Unbelievable! Watch as supermarket CEO tackles alleged thief in citizen’s arrest
- Replies 73
It’s a scene straight out of a Hollywood movie — a man wheeling a suitcase filled with allegedly stolen goods, only to be stopped and tackled by the CEO of the company he had stolen from.
The footage shows the dramatic moment when one of the CEOs of Harris Farm Markets chases after an alleged meat thief who had filled a suitcase with a bounty of top-notch steak and beef!
Members, you have to watch it to believe it!
The 33-second clip obtained by 7News shows what is said to be one of the brothers who leads the store chain — either Angus, Tristan, or Luke — with a red cap and chasing down a man wearing a light grey hoodie, dragging a dark suitcase down a street. (There wasn’t a clear angle to identify which of the three brothers was the one chasing the alleged thief, but reports simply say it was a CEO of Harris Farm Markets who did so.)
The person filming the clip could be heard shouting ‘Stop!’, as the alleged thief in the grey hoodie seemed to make some headway.
The CEO was also shouting ‘Get him!’ repeatedly — just before he was able to catch up to the suspected thief and tackle him sideways to the pavement.
The man in the grey hoodie didn’t make much of a fight as the CEO could then be heard telling him to stay down in what is described as a citizen’s arrest.
Harris Farm Markets is a popular eastern Australian store chain based in NSW with some branches in QLD.
The apprehended man in grey was apparently a repeat offender who has cost the business thousands of dollars in stolen goods, according to some reports.
Curiously though the alleged thief ended up being released despite being held temporarily for questioning.
The identity of which Harris brother was behind the citizen’s arrest has yet to be confirmed.
In NSW’s Law Enforcement (Powers and Responsibilities) Act 2002, citizens are allowed to make arrests in cases where an offender has committed a ‘serious indictable offence’ which covers acts like theft.
People online were rather alarmed at the CEO’s use of force.
‘Someone’s up for an assault charge, and it’s not the guy with the suitcase,’ one commenter said.
A second added: ‘It’s unacceptable for anyone, especially a CEO, to use physical force against someone who stole food.’
‘This just highlights the systemic failure of our society to address poverty and food insecurity.’
That being said, there were also some who saw the CEO’s actions as par for the course for any criminal caught in the act.
‘Regardless if it's food or any other item, business owners or anyone else should be allowed to take these parasites down with force and hold them until the police turn up for stealing... What's unacceptable is stealing,’ another commenter pointed out.
‘I think it should be mandatory to catch and detain any thief. It’s called a citizen’s arrest,’ another added.
These sentiments are similar to those from another incident down south in Melbourne, where a Coles security guard claimed he was fired for performing a citizen’s arrest on an alleged thief.
Some of our members expressed their support for the guard.
‘I commend the security guard for doing his job,’ member @Bargain Hunter said. ‘What use is employing security if they cannot prevent theft? This guy should retain his job.’
@Dunks added: ‘Why bother to employ security if they can’t act… The man was doing what he was employed to do.’
Others though gave credence to the presumption of innocence.
‘Was (the alleged thief) shoplifting or only suspected of it? He may have been innocent,’ @XQueenslander asked.
‘The critical words are "suspected thief". The security guard may have been justified in approaching the person, with the purpose of talking to him/her about a suspected theft, but a person not having been notified of the "suspected theft" could be excused for turning and running from the security guard who approached him,’ @MHM said.
‘A security guard is not a policeman (although he/she may hold the status of "special officer"). The security guard would have been wisely advised to take a description of the suspect, and his/her location, for the purpose of notifying Victoria Police of the suspected offence and the suspected thief.’
‘The guard did, in my view, overreach his/her authority, but I don't think it warranted his/her dismissal. The employer company should review its training protocols.’
Now, you probably have another burning question on your mind: Why would anyone steal a suitcase’s worth of meat?
According to the private investigator Shane Windred, the suspected thief was likely not stealing the goods to feed his family — the stolen meat was being used to buy drugs.
Yes, you read that correctly.
'I’m seeing eye fillets, scotch fillets (being stolen)... up to 30 trays at a time,' Windred said. 'What they’re doing is taking $500 or $600 dollars worth of meat to the drug dealer and they use it as currency.'
Source: Twitter/@amy_clements7
The National Retail Association estimates that all forms of shoplifting across the retail sector cost retailers $9.5 billion per year, with supermarkets Coles and Woolworths, and department stores Myer and David Jones reportedly being the worst hit.
Australia is also facing a real cost-of-living crisis, with inflation hitting a high of 7.8 per cent in December.
We’d love to hear from you: Do you think that the CEO was right to have taken matters into his own hands? Or do you think he should have instead reported the alleged thief to police officers and let them do their job?
And have you heard of meat being used as currency in illegal dealings before?
Tell us your thoughts below!
The footage shows the dramatic moment when one of the CEOs of Harris Farm Markets chases after an alleged meat thief who had filled a suitcase with a bounty of top-notch steak and beef!
Members, you have to watch it to believe it!
The 33-second clip obtained by 7News shows what is said to be one of the brothers who leads the store chain — either Angus, Tristan, or Luke — with a red cap and chasing down a man wearing a light grey hoodie, dragging a dark suitcase down a street. (There wasn’t a clear angle to identify which of the three brothers was the one chasing the alleged thief, but reports simply say it was a CEO of Harris Farm Markets who did so.)
The person filming the clip could be heard shouting ‘Stop!’, as the alleged thief in the grey hoodie seemed to make some headway.
The CEO was also shouting ‘Get him!’ repeatedly — just before he was able to catch up to the suspected thief and tackle him sideways to the pavement.
The man in the grey hoodie didn’t make much of a fight as the CEO could then be heard telling him to stay down in what is described as a citizen’s arrest.
One of Harris Farm Markets CEOs took down a suspected thief whose suitcase contained meat stolen from a Sydney store. Image: YouTube/HarrisFarmAU
Harris Farm Markets is a popular eastern Australian store chain based in NSW with some branches in QLD.
The apprehended man in grey was apparently a repeat offender who has cost the business thousands of dollars in stolen goods, according to some reports.
Curiously though the alleged thief ended up being released despite being held temporarily for questioning.
The identity of which Harris brother was behind the citizen’s arrest has yet to be confirmed.
In NSW’s Law Enforcement (Powers and Responsibilities) Act 2002, citizens are allowed to make arrests in cases where an offender has committed a ‘serious indictable offence’ which covers acts like theft.
People online were rather alarmed at the CEO’s use of force.
‘Someone’s up for an assault charge, and it’s not the guy with the suitcase,’ one commenter said.
A second added: ‘It’s unacceptable for anyone, especially a CEO, to use physical force against someone who stole food.’
‘This just highlights the systemic failure of our society to address poverty and food insecurity.’
That being said, there were also some who saw the CEO’s actions as par for the course for any criminal caught in the act.
‘Regardless if it's food or any other item, business owners or anyone else should be allowed to take these parasites down with force and hold them until the police turn up for stealing... What's unacceptable is stealing,’ another commenter pointed out.
‘I think it should be mandatory to catch and detain any thief. It’s called a citizen’s arrest,’ another added.
Harris Farm Markets are popular in NSW. Image Credit: YouTube/HarrisFarmAU
These sentiments are similar to those from another incident down south in Melbourne, where a Coles security guard claimed he was fired for performing a citizen’s arrest on an alleged thief.
Some of our members expressed their support for the guard.
‘I commend the security guard for doing his job,’ member @Bargain Hunter said. ‘What use is employing security if they cannot prevent theft? This guy should retain his job.’
@Dunks added: ‘Why bother to employ security if they can’t act… The man was doing what he was employed to do.’
Others though gave credence to the presumption of innocence.
‘Was (the alleged thief) shoplifting or only suspected of it? He may have been innocent,’ @XQueenslander asked.
‘The critical words are "suspected thief". The security guard may have been justified in approaching the person, with the purpose of talking to him/her about a suspected theft, but a person not having been notified of the "suspected theft" could be excused for turning and running from the security guard who approached him,’ @MHM said.
‘A security guard is not a policeman (although he/she may hold the status of "special officer"). The security guard would have been wisely advised to take a description of the suspect, and his/her location, for the purpose of notifying Victoria Police of the suspected offence and the suspected thief.’
‘The guard did, in my view, overreach his/her authority, but I don't think it warranted his/her dismissal. The employer company should review its training protocols.’
According to the private investigator Shane Windred, the suspected thief was likely not stealing the goods to feed his family — the stolen meat was being used to buy drugs.
Yes, you read that correctly.
'I’m seeing eye fillets, scotch fillets (being stolen)... up to 30 trays at a time,' Windred said. 'What they’re doing is taking $500 or $600 dollars worth of meat to the drug dealer and they use it as currency.'
Source: Twitter/@amy_clements7
The National Retail Association estimates that all forms of shoplifting across the retail sector cost retailers $9.5 billion per year, with supermarkets Coles and Woolworths, and department stores Myer and David Jones reportedly being the worst hit.
Australia is also facing a real cost-of-living crisis, with inflation hitting a high of 7.8 per cent in December.
We’d love to hear from you: Do you think that the CEO was right to have taken matters into his own hands? Or do you think he should have instead reported the alleged thief to police officers and let them do their job?
And have you heard of meat being used as currency in illegal dealings before?
Tell us your thoughts below!
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