Walmart Cop Shoots and Kills Mother of Two for Shoplifting - In Front of Kids

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A mother of two who was fatally shot by a deputy after she was suspected of shoplifting at Walmart didn’t deserve to die, her family said.
...
Campbell chased the women to the parking lot, where they tried driving off. At one point, he said he was between the car door and the driver’s seat and feared for his safety.
He fired, striking Frey in the neck. She died at an apartment complex in the 1300 block of Greens Parkway minutes afterward.
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http://www.khou.com/news/local/Walmart-shooting-victim-was-a-mother-of-two-182626411.html

When a mother of two can end up shot dead in front of two kids in the car because she was suspected of shoplifting, I think society is losing whatever empathy we had. And the comments are disgusting - I see some of the same crazy viewpoints on these forums, when folks talk about denying poor people of their right to vote, or cutting off benefits for the poverty stricken and letting them starve. And now this, it's nuts. The woman didn't exercise good judgement but there had to be a better possible outcome then this.
 
[quote name='camoor']http://www.khou.com/news/local/Walmart-shooting-victim-was-a-mother-of-two-182626411.html

When a mother of two can end up shot dead in front of her kids because she was suspected of shoplifting, I think society is losing whatever empathy we had. And the comments are disgusting - I see some of the same crazy viewpoints on these forums, when folks talk about denying poor people of their right to vote, or cutting off benefits for the poverty stricken and letting them starve. And now this, it's nuts. The woman didn't exercise good judgement but there had to be a better possible outcome then this.[/QUOTE]


Though Wilkerson said there were two young children in the car during the shooting, she said they were not her daughter’s children.
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Your sensationalism is showing.

Edit:

I don't agree with the outcome, I'm not sure anything at Walmart is worth killing someone over but come on...

Court documents, meantime, reveal that Shelly Frey wasn’t even supposed to be at a Walmart. Earlier this year she pleaded guilty to stealing shirts and a package of meat, and agreed to avoid Walmart stores as part of a plea agreement.
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If this happened at a private residence in Texas instead of Walmart it would be a non-story
 
[quote name='GBAstar']Your sensationalism is showing.[/QUOTE]

My bad - I misread the article and edited the OP to correct the mistake.

Honestly it wouldn't matter to me if there were no kids in the car, the story is bad enough on it's own.
 
[quote name='camoor']My bad - I misread the article and edited the OP to correct the mistake.

Honestly it wouldn't matter to me if there were no kids in the car, the story is bad enough on it's own.[/QUOTE]

Yes you're absolutely right. I have no idea why they need armed security in a Walmart. I understand the guy was a sheriff or a LEO of some sort but I'd think he could have just taken the license plate and called it quits.

In another thread I thought someone mentioned that some Walmarts in rough neighborhoods have police substations in them, is this true?

If their is a pending lawsuit would it be against Walmart or the officer or both? I don't think Walmart is at fault here but it'll gain national attention just because of where it happened.
 
[quote name='GBAstar']Yes you're absolutely right. I have no idea why they need armed security in a Walmart. I understand the guy was a sheriff or a LEO of some sort but I'd think he could have just taken the license plate and called it quits.

In another thread I thought someone mentioned that some Walmarts in rough neighborhoods have police substations in them, is this true?

If their is a pending lawsuit would it be against Walmart or the officer or both? I don't think Walmart is at fault here but it'll gain national attention just because of where it happened.[/QUOTE]

Yeah - I'd like to know just how hard Walmart was pushing their off-duty cops to crack down on shoplifters. The cop should have known better then to follow the lady out to her car, but if Walmart was complicit here then they deserve part of the blame.
 
And the comments are disgusting - I see some of the same crazy viewpoints on these forums, when folks talk about denying poor people of their right to vote, or cutting off benefits for the poverty stricken and letting them starve. And now this, it's nuts. The woman didn't exercise good judgement but there had to be a better possible outcome then this.
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Please point me in the direction of people posting these view points.

Also, she probably should have stopped when he told her to stop. There wasn't anything wrong with him following her and the other two thieves to their car.
 
[quote name='perdition(troy']Please point me in the direction of people posting these view points.
[/QUOTE]

The disabilities thread is the current reference.

i.e.:

[quote name='egofed']
I've stated my position before, but let me clarify it for you again. If you have proven that you can not "exist" without taxpayer assistance, then I want super strict rules applied to your ass. As soon as you get your act together and remove yourself from the government teat, then you resume being a full fledged "private" citizen and not a ward of the nanny state. Hell, no vote for welfare recipients!!! Prove you can contribute and deserve the freedoms and liberty we have....votes to continue and increase your welfare entitlements are self destructive. I'll go a step further, no federal income tax paid this year? No vote! You should only have a voice if you actually have some skin in the game. Shame is no longer an issue in this country so other incentives must be tried.

These "regulations" are only necessary if we keep these oppressive programs. End all government welfare (public, corporate, and foreign) and then we'd be beholden to only ourselves.[/QUOTE]
 
[quote name='perdition(troy']Also, she probably should have stopped when he told her to stop. There wasn't anything wrong with him following her and the other two thieves to their car.[/QUOTE]

I'm not going to let you get off that easy.

Do you think it was wrong for the cop to unload his weapon into a car filled with a woman and two kids and kill her right in front of those kids over a handful of stolen merch from Walmart?

Come on troy, stop being coy. Let us know your true feelings about what the Walmart cop did.
 
[quote name='camoor']I'm not going to let you get off that easy.

Do you think it was wrong for the cop to unload his weapon into a car filled with a woman and two kids and kill her right in front of those kids over a handful of stolen merch from Walmart?

Come on troy, stop being coy. Let us know your true feelings about what the Walmart cop did.[/QUOTE]

It was a poor decision and unnecessary. This event could have been avoided had both parties used better judgement.

That being said, from how it was reported, I am confident that whoever investigates police shootings in Texas (it's the AG in Maine) will find the cop justified.

In Maine there have been 65 incidents where police had killed someone in the line of duty and each and everyone has been justified despite a handful involving victims that had no weapons. In fact there was an incident where one of the men killed was shoot 5 times in the back and in another a man in a wheel chair was shoot and killed after brandishing a knife.

I wouldn't want to have to work in an occupation where you have to make life or death situations but I think in the wake of a police shooting their should be an independent and impartial panel that does the investigation.
 
[quote name='GBAstar']It was a poor decision and unnecessary. This event could have been avoided had both parties used better judgement.

That being said, from how it was reported, I am confident that whoever investigates police shootings in Texas (it's the AG in Maine) will find the cop justified.[/QUOTE]

Yeah, it just gets to me that troy said that there wasn't anything wrong with the cop following the thieves to their car. I don't want my shopping mall parking lot to turn into the OK Corral every time someone with sticky fingers walks out of Wally World.
 
[quote name='GBAstar']It was a poor decision and unnecessary. This event could have been avoided had both parties used better judgement.

That being said, from how it was reported, I am confident that whoever investigates police shootings in Texas (it's the AG in Maine) will find the cop justified.[/quote]

Is this your cynicism towards police accountability showing, or do you think that there is some small potential for justification on the security guard (not police, security guard) shooting and killing a thief?

The fact that this is private security and not a police force makes for different potential outcomes in terms of responsibility, oversight and investigation. I don't know enough about TX state law to speak to that entirely, though.

Do any of you think that lethal force in a case like this is actually appropriate? I'm quite curious.
 
[quote name='camoor']Yeah, it just gets to me that troy said that there wasn't anything wrong with the cop following the thieves to their car. I don't want my shopping mall parking lot to turn into the OK Corral every time someone with sticky fingers walks out of Wally World.[/QUOTE]

And again it's Walmart and 2012 so I'm sure there are numerous video cameras inside the store and outside the store that got the thieves on camera; combine that with the fact that the sheriff was a witness and could have identified the suspects as well as their car and perhaps license plate...

I just don't see where it is necessary to feel like you have to try and restrain/remove someone who is entering a vehicle when you are by yourself as a LEO in this situation.

Unless the thieves committed or threatened to commit a violent crime inside Walmart, or had some sort of weapon to me this is one of this situations where you should not put yourself in a situation where it becomes necessary to draw your gun.
 
[quote name='mykevermin']Is this your cynicism towards police accountability showing, or do you think that there is some small potential for justification on the security guard (not police, security guard) shooting and killing a thief?

The fact that this is private security and not a police force makes for different potential outcomes in terms of responsibility, oversight and investigation. I don't know enough about TX state law to speak to that entirely, though.

Do any of you think that lethal force in a case like this is actually appropriate? I'm quite curious.[/QUOTE]

I'll have to reread the article. For some reason I thought that the shooter was a LEO and that he was being hired to work security at the Walmart as a LEO; similar to how some bars and other businesses hire LEO to work as LEO.


And my comments are a reflection of my disappointment in how events such as these are investigated---to the point where it is a conflict on interest.

In Maine the Attorney General investigates all police shootings. Seeing how much occur by State Troopers don't you see how their might be a financial incentive for the AG to rule that the shooting was justified?

I give police a lot of credit and in most instances I'll put the blame on the criminal that gets shot, even if I don't feel like they deserved to die because it doesn't take a lot of to put yourself in a situation where the police will draw their guns and at that point it doesn't take much more to give them a cause to pull the trigger....

But I don't think that petty larceny (if that's what this was), from Walmart no less, deserves that much follow through.

I don't have the details but I'm envisioning that the officer who followed the thieves inserted himself into the doorway of a car that most likely already had its engine running and then was "Surprised" when the cart started moving....

Again avoidable.
 
Maybe I didn't read the replies closely enough but have we really not seen a "well, she shouldn't have been stealing in the first place" type response yet?
 
[quote name='RedvsBlue']Maybe I didn't read the replies closely enough but have we really not seen a "well, she shouldn't have been stealing in the first place" type response yet?[/QUOTE]

No... but she really shouldn't have been at that Walmart.
 
I'm not going to let you get off that easy.Do you think it was wrong for the cop to unload his weapon into a car filled with a woman and two kids and kill her right in front of those kids over a handful of stolen merch from Walmart? Come on troy, stop being coy. Let us know your true feelings about what the Walmart cop did.
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It was 3 women (including the one that was shot) and two kids, not just the one lady and two kids.

No, I don't think it is right that he shot his weapon and killed her. A taser or stun gun should have been used, there isn't ever any reason to use lethal force imo when we have so many other options to subdue criminals.
 
[quote name='GBAstar']No... but she really shouldn't have been at that Walmart.[/QUOTE]

Because on a previous trip she had stolen food and clothing? Real criminal mastermind threat they were dealing with.
 
At one point, he said he was between the car door and the driver’s seat and feared for his safety.
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Does this mean the woman's door was open and he ran up to her? So he shot her at point blank range?

Just trying to figure out what supposedly happened.
 
Ya, the story doesn't have very man details. I'm trying to figure out if he was confronting her at her car and she started backing up with him trapped between the car and her door, or what happened. Not a very well written story in my opinion.
 
[quote name='blindinglights']Does this mean the woman's door was open and he ran up to her? So he shot her at point blank range?

Just trying to figure out what supposedly happened.[/QUOTE]

The details are kind of vague. The children in the car weren't those of the deceased and I'm not sure if the deceased was driving or in the passengers seat but it appears that the off duty deputy tried to apprehend one of the three thieves (I'm assuming the driver) either as they were getting into the car or after they were already in the car and that is why he was in between the drivers side door and the car. And most likely these girls weren't smart enough to back into their parking space so most likely to getaway they had to put the car in reverse which left the deputy in a situation where he most likely felt like he was going to get sandwiched between the car and the frame or possibly get run over.

But that is just me speculating
 
[quote name='RedvsBlue']Maybe I didn't read the replies closely enough but have we really not seen a "well, she shouldn't have been stealing in the first place" type response yet?[/QUOTE]
We have...and in this very thread.

It always strikes me as a bit psychopathic that some people think it's ok that someone be killed for pretty much petty theft. Hiding behind "they both made mistakes" is some weak ass equivocating as if killing someone for stealing from wally world is on par with stealing from wally world and shit like this always tends to come from conservatives.

It dawned on me a while ago that conservatives and their ilk have no interest in making things better for people, but to punish them because of some perverse Just World Fetish. The woman was stealing fucking clothes and food. Lemme say this again: CLOTHES AND FOOD as if the death penalty should be a possible outcome...and that's some how equivalent, and justifiable, to discharge a weapon in a populated parking lot with kids in the line of fire. THIS kind of shit is considered acceptable in larger society? It makes me want to go full on accelerationist.
 
[quote name='dohdough']We have...and in this very thread.

It always strikes me as a bit psychopathic that some people think it's ok that someone be killed for pretty much petty theft. Hiding behind "they both made mistakes" is some weak ass equivocating as if killing someone for stealing from wally world is on par with stealing from wally world and shit like this always tends to come from conservatives.

It dawned on me a while ago that conservatives and their ilk have no interest in making things better for people, but to punish them because of some perverse Just World Fetish. The woman was stealing fucking clothes and food. Lemme say this again: CLOTHES AND FOOD as if the death penalty should be a possible outcome...and that's some how equivalent, and justifiable, to discharge a weapon in a populated parking lot with kids in the line of fire. THIS kind of shit is considered acceptable in larger society? It makes me want to go full on accelerationist.[/QUOTE]

I must not have done a good job reading the article because I don't see where it mentions what she was shoplifting in this incident.

I do see where they mention "food and clothes" but that was from a previous incident... at the same store.

Petty theft does not justify being shot by police but I don't think she was shot because of the theft. That's a big stretch to come to that conclusion... If she was shot because of the theft she wouldn't have been shot inside a moving vehicle.

I'm more appalled that her "friends" left her to die inside the car outside of their hideout.
 
[quote name='GBAstar']I must not have done a good job reading the article because I don't see where it mentions what she was shoplifting in this incident.

I do see where they mention "food and clothes" but that was from a previous incident... at the same store.

Petty theft does not justify being shot by police but I don't think she was shot because of the theft. That's a big stretch to come to that conclusion... If she was shot because of the theft she wouldn't have been shot inside a moving vehicle.

I'm more appalled that her "friends" left her to die inside the car outside of their hideout.[/QUOTE]
She could've walked out with the entire electronics department for all I care. Unless she walked out with a shotgun full of shells, it's in no way equivalent. But no, someone had to play hero or wanted what would probably amount to $10 bonus on that week's paycheck. It's almost the same kinda shit as a few years ago when someone stole a bunch of iphones from an ATT Wireless store and some stupid asshole thought it was a great idea to start unloading in a crowded parking lot at a moving vehicle.

With all the surveillance available, I'm going to put my money on the shooting being unnecessary for capturing this woman. Like I said, it's not about justice, but punishment.
 
[quote name='dohdough']She could've walked out with the entire electronics department for all I care. Unless she walked out with a shotgun full of shells, it's in no way equivalent. But no, someone had to play hero or wanted what would probably amount to $10 bonus on that week's paycheck. It's almost the same kinda shit as a few years ago when someone stole a bunch of iphones from an ATT Wireless store and some stupid asshole thought it was a great idea to start unloading in a crowded parking lot at a moving vehicle.

With all the surveillance available, I'm going to put my money on the shooting being unnecessary for capturing this woman. Like I said, it's not about justice, but punishment.[/QUOTE]

I agree with you and mentioned previously that unless she had committed a violent act inside or outside the Walmart that the should have been allowed to leave and a report could have been filed and real police work could have been done post facto.

I'm not sure what the truth is. Here is my favorite article to date because it is filled with misinformation and extremely slanted but it appears they have more information:

http://jezebel.com/5967072/woman-shot-dead-by-walmart-security-guard-on-suspicion-of-shoplifting

I'd just like to point out though that the author didn't do her homework because it has been stated numerous times that the kids in the car weren't those of the deceased (not that it makes any real difference---just chalk it up to biased reporting).
 
[quote name='blindinglights']Does this mean the woman's door was open and he ran up to her? So he shot her at point blank range?

Just trying to figure out what supposedly happened.[/QUOTE]

Just hypothetically speaking, he could have been holding onto the door and car, as she drove off in a panic he pull his gun out, she may or may not have tried to grab the gun and then discharged. We really don't know the facts but any of this should have never happened.

His main job is to observe and report and that's it, why he carried a gun I don't know but this is Texas. Can this be a trigger for gun control in Texas?!? He should at most have only carried pepper spray. My only concern is despite the horrendous outcome of this, were the kids left alone in the car? I really couldn't gather that from reading the article.
 
[quote name='perdition(troy']She was caught both times, she isn't a criminal mastermind, but just your average dumb criminal.[/QUOTE]

...trying to feed and clothe her family, at that. Should we pop back over to the welfare discussion in the other thread? Really, not much to discuss I suppose though, what you're seeing is what happens when people don't have a social safety net or the access to that helping hand is so difficult that it is effectively blocked anyway.
 
[quote name='skiizim']Just hypothetically speaking, he could have been holding onto the door and car, as she drove off in a panic he pull his gun out, she may or may not have tried to grab the gun and then discharged. We really don't know the facts but any of this should have never happened.

His main job is to observe and report and that's it, why he carried a gun I don't know but this is Texas. Can this be a trigger for gun control in Texas?!? He should at most have only carried pepper spray. My only concern is despite the horrendous outcome of this, were the kids left alone in the car? I really couldn't gather that from reading the article.[/QUOTE]

He was an off duty cop. This is Walmart's statement:

This is a tragic situation and we recognize this is a difficult time for all parties involved. We're committed to working with law enforcement and providing any information we have as they determine the facts of the case. Because this is an active investigation, any specific details of the incident should come from law enforcement.

We hire off duty officers to provide security to some of our stores. While we have policies in place for our associates to disengage from situations that might put them or others in harm's way, off-duty officers working at a WM store are authorized to act in accordance with their department's code of conduct.


...trying to feed and clothe her family, at that. Should we pop back over to the welfare discussion in the other thread? Really, not much to discuss I suppose though, what you're seeing is what happens when people don't have a social safety net or the access to that helping hand is so difficult that it is effectively blocked anyway.
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^ These are the type of comments that frustrate me the most. You have no idea what her situations are or what her motives to steal were. We don't know what they were trying to steal this time and we have no idea what she lifted the last time other then it was clothes and "meat".

I'm sure in your head you're thinking Clothes = baby clothes and Meat = Dinner but it could have just as well been a weave and slim jim's. We have no idea.

Just like you don't know what type of aid she may or may not receive and how much or how little.
 
[quote name='GBAstar']^ These are the type of comments that frustrate me the most. You have no idea what her situations are or what her motives to steal were. We don't know what they were trying to steal this time and we have no idea what she lifted the last time other then it was clothes and "meat".

I'm sure in your head you're thinking Clothes = baby clothes and Meat = Dinner but it could have just as well been a weave and slim jim's. We have no idea.

Just like you don't know what type of aid she may or may not receive and how much or how little.[/QUOTE]

For the record I think we're all on the same page that the cop made a tragic mistake.

I just don't see how the authorities can get away with condoning a shoplifting incident that ended with a cop firing into a car full of kids and killing the woman who was driving. I suspect that the "welfare queen" mythos plays into the perception of these incidents, and possibly even the shooter himself, especially after I read the comments in that article I cited. It's sad.
 
[quote name='GBAstar']
^ These are the type of comments that frustrate me the most. You have no idea what her situations are or what her motives to steal were. We don't know what they were trying to steal this time and we have no idea what she lifted the last time other then it was clothes and "meat".

I'm sure in your head you're thinking Clothes = baby clothes and Meat = Dinner but it could have just as well been a weave and slim jim's. We have no idea.

Just like you don't know what type of aid she may or may not receive and how much or how little.[/QUOTE]

You might be hiding behind a wall of "We don't know everything yet" but you're clearly not innocent of making your own generalizations. For one, its apparent that you've already ruled out the possibility the shooting wasn't justified.

Sure, I'm making a generalization but trying to transpose clothing into a weave and meat into slim jims is more than a bit of a stretch.
 
[quote name='UncleBob']I wonder why stories like this always make national headlines, but stories like this rarely do.[/QUOTE]

Well, because one was a random stranger who was robbing the place, while the other was an off duty officer charged with protecting the place. You could easily ask why all shootings don't make the national news.
 
You said stories like the one you linked rarely get national headlines but the one in OP ALWAYS makes national headlines. I linked a national headline which talked about your story.
 
Sounds like she was shot in self-defense, not simply because she had shoplifted. Big difference.

However, I agree that the situation should have been avoided with some better judgment.
 
[quote name='dopa345']Sounds like she was shot in self-defense, not simply because she had shoplifted. Big difference.

However, I agree that the situation should have been avoided with some better judgment.[/QUOTE]

SHe forced Campbell between the car door and the driver's seat?
 
[quote name='IRHari']SHe forced Campbell between the car door and the driver's seat?[/QUOTE]

1) Went to store that had a trespass notice against her

2) Shoplifted from store she had previously shoplifted from that had a trespass notice against her

3) Hit the officer with her purse

4) Tried to drive away while the officer was in between the car and the door


Did she deserve to die? No.

But let's not strip away the accountability factor here.
 
[quote name='GBAstar']
3) Hit the officer with her purse.[/QUOTE]

BRTky.jpg
 
Well it's nice that you guys think every human life is worth a batrillion dollars; that people should be forgiven over and over and over even when they show that don't have the ability to contribute.

I mean this is a young lady that left New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina to start her life over... and apparently she did a fine job because she was described as "perfect".

Not sure what that makes me but I guess I should be proud of my accomplishments...

no one deserves to die but I think we should be a little bit more appreciative of those that give their lives in honor of something (soldiers, policeman, firefighters, truck drivers, etc.) and not someone who showed no regard for herself, her children, her family, walmart, the courts, the law, society....

I've already said several times in this thread that I know the shooting will be ruled as justified; it's just how these things work but that I disagree with the officers actions and I'll disagree with the ruling.

The point being though at some point people should understand that certain actions hold inherent risks.

Show me the article of the shoplifter that just lays on the floor after being confronted and is then shot in the head while laying on the ground, has no weapon, posed no risk, and then at that point I'll share your outrage.
 
[quote name='GBAstar']Well it's nice that you guys think every human life is worth a batrillion dollars; that people should be forgiven over and over and over even when they show that don't have the ability to contribute.
.[/QUOTE]

It's nice that you even try to measure the worth of human life in terms of dollars...

[quote name='GBAstar']

no one deserves to die but[/QUOTE]
This kids, is what we call a disclaimer. Someone uses it when they want to say something offensive or inflammatory but want to act like they're not doing it.

See also: "I'm not a racisct but" or "I love my wife but"
[quote name='GBAstar']
Show me the article of the shoplifter that just lays on the floor after being confronted and is then shot in the head while laying on the ground, has no weapon, posed no risk, and then at that point I'll share your outrage.[/QUOTE]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pv89_3rrW8Y
 
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That's actually really nice, I guess we can estimate how much his life is worth then. Buck fifty? Anyone?
 
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