A grocery store worker saw a man running off with an elderly woman’s purse, and that is when he sprang into action. He chased down the thief, en alerted the authorities. Many individuals are hailing the grocery store clerk as a hero, but the young clerk quickly discovered that he had been relieved of his duties.
Even though he is only 20 years old, Amir Shedyak has made quite a name for himself in Essex, Vermont. Not only is he a model citizen and hometown hero, but he also works as a part-time volunteer firefighter at the local station. And with this recent incident, he has proven that he has the skill and penchant for thwarting petty crimes against the less fortunate residents of this Vermont town.
Shedyak has been working at Hannaford Grocery Store for over four years, and he has done his best to showcase the diligence, reliability and honesty that all upstanding citizens need to have. As a matter of fact, they awarded him the title employee of the month because he was willing to “cover shifts when needed, and going above and beyond to help customers in any way possible.” Unfortunately, this latter character quality resulted in his sudden termination.
Just after clocking in for his shift, Shedyak had been approached by one of his co-workers, and she told him that a customer’s purse had just been stolen. Without hesitating at all, Amir sprinted outside in an effort to try to spot the alleged thief.
Just after clocking in for his shift, Shedyak was approached by a fellow employee, who told him that an elderly customer’s purse had just been stolen. Without hesitation, he sprinted outside to see if he could spot the alleged thief, he told WCAX.
“And he was like – an old lady’s purse just got stolen,” Shedyak recalled. Naturally, this volunteer firefighter’s first inclination was to go ahead and take action and do the best he could to help. “I look to my right and I see a gentleman running across the parking lot and he had the purse in his hand.”
Shedyak instantly was in hot pursuit of the purse snatcher. Incredibly, this young man was able to catch up to the fleeing thief, wrestling him to the ground after he tackled him from behind. Shedyak dialed 911 and that is when the suspect managed to escape.
The police would detain the purse snatcher and they ultimately charged 29-year-old Adrian Moore with larceny. The elderly victim was exceedingly grateful.
“She was trying to offer me money. ‘I don’t want your money, just wanted to help you out, do what’s right,’” he recalled.
Naturally, Shedyak received tremendous praise for his selfless actions, but when he arrived for his next shift at the pharmacy a few days later he discovered that he was no longer on the schedule and had been immediately terminated.
Even though Amir Shedyak had a stellar record, he was ultimately fired for violating store policy. Hannaford refused to comment on this issue, but a local lawyer weighed in, explaining that it was a possibility that the store was concerned about their own liability.
“It is not uncommon at all for employers to discourage employees from laying hands on customers,” said Pietro Lynn, a local attorney who is not involved in the case.
For companies such as Hannaford, this is just common sense. They normally do not want their employees to interfere due to the possibility of an injury to a clerk, customer, or liability to the property, which all can be expensive. “There are plenty of cases in Vermont where employees can be held responsible for the wrongful acts of their employees,” Lynn noted.
To his credit, despite the fact that Shedyak lost his job as a clerk due to his incident, he not only has already found another job but he is being hailed as a hero for this incident. Moreover, he continues to serve as a volunteer firefighter.