Child taken over sandwich

[loCAtek]

Is the US turning into the UK?

Safeway calls cops on Hawaii parents over $5


Nicole and Marcin Leszczynski were arrested for shoplifting Oct. 26, 2011, after allegedly stealing two chicken salad sandwiches from a Honolulu Safeway store among about $50 worth of groceries for which they paid.

HONOLULU - Nicole Leszczynski couldn't imagine that two chicken salad sandwiches would land her and her husband in jail and her 2-year-old daughter in state custody. But it happened six days ago, when the 30-weeks-pregnant woman forgot to pay for her snack while grocery shopping.

"It was the most ridiculous chain of events that happened," she said while sobbing Monday. "It's still hard to believe what happened."

Leszczynski, 28, and her husband Marcin, 33, were handcuffed, searched then released on $50 bail each. Their ordeal at the police station lasted a few hours, but their daughter Zofia spent the night away from her parents in a case that has sparked nationwide outrage and forced the Safeway supermarket chain to review the incident.

The family had moved to an apartment near downtown Honolulu from California two weeks ago. Still settling in, they ventured out Wednesday to stock up on groceries, took the bus, got lost, and ended up at a Safeway supermarket.

Famished, the former Air Force staff sergeant picked up the two sandwiches that together cost $5. She openly munched on one while they shopped, saving the wrapper to be scanned at the register later.

But they forgot to pay for the sandwiches as they checked out with about $50 worth of groceries.

"When the security guard questioned us, I was really embarrassed, I was horrified," she said. They were led upstairs, where the couple expected to get a lecture, pay for the sandwiches, and be allowed on their way.

But store managers wouldn't allow them to pay for the sandwiches, she said.

"I asked to talk to a manager and he said it was against their policy to pay for items that left the store," she said. "The security guard said we were being charged with shoplifting."

(Below, watch a report CBS News affiliate KGMB-TV of Honolulu filed Thursday on this story.)

Four hours later, a police officer arrived and read them their rights. A woman from the state Child Welfare Services arrived to take Zofia away.

The pregnant mother said she tried to keep her composure until Zofia, who turns 3 in December, left the store. "I didn't want Zofia to be scared because she's never spent a night away from us. She didn't have her stuffed animal. She didn't have her toothbrush."

But as soon as her daughter left, "I got completely hysterical. I went to the bathroom and I threw up," she recalled.

A Honolulu police spokeswoman said it was procedure to call Child Welfare Services if a child is present when both parents are arrested. The store's management did not know the girl would be taken away, said Susan Houghton, a spokeswoman for California-based Safeway.

The national supermarket chain said it was looking into the incident. "It was never our intent to separate a mother from her child. That was a very unfortunate consequence to this situation," Houghton said. "We understand the outrage. We are concerned about how this was handled."

Leszczynski called the incident "so horrifying, it seemed to escalate and no one could say, 'this is too much.'"

The couple was handcuffed and driven separately to police headquarters a few blocks away, where they were searched, had their mug shots taken and then released after paying bail. A police officer escorted them back to the store — which banned them for a year, Leszczynski said — where they picked up their groceries and walked home just before midnight.

"We basically stared at each other all night. We woke up at the crack of dawn and called (the state child welfare office)," Leszczynski said. While they waited, Leszczynski vented about the experience on babycenter.com and contacted a lawyer for help with being reunited with Zofia. At the lawyer's suggestion, they took their story to the media.

Zofia was returned after an 18-hour separation from her parents.

The couple is charged with fourth-degree theft, a petty misdemeanor, and has a court date on Nov. 28, according to the city prosecutor's office. The family hasn't decided whether it will pursue legal action against Safeway.

Houghton said the company will review the police report and store security footage before deciding whether to press charges.

[dales]

Me thinks the boneheaded response of the store manager is worth far more than a $5 sandwich in ill-will towards Safeway.

Look for the store manager to be sh!t-canned soon enough.

Hawaii of all places..........I would have thought it to be in a state soouth of the Mason-Dixon line.

[BoSoxGal]

Aloha!

[loCAtek]

Safeway president drops sandwich charges, offers apology

Although many agree with Safeway's handling of the situation, the chain welcomes the family back

November 2nd, 2011 by Nicholas Whittaker | Permalink

Safeway has decided not to press charges over sandwiches stolen from a Honolulu supermarket.

On Tuesday, one of the chain’s regional presidents, Karl Schroeder, phoned Nicole and Marcin Leszczynski to offer his condolences. “He apologized for what she’s been through,” spokeswoman Susan Houghton said.

Although Houghton acknowledged that store management followed procedure, it was regrettable that the couple’s 2-year old child was taken away as a result. ”We want to do the right thing here,” the spokeswoman told the Associated Press. “Families are important to us.”

That was consolation for expectant mother, Nicole.

“I feel relieved that the charges are being dropped and he kind of did make an apology,” she said. “Now that we have our daughter back and we’re not in jail, that’s our biggest concern.”

Nicole and Marcin Leszczynski were arrested and their 2-year old daughter Zofia was taken for 18 hours by Child Protective Services over $5 worth of sandwiches at a Honolulu Safeway. Screenshot via AP

The day after the incident, Nicole told reporters that she emailed Safeway to say that they didn’t mean to take the sandwiches without paying. “It was just a slip, a mommy-brain moment, I guess,” she said.

Not only does Safeway accept that the couple forgot to pay, Houghton said that they are also no longer banned from the store.

The controversial shoplifting case has caused a ripple through the Safeway chain and will undoubtedly change how managers and employees are trained. “In this case, it was not handled in the appropriate manner and we wanted to correct that,” Houghton said.

The incident has ignited nationwide outrage on both sides of the issue. Many people believe there is no excuse for eating sandwiches in the store before paying for them. According to Nicole, “I didn’t know it was such a taboo thing. Where I grew up in a small town it’s not seen as stealing for sure.”

Still others feel that even with intent, there is no excuse for taking away the couple’s child. “Rules are rules, but come on this is ridiculous,” one commenter wrote.

While the couple no longer needs their lawyer to fight the criminal charges, the question remains whether the couple will file a suit. “I haven’t even considered it because I was just so worried about the charges,” Nicole said. “I do feel like something went terribly wrong and we were abused in some way.”

I hope this doesn't turn into a lawsuit. No , she shouldn't have eaten the sandwich; and no, the store manager shouldn't have over-reacted over $5.
Now, that they've both apologized to each other, they should move on.

[BoSoxGal]

Fat chance.

While the couple no longer needs their lawyer to fight the criminal charges, the question remains whether the couple will file a suit. “I haven’t even considered it because I was just so worried about the charges,” Nicole said. “I do feel like something went terribly wrong and we were abused in some way.”

Safeway has deep pockets. Lawsuit to follow.

[Lord Jim]

Me thinks the boneheaded response of the store manager is worth far more than a $5 sandwich in ill-will towards Safeway.

Look for the store manager to be sh!t-canned soon enough.

Jeez, who does the store manager think he is...

A government employee?

Actually though it may not be his fault....he may have put his job at risk if he had attempted to use any common sense. Large businesses frequently adopt these brain dead, no intelligent discretion allowed, one-size-fits-all "zero tolerance" policies because of a fear of being slapped with discrimination law suits if they treat situations differently....

So as a result you wind up with insane situations like a pregnant woman with a two year old that was going to have to go child services, who bought and paid for a bunch groceries, who made no attempt to conceal the fact that she was consuming the sandwich and who retained the wrapper, (which to even a complete moron should have been seen as intent to pay for the sandwich...otherwise, why wouldn't you ditch the wrapper?) being treated exactly the same as a teenage girl who walks out of the store with a fifth of Bacardi in her purse....



In any event, it appears from LoCa's follow up that the corporation quickly realized what a public relations disaster it had on it's hands....

Sometimes it can take a company a long time for that to sink in.....