A security officer working at Walmart appeared to knock out a customer in a viral video from Englewood, Colorado.
The 14-second clip was posted to Facebook the evening of Tuesday, June 1, 2021, and gained traction over the week. The original post had 137 reactions, 106 comments and 421 shares on Saturday, June 5, 2021. You can watch the video here or later in this post. A post on Twitter sharing the video had 3.5 million views.
“Walmart Englewood ain’t playin today,” the Facebook post said, with a string of laughing emojis.
Here’s what you need to know:
A Walmart Spokesperson Provided Some Details on the Incident & Said It Happened in Englewood, Colorado
A Walmart spokesperson, Casey Staheli, told The New York Post the man in the video who punched the customer was not a Walmart associate, but a “contracted, third-party security worker.” That man has now been banned from working at Walmart stores, the spokesperson told The Post. Staheli did not provide the name of the security worker.
The video appears to show the customer spitting on the security worker, but Staheli could not confirm that to The Post. Staheli did confirm that the incident occurred at Walmart’s Englewood, Colorado location during the interview with The Post.
The 14-second video opens with the fight already heating up. The customer rams a loaded shopping cart into the worker, who was up against an end cap. The security worker then goes after the customer, but he is held back by another person who appears to work at the store. The customer uses his shopping cart to block the worker and turns to leave. Some commenters said it appeared the customer spit on the worker. The worker then punches the customer in the head, and he falls to the floor, dumping some of his produce.
Commenters Disagreed on Whether the Punch Was Justified & Some Said the Customers Fall to the Floor Looked Fake
I love Walmart fights 😂😂
Many of the comments on the post discussed the worker punching the employee and whether the actions were justified. However, without the context of what started the fight and other details, it is impossible to make a full and accurate judgement from the brief clip. Staheli did not provide details on the context of the altercation in an interview with The New York Post, but said the security worker is no longer permitted to work at Walmart stores.
“first off he sucker punched him from the side rear, none of you guys noticed that ????” a person wrote in a comment on Facebook.
“well, the guy rammed him with a cart and spat on him. One would think after doing that, the little guy would retaliate. You can’t disrespect and or assault people and turn your back on them,” a person responded, and added later, ” I agree with you though. It’s nothing to be proud of. At the heat of the moment he probably didn’t care.”
Others joked about the fall to the ground and said it was a money-making scheme.
“Am I supposed to believe this isn’t acting? If the ‘victim’ sues, watch the bank account of the employee,” a person wrote in the comments.
One person posted a gif of a pile of money.
“Overhead Speaker: ‘Cleanup @ checkout please!'” another person wrote.
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