On many occasions, the perpetrators of a ‘wrongful arrest’ whom I am called upon to sue for compensation are not the Police, but those self- appointed sheriffs of the high street: Supermarket staff and security guards, who often jump the gun with rabid and rough-handed accusations of shoplifting against innocent shoppers.
One afternoon in April 2023 my client Simon, a man of entirely good character, went into a Tesco Store wearing a backpack. He was hoping to buy a sandwich. Simon briefly browsed the shelves; however, he was unable to find anything that he fancied and therefore went to leave the store empty handed.
Simon was listening to music via headphones, and as he left the store was aware that a security guard said something, however he was unable to make out what was said and had no reason to believe it was directed at him. On that basis, he kept walking.
However, to Simon’s shock, the security guard then grabbed hold of the handle of Simon’s backpack from behind and struck him to the right side of his face. Also, Simon’s mobile phone was dislodged from his pocket onto the ground.
Simon remonstrated with the security guard, who accused my client of shoplifting. Indignant and smarting from the injury to his face, Simon nevertheless willingly emptied his backpack onto the ground to show that he had not taken anything. Simon was aware that the security guard was wearing a Body Worn Video camera that appeared to be recording the incident.
A member of Tesco staff then approached, picked up Simon’s mobile phone and stated words to the effect that he would now be unable to ‘get away’ as they had his phone.
By this point several members of the public had gathered and began recording the incident on their mobile phones. Some of these members of the public remonstrated with the security guard for assaulting my client and asked for the store manager. The Tesco staff member then identified themselves as the acting store manager and asserted that Simon deserved to be assaulted for shoplifting.
Officers from the Metropolitan Police now attended, and Simon’s mobile phone was returned to him. The police officers gathered statements from Simon, the security guard, and the staff member, in order to investigate the incident. Simon, who was of course entirely innocent, was then allowed to go about his business.
The security guard had attacked and detained an innocent man. Simon’s face, where he had been struck by the guard, stung for about 48 hours afterwards; but the psychological impact of that blow and the false accusation against him would sadly linger a lot longer.
Simon subsequently submitted a complaint about the incident to Tesco head office. Further, he made a Subject Access Request for the store CCTV and the security guard’s body worn video footage of the incident, which was disclosed.
After Simon consulted me about the matter, I presented a claim on his behalf to Tesco, seeking damages for false imprisonment, assault and battery and trespass to goods (the latter part of his claim relating to the temporary ‘confiscation’ of his phone).
When Tesco’s lawyers attempted to buy off Simon’s claim with an offer of only £1,500 I advised him to reject the same and obtained medical evidence for him in relation to the extent of the psychological impact of this disturbing incident.
The evidence of the expert psychologist whom I appointed confirmed that Simon had suffered sleep disturbance and loss of appetite which caused him to feel vulnerable and exhausted. Simon had also developed an anxiety about security guards and was now hyper-vigilant of any security guard who was similar in appearance to the man who had assaulted him. Simon also suffered anxiety which caused him to avoid returning to the area of London where the incident had occurred, or indeed entering any Tesco store elsewhere, the sight of which brought back horrible memories for him of this incident in which he had been physically victimised and at the same time publicly labelled as a ‘criminal.’ This was a heavy burden for Simon to bear, given the ubiquitous presence of Tesco stores the length and breadth of the land. He was referred for counselling to address these issues.
I am pleased to confirm that I have recently settled Simon’s claim against Tesco Plc for £6,500 plus legal costs.
If you have been the victim of a false accusation of shoplifting by store employees/ security staff, particularly one involving any use of force against you or a ‘citizen’s arrest’, please contact me for help and advice and I will do my utmost to get you the compensation, accountability and apology you deserve.
Every little helps; but a lot helps a lot more.
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