I'm a 42 year old single parent, and I try my best to be a law abiding citizen~ I've lived in a small town here for over 3 years (population: 26,000).in mid November while shopping INSIDE of Walmart, I was the victim of a cart switch, being robbed of my checkbook~ Becky Moyer (I think that's her name; no one there will tell me), obviously didn't believe me, and I tried and tried to get someone to watch the front exits of the store because the culprits were still inside, and I told her I could identify the 2 of them. She seemed pretty laid back considering a theft had just been committed on her watch, but I just figured the ceiling security cameras had it all on film, so she had it under control~ WRONG... After standing around looking at her watch for 15 minutes, I was told that nothing could be done until I personally called the police. I thought they had already been notified.
After being denied access to a phone so I could file a police report, Ms. Moyer offered to take me to a phone in the manager's office.instead, she practically ran past me to grab a customer service phone and took it upon herself to call 911 for me. I thought, 'finally, someone is helping me.' But during the phone call (I was 10 inches from her) she would speak and then whisper... Speak a few more words, then whisper. It was very odd. The funny thing that happened during this? My cash was inside of my checkbook, that I had just taken out of my pocket and lay on the cart to pay with, since I was near the register. When all was said and done, I had NO money, and Walmart wouldn't even GIVE me a bottle of something to drink, to take outside with me while I gave the report to the police. I had just been robbed within their store and they couldn't even give me a dollar bottle of soda or water.
Ten minutes later, the police arrived, but it was obvious that her call wasn't to report a burglary inside of the store. I assume her whispers were to report me, because as soon as the Officer Reynolds got out of his car, he gtared at me, and the fun began. (Keep in mind that for that to be made public inside of the store, it would hurt sales, and Christams was coming.)
I assumed the policeman was going to file my report for me, but in all, he asked me only TWO questions pertaining to being robbed. The rest of the time, approximately 35 minutes, was to interegate me, give me a drug/alcohol test outside at the front entrance, and he proceeded to ask me where I had come from, where I was going, etc., I was searched, berated, frisked, humiliated, and embarrassed~ a Friday night in a small town, and I could do nothing but stand there while small huddles of people gathered like watching the newest addition to the circus freak show. Officer Reynolds tried to give me trick questions during this whole ordeal, hoping I'd contradict myself and they'd have me~ three members of Walmart management stood there watching me this entire time.
They basically were accusing me of fabricating my own crime, and my only hope was that some portion of my checkbook was found inside of that store. That's the only conclusion I can come up with because to this day, not ONE person told me why this was happening, and if I started to ask, I was promptly interupted and asked why I was scared~
Lo and behold, my checkbook was found, and every one of them looked dumbfounded. Wouldn't you know it, as SOON as it was brought out to me, Ms. Moyer and the other two hurridly went back inside of the store, and I was told that I was banned from there for the rest of the night. Officer Reynolds and another officer with him walked me to my car, and suddenly Officer Reynolds turned into Gomer Pyle, asking me, "Well, did ya get to finish your shopping?" Then he laughed profusely. I didn't even get a chance to ask them about finishing my report because they took off from my car and I was left there at my car, wondering what in the hell had just happened. Gooooooooooooolly!
I went in to Walmart the following Monday to find out the name of the manager who not only lied to the police about me, but didn't have the guts to apologize that she'd made a mistake. NO ONE would give me her name, and Jesse, their In Store Loss Prevention guy was RUDE, (he went so far as to follow me, and I caught him on his hands and knees at the end of one aisle~ he did this TWICE!) then I was followed from department to department by several in management. I went back in later in the week, only to be followed again, and Ms. Moyer was spying on me to such an extent, I back-tracked behind her~ not knowing I was there, she practically ran right into me. I asked, "Ma'am, what is your name?" And she replied "I DON'T HAVE TO TELL YOU MY NAME." and she then scurried away like a roach.
Oh, and Officer Reynolds? How ironic that I happened to see him during this same visit. He was working undercover in the electronics department, and when he spotted me, his face turned red, he looked down, and couldn't face me. He evidently had a vested interest in trying to find an excuse to arrest me.
AND, from what I've been told, Ms. Moyer had everyone say that I 'lost' my checkbook. A greeter there asked if I was the one that 'lost' my checkbook that night.
I've talked to a couple of attorneys~ one says that I have a couple of charges against them, one being false imprisonment, but then another attorney told me that everything that Walmart and the Police Dept. Did was within their rights, and it wouldn't be worth it for me to pursue anything~
WHAT ABOUT MY RIGHTS? Do I not have rights in all of this?
I was not only the victim once by being robbed IN THEIR STORE, I was the victim twice by Walmart trying to have me arrested, and yet again, for the police department failed to file my report. I am so disgusted, and it's taking its toll on me mentally. I was only asked TWO questions pertaining to who robbed me~ those were:
'What did the checkbook look like?'
and 'What was in it?'
I was asked NOTHING about who did it, where I was at, etc. And the sad part? Walmart had the thieves inside the store, they could've been stopped, but instead, they made ME the outlaw here, and those that got away with it are free to do that to someone's grandma, mother, whoever. They then followed me throughout the store to either: Intimidate me into leaving, or hoping to catch me doing something illegal, that way, they could do an 'I told you so' and justify their actions~ I'd been in there hundreds of times before, and this had never happened previously... There is no other explanation to do that to a customer. I had applied for Christmas jobs during this time also, and though it can't be proven, I don't know if this person talked or that person talked, denying me employment. You know how people talk in a small town, and half of them witnessed this that night.
All I did was go shopping, and I ended up being totally humiliated. I'm at a standstill, and it's made me half paranoid now to go shopping anywhere for fear of that happening again.
If Walmart and the Marshalltown Police Department have the rights to do all of this, what rights do I have? Are they above reproach for their actions that they know were mistaken and detrimental? I need advice.
Tammy~
Marshalltown, Iowa
U.S.A.
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