WATCH: Alleged Shoplifter Sues for $10,000 After Tussle with Grocery Clerk in Oregon

A shoplifter is suing a grocery store after he got into a fight with one of its clerks in southwest Portland, Oregon, on March 4, 2024.

The civil suit was recently filed in Multnomah County Circuit Court regarding Joshua Merkel, who got beaten up after leaving the Albertsons off Beaverton-Hillsdale Highway, Oregon Live reported Wednesday.

He wants $10,000 to cover medical expenses and the mental anguish he said he suffered after the incident. The outlet noted that “Albertsons cashier Matthew ‘Deme’ Cooper was found not guilty of second-degree assault in a criminal case stemming from the attack.” That verdict occurred months before Merkel’s lawsuit was filed.

Cooper was accused of beating up Merkel, who said he had money in his pocket when he exited the store, but had no intention of paying for his groceries. Cooper caught up with Merkel outside the building and tried to stop him from leaving the scene.

Video footage showed the moment a man wearing a tan jacket leaves the store while pushing a basket of groceries. However, another person is seen running after him and grabbing onto the cart before the two abandon the cart and appear to throw punches at each other:

KOIN referred to Cooper as a “security guard” who worked at the store.

During Merkel’s testimony at the criminal trial, he said, “I understand I was committing a crime. I shouldn’t have done it, and it wouldn’t have happened if I hadn’t been there, stealing and hungry. But it went way too far.”

Breitbart News has documented similar instances in Oregon, one in 2017 when a Rite Aid employee in Hillsboro tussled with a shoplifter, and another in 2021 when shoplifters exited a Lowe’s store with thousands of dollars worth of electrical wire as residents watched in disbelief.

Merkel accused Cooper of body-slamming him to the ground and kicking him in the face before he was able to drive away with his girlfriend.

“I didn’t at all want to fight. I just wanted some food,” the alleged shoplifter claimed.