Coles staff praised for brave car park act against alleged thief
A dramatic attempt by Coles staff to stop a woman from allegedly stealing a shopping trolley full of groceries has gone viral with many praising the supermarket workers for their ‘brave’ efforts.
A 30-second clip of the incident, believed to have been filmed outside a store in Perth's southeastern suburb of Riverton, has received more than 1.3 million views since it was uploaded to TikTok on Sunday.
The footage captures the moment one female employee grabs a woman by the jumper, who has seemingly been accused of stealing a trolley of food. The woman can then be seen wriggling out of her top.
“These thieves tried stealing a full shopping cart,” a caption over the video reads. “Great job to these workers for getting it back.”
The woman is then filmed running after the trolley which at this point another female employee has taken hold of.
She yells abuse before shoving the elderly worker backwards. But the staff member refuses to let go and is soon joined by the first colleague who takes the other side of the shopping trolley.
The accused woman screams out something incomprehensible before grabbing a box off the top of the trolley. While members of the public stand around watching, a scuffle continues between the woman and the two female staff members.
Finally the employees manage to push the trolley back towards the shopping centre, while a man in the background can be seen attempting to take the box from the accused offender, but she manages to walk away with it.
'It's time people started fighting back'
“Brave and bravo!” one person wrote in the comments on the post. “Good job workers,” another said. “About time people are starting to fight back,” someone else added.
'Violent' shoplifters 'filling up bags' at supermarkets as prices rise
Coles accused of 'ripping off' TikToker - but not everyone agrees
While another gave special mention to the employee who held onto the trolley. “Respect to the worker lady holding down the trolley,” they said. “She’s a real one, never took that grip off!”
But others slammed the move as “stupid”.
“Just let them take it, it’s not worth your life,” one person wrote. “Workers need to step aside and not intervene,” said another. “They are disposable to these companies.”
While another urged the supermarket to “put proper security on the door".
But some were quick to sympathise with the alleged thief.
“People can’t afford to eat anymore,” one user said. “The average family makes nothing and can’t get food stamps. A shame.”
“It’s food, I would let them take it,” said another. “I mean wth everything right now, I am not surprised they stole stuff with these prices, it’s expensive,” someone else said.
In a statement to Yahoo News Australia, Coles said it is investigating the incident. "The safety and welfare of our team and customers are our highest priority," a spokesperson said. "We are reviewing what occurred and ensuring our team members always put safety first when working in our stores.
Do you have a story tip? Email: newsroomau@yahoonews.com.
You can also follow us on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok and Twitter and download the Yahoo News app from the App Store or Google Play.
