Employees Subdue Gunman; Fired

In mid February of this year, 4 Walmart employees, Lori Poulsen, Justin Richins, Shawn Ray and Gabriel Stewart, were on the clock at a Walmart location in Utah when they noticed a man, Trent Longton, attempting to steal from the store. When confronted by Poulsen, who was in charge of Asset Protection, Longton withdrew a loaded fire-arm, threatening the safety of those in the store.

The four employees acted in a way that was both brave and understandable given the situation: They subdued the gunman and removed the threat. And although they may have just saved lives (both their own or those of customers), they were promptly fired by Walmart for breaching the "code of conduct" for these situations, which states that should a customer become violent, employees should run to a safe place and then call authorities.

Walmart's official stance is that the actions of the 4 workers "put the lives of customers and employees in jeopardy." Although, considering that Longton is a convicted felon, it seems to me that lives were already in jeopardy, especially since Longton was forbidden by law to possess a fire arm in the first place.

Although this is an extreme case, it is interesting to see how quickly Walmart can throw long-time employees to the curb, even those who are essentially heroes. Stewart, who had been with Walmart for nearly 12 years before his termination, says that he felt betrayed by the actions of the store.

Walmart Corporate "Fact Sheet"

On their Corporate Website, Walmart provides a list of different fact sheets which detail different aspects of various charities and help funds which they have been a part of. Interestingly, and in contradiction to many arguments against Walmart, the opening sentence on the page says:

"At Walmart, we believe in a philosophy of operating globally and giving back locally. We are proud to support organizations that are helping people live better."

Whether or not their "charitable nature" is redemption for the various ways Walmart harms communities is up to the reader to decide. I just think it's interesting how Walmart presents itself on its website.