Walmart "choke hold" kills Shoplifter - WLTZ 38 | Columbus Georgia Regional News & Community

By Amanda Cook (CNN)-

 After getting a news tip and making several phone calls, Channel 2 Action News obtained this police report from Dekalb police, describing what happened at this Walmart on Fairington Road around 1:30 Sunday morning.

The police report says a man had shoplifted two DVD players.

Two Walmart employees and a security officer caught him in the parking lot, where a physical altercation took place while they detained him. The report says during that time it appears the man was placed in a choke hold.

When police arrived, they got the employees off the man and noticed the man was unresponsive and bleeding from the nose and mouth.

Paramedics took him to DMC-Hillandale Hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
Police said the exact cause and manner of his death will be determined by the medical examiner.

Walmart quickly responded to our request for a statement telling us this was truly a sad situation, and we were told, "our associates are trained that the safety of our customers and our associates is our first priority. No amount of merchandise is worth someone's life. Associates are trained to disengage from situations that would put themselves or others at risk."

The Walmart spokesperson said the two employees are suspended with pay pending the investigation and the security officer will no longer be providing services to them.
 
Walmart says it is also conducting a full internal review to determine whether the employees followed company policy.