up and while eating your oatmeal, you're STILL thinking about how you missed your oatmeal Monday. You are really upset now. By Thursday you so upset it is all you can think about! You are telling your friends about the oatmeal situation Monday, your mother, your father, your teachers, your telling them again on Friday, your parents again on Saturday and Sunday, your friends and teachers again next Monday......

You get the hint I hope. They obsess and when I say obsess, I don't mean, Oh poor me, I mean, my life is over, everyone saw it, my friends will never like me again, they think I'm a thief, they'll never talk to me again, why would they want to, how could this happen, I'm not a thief, why is everyone mad at me......

I think the main point that people need to look at is that he was never, ever charged. Why is that? lack of evidence perhaps, a scumbag co-worker looking for revenge of some sort, maybe? I use to work at K-Mart and they had to have proof as in on camera or seen by a person in loss prevention, never could someone just say "oh hey so and so stole, go get em boys", there was always an investigation or it was on camera for all to see. What Target did was wrong on so many levels, not just because he had Aspergers but because he was never even found guilty.

For all of you on here saying oh well he should have sucked it up.... think about it a second, really. He was not charged, he left the police station. I have never heard of a department store not charging someone with theft when they have the evidence. Sure he should have went to court and proved his innocence instead and then sued them for unnecessary trauma.

He was paraded around as if guilty, and it really sounds as if he was not. I use to be one of those people who also thought that anyone who committed suicide was weak, until suicide touched my family and I woke up. It is a sad state that we live in that until we are touched by something ourselves we can have no sympathy or empathy for others. When someone commits suicide it is because they feel hopeless, think on that, what that might actually feel like, hopeless, as is in no hope.

Our society has lost all care for others we laugh and point when people kill themselves. I feel sorry for you all who feel that way. To top it all off this was a special needs human being. What hardened black hearts you must have.

a reply to: Anyafaj

Great example. It happened to me before but I'm high functioning so it wasn't like I was mortally wounded. Things happen, but some minds get bogged down in it and recovery can take a long time if ever. You summed it up better than I ever could.

And I hope the person who originally started this is really rethinking their actions (if it was a lie).

Ohhhhhhh, that actually makes a difference. I did not know he was high function special needs.
a reply to: Anyafaj

originally posted by: olaru12

originally posted by: Jamie1

originally posted by: olaru12
Rush to judgement killed that young man.

He killed himself when he jumped off the roof. That was 100% a choice he made.

Are you saying he had no choice?

Would he have jumped off the roof if false charges hadn't of been made?

Apparently there are plenty of witnesses that saw the young man being humiliated.
The lawyer is going to kick Targets butt....right in the bullseye!!!


perhaps a bit of research might be of benifit...

law.jrank.org...

en.wikipedia.org...

That will be the basis for the law suit and Target will settle out of court to avoid further embarrassment.

You should work at the suicide hotline.

Somebody calls and says, "I was humiliated at work."

You answer, "Oh my... that's horrible. Yeah.... Nothing I can do to help. Might as well end your life and jump off a building."

Why would anybody be responsible for another person's decision? How can anybody know what somebody might or might not have done if things were different.

It's profiteering based on speculation and accusations.

originally posted by: Jamie1

originally posted by: olaru12

originally posted by: Jamie1

originally posted by: olaru12
Rush to judgement killed that young man.

He killed himself when he jumped off the roof. That was 100% a choice he made.

Are you saying he had no choice?

Would he have jumped off the roof if false charges hadn't of been made?

Apparently there are plenty of witnesses that saw the young man being humiliated.
The lawyer is going to kick Targets butt....right in the bullseye!!!


perhaps a bit of research might be of benifit...

law.jrank.org...

en.wikipedia.org...

That will be the basis for the law suit and Target will settle out of court to avoid further embarrassment.

You should work at the suicide hotline.

Somebody calls and says, "I was humiliated at work."

You answer, "Oh my... that's horrible. Yeah.... Nothing I can do to help. Might as well end your life and jump off a building."

.

No I should have been an attorney with all stupid individuals and companies opening themselves up to litigation by failing to use human decency, honor and respect for others. Much to quick to jump to conclusions without a thought as to the repercussions.

So much low hanging fruit....

originally posted by: olaru12
I guess I might as well cross Target off my list of places to shop; along with Walmart and Sams. Pay their employees poorly and treat em like s***! When the corporate model only cares about profit; somethings seriously wrong.

It's going viral on social media. The blow back on Target will cost them millions. Ironic

Millions?!?! They already lost BILLIONS here in Canada, they are pulling out by the end of February.

They were here for just over a year.

originally posted by: olaru12
I guess I might as well cross Target off my list of places to shop; along with Walmart and Sams. Pay their employees poorly and treat em like s***! When the corporate model only cares about profit; somethings seriously wrong.

It's going viral on social media. The blow back on Target will cost them millions. Ironic

It's not just target in this case


Lying to your boss about a coworker to get them in trouble, I seriously hope the person responsible for this can do some thinking in a prison cell.

originally posted by: Yeahkeepwatchingme
a reply to: Anyafaj

Great example. It happened to me before but I'm high functioning so it wasn't like I was mortally wounded. Things happen, but some minds get bogged down in it and recovery can take a long time if ever. You summed it up better than I ever could.

And I hope the person who originally started this is really rethinking their actions (if it was a lie).

Thank you Yeah. I'm the mom of an adult with full blown autism and I've lived through some minor, and some pretty major, obsessions. One lasted 13 years! When she was younger, she insisted her radio could predict the weather even when it wasn't on. You could not argue with her about this. It was best to just agree and go about the day, otherwise she would obsess about that! Now she just tells you what the weather is going to be, with about a 20% accuracy. I just agree with her and let her have her obsession because this is one that does no harm to her or anyone else.