Pregnant mom says sandwich arrest was 'horrifying'

[Fandango 1,440]

I often go places where I eat food I have not yet paid for!! And I have never once been arrested. They call them restaurants. Around here most supermarkets now have a section of the store that works exactly like a restaurant as well! As for tacky? You might have a point there but if tacky was a crime there would not be enough prison space to even begin to hold all of my fellow american citizens who could be convicted of that offense!

A restaurant is not a supermarket and vice versa. Also, most stores' eating sections have you check put before you eat.

[Fandango 1,440]

I edited the title to sandwiches, Kim. Something about this story just doesn't seem right. Someone who was commenting on the news site said you can use Google cache to see her original post on the baby center website that was deleted. Here it is:

-----------------------

We just moved to Hawaii a week ago for my husband's work. Last night we took a bus and trekked two and a half miles to find a grocery store (the car is still on the way over). It was hot, I was hungry and dizzy. My husband and I decided to eat a sandwich from the Safeway deli before starting our shopping, we saved the wrappers so we could pay when we left. Long story short - at the checkout aisle, I used four WIC vouchers, the line was long, and my three year old was getting very agitated/grabby/fussy. After separating all those WIC groceries, and bagging them and wrangling them into the cart, we left the store. Then we were stopped by two guys asking us for the reciept for the sandwiches. I stopped and literally smacked myself in the forehead. My husband looked in the cart and at the very bottom, under my daughter's seat, there were the wrappers. We immediately offered to pay for the sandwiches. The guy said we'd go in the back and straigten it out. I fully expected to just show the manager the wrappers and pay. Turns out... We were ARRESTED.

Two hours after trying to leave the store, the police show up. They were baffled as to why the manager was insisting on pressing charges, and kept asking us if we had the money. "Ofcourse, we do! We intended to pay, I got the 2 for $5 deal!" The manager said that corporate policy would not allow us to pay for the sandwiches. The police tried to arrange to have one of us arrested at a time, but it was not possible. They had to call Child Protective Services to take our daughter because we have no friends or family here. I had to make up a story that Mommy and Daddy had an appointment to go to, but no kids were allowed, so a lady is going to come and pick you up and you are going to hang out and have fun with her. I tried not to get hysterical. Yeah, right.

I cannot believe that my husband and I were arrested and put in jail for eating a sandwich in the store. I cannot believe that my daughter had to spend the night away from us for a fkng $2.50 sandwich each that we forgot to pay for. Our bail was $50 each, and we are charged with Fourth Degree Theft. Neither of us has ever been arrested before, or dealt with CPS. We called and called the office already and the social worker said that Child Welfare Services has three business days to return our daughter or decide to keep her. THREE DAYS?!

I'm in total shock. I'm waiting for a phone call from the case manager, as soon as its been assigned. How can this happen??

UPDATE: Our daughter was released back into our custody at about 4pm this afternoon. The media has caught the story and we've been interviewed a couple of times. It's very overwhelming, but I'm thankful for all of you ladies' support! I'm SO HAPPY to have our daughter back, everything else seems almost inconsequential. Thank you again for your encouragement and advice!

Reply Quote

http://www.refugees.bratfree.com/read.php?2,155864,156019

The wrappers were 'accidentally' under her daughter's seat. Hrmm.

Edited November 1, 2011 by Anita Cocktail

[Brit Abroad 166]

Seriously, if you're going to eat their produce while shopping, make sure the empty wrapper is the FIRST thing unloaded onto the belt for scanning. It isn't rocket science to know that you've eaten and that it needs paying for.

The real issue for me is the child being taken by Child Welfare Services without the parents being given the opportunity to have a person of THEIR choice come and take custody of their child. That's bad policy on part of both the Police AND the CWS. I would be more inclined to contest that than the store policy on shoplifting.

[Ban Hammer 13,501]

Did you just learn a fancy new term and like to throw it around whenever you can?

[james&olya 1,121]

http://www.refugees.bratfree.com/read.php?2,155864,156019

The wrappers were 'accidentally' under her daughter's seat. Hrmm.

Based on your updated version of the story I feel even more strongly this was handled in a way that violates standards of human decency!!! I would even wonder if the police might share liability. It was a totally unnecessary and gratuitously cruel move to arrest BOTH parents and have the toddler taken away by strangers. I would most definitely be talking to lawyers. If Safeway has any brains at all they will be negotiating with these people to make this issue go away as quickly as possible!

Edited November 2, 2011 by james&olya

[tmma 467]

They can have some class ........

See, that's why I really like you, Kip.

You're classy.

[Bad_Daddy 2,209]

See, that's why I really like you, Kip.

You're classy.

Thank you for stating the obvious.

btw where you been lately...haven't seen you in P&C for awhile.

[Ban Hammer 13,501]

Thank you for stating the obvious.

btw where you been lately...haven't seen you in P&C for awhile.

what's p&c?

[TBoneTX 46,018]

you seem to be tangenting here.

Cool new verb, si man!

what's p&c?

Politics & Fingergraphical Errors, c man.

[slim 1,530]

I don't know why you seem to be tangenting here.

And no, I don't eat in my car.

Eta: I don't think drive thru pharmacies are there to promote taking meds in your car, or drive thru liquor stores are promoting d&d either....but now I'm just bickering cos I find this so ridiculously amusing....

I'm tangenting here because there's nothing wrong with eating food at a grocery store. There is something wrong with not paying for it but instead of it being handled in a practical manner - we had to get the government involved.

Whenever that happens, it's not good for business.

Any of you advocating for these folks to be charged or the store being correct in the way they handled the incident need to have your heads examined. We, as a people, should be able to work out problems without involving big brother every time we have a spat.

It's annoying when people think they can do whatever the hell they want under the guise of something else. The fact she's pregnant suddenly makes it okay to steal food? 'cause last time I checked eating food before paying for it, in a place where paying first is the norm, is theft.

Here's an idea... feeling famished? Go to the store, pick a sandwich, CHECK OUT, eat the sandwich and THEN shop. There's no need to walk around eating and shopping.

Eating food before paying for it is not theft. Leaving the store before paying could be.

A pregnant woman was hungry. Are all of you against pregnant women getting the nourishment they need?

A restaurant is not a supermarket and vice versa. Also, most stores' eating sections have you check put before you eat.

Often the same products are sold in the eating section and deli. Pre-packaged sandwiches are available at just about any supermarket in the US.

If it's OK to buy it there and walk around eating it, why isn't it OK to pick it up from the deli and walk around eating it?

Seriously, if you're going to eat their produce while shopping, make sure the empty wrapper is the FIRST thing unloaded onto the belt for scanning. It isn't rocket science to know that you've eaten and that it needs paying for.

The real issue for me is the child being taken by Child Welfare Services without the parents being given the opportunity to have a person of THEIR choice come and take custody of their child. That's bad policy on part of both the Police AND the CWS. I would be more inclined to contest that than the store policy on shoplifting.

Govt. involvement. Great for our country!

[Saddle Bronc 124]

I'm tangenting here because there's nothing wrong with eating food at a grocery store. There is something wrong with not paying for it but instead of it being handled in a practical manner - we had to get the government involved.

Whenever that happens, it's not good for business.

Ok, I'll tangent it even further--Safeway has a record of involving government (specifically aldermen of Calgary) to prevent competition--and it still came back to bite them.

...

Govt. involvement. Great for our country!

Not sure that B_A will see the sarkiness in that.

[slim 1,530]

Ok, I'll tangent it even further--Safeway has a record of involving government (specifically aldermen of Calgary) to prevent competition--and it still came back to bite them.

...

Not sure that B_A will see the sarkiness in that.

Did any of you ever see the movie "The Promotion" with Seann William Scott and John C. Reilly? It's dark and slow but it's a pretty funny film.

Whenever I think of grocery stores I think of this movie.

[Saddle Bronc 124]

Did any of you ever see the movie "The Promotion" with Seann William Scott and John C. Reilly? It's dark and slow but it's a pretty funny film.

Whenever I think of grocery stores I think of this movie.

No, maybe I should see it (what I know of Safeway unfortunately is from actual observation in Calgary over 20+ years; and I have not yet seen another grocer quite as bad--and that includes such ones as Sav-A-Lot, where you expect zero-service) Edited November 2, 2011 by Saddle Bronc

[tmma 467]

Thank you for stating the obvious.

btw where you been lately...haven't seen you in P&C for awhile.

You're welcome. Obviousness is rarely lost on me...neither is wild irony

I've just been too busy for VJ lately.

Edited November 2, 2011 by tmma

[MyLittlePony 340]

I cant blame the company at all if they let every do it then they might as well put a going out of business soon sign because of people like that.