Common Sense Wins: Lowe’s Rehires Loyal Employee Fired for Standing Up to Shoplifters

A battered Lowe’s employee terminated for chasing after shoplifters was offered her job back at the store in Rincon, Georgia. 

Donna Hansbrough, 68, had never been fired from a job before the incident, WJCL News reported. She had been an employee of Lowe’s for 13 years, but on June 24, after seeing three customers load $2,000 worth of merchandise in their cart and walk toward the door, her instinct to intervene kicked in. 

“I just got tired of seeing things get out the door. I just … I lost it,” Hansbrough recalls. “I basically lost all the training. Everything they tell you to do, I just … I just lost it.

Hansbrough grabbed the cart, attempting to stop them from leaving, according to the Rincon Police Department. Following them out the store, she asked to see a receipt, but instead, one of the suspects, Takyah Berry, struck Hansbrough several times, according to security footage. Hansbrough suffered a black eye, but managed to wheel the cart back into the store. 

A couple days later she was fired for violating the store’s policy against chasing shoplifters out the store, the Effingham Herald reported. 

“They say that if you see somebody stealing something out the door, not to pursue, not to go out. I lost it,” Hansbrough said. “I grabbed the cart. I don’t actually remember going out but I did. And I grabbed the cart that had the stolen items in it.”

However, Hansbrough was offered her job back after senior management learned of the incident.  

“First and foremost, there’s nothing more important than the safety of our customers and associates,” Lowe’s statement read. “ Products can be replaced; people cannot. We continue to work closely with law enforcement to investigate and prosecute those who are responsible for this theft and violent attack.”

@Lowes really?! Firing a loyal employee for trying to stop theft from your store. Disgraceful! https://t.co/w2pfiSNJxq

— Sue B (@sueqDM) July 22, 2023

Jarmar Lawton and Joseph Berry are in police custody, but Berry’s niece Takyah Berry still is at large.

While Hansbrough graciously accepted her position back, most employees that chase after shoplifters aren’t as lucky. 

In April, a Big Lots manager in California was fired after following a shoplifter out of the store. 

Shoplifting has become such a concern in San Francisco that some grocery stores installed metal security gates.

WATCH — CNN: San Francisco Walgreens We Visited Had 3 Thefts in 30 Minutes, Stores Are Locking up Lotion, Coffee: