Shop at Safeway? Be sure to pay for any items that you or your children have eaten while shopping. If not, you'll probably be sent to the slammer and your children turned over to Children Protective Services. That's what happened to a famished pregnant mother and her husband at a Safeway in Hawaii.
Yep, they slapped the cuffs on her and hubby and hauled them off to the slammer like common criminals. Here's the story. The 30 week pregnant couple had recently moved to Honolulu from California. They needed groceries and ventured off to Safeway. While there she started to feel hungry and picked up two chicken salad sandwiches saving the wrappers so she could pay for them when she headed to the register.
After walking around the store and finally heading to the register, she paid for the groceries. However, she forgot to pay for the two sandwiches. Now any mother who has a 2 year old knows that by the time you get to the register you're frazzled. Forgetting to pay for the sandwiches is understandable. You're lucky if you can remember how to find your way back to your car in this case the bus stop. The former Air Force Staff Sergeant paid for the groceries and headed out the store. They were stopped and questioned about the sandwiches by security. They were returned to the store and lead to an office. Rather than allow the couple to pay for the sandwiches, they called the cops stating that store policy did not allow shoplifters to buy for purchases once it left the store.
Once the cops arrived, 4 hours later, they were read their rights. A lady from Child Welfare took their daughter and the rest is history. They spent the night in jail and away from their 2 year old daughter. The baby was returned after 18 hours away from mom and dad. Needless to say, moms across America are livid. I mean really. The couple paid for their groceries, so they obviously had money and didn't need to steal. The woman was 30 weeks pregnant, hell we're always hungry when we're expecting.
Safeway has apologized for the way the situation was handled and has promised to review their policy. They have stated that they understand our rage. I don't shop at Safeway, but if I did I would be giving them a piece of my mind.
My advice for moms out there is to stick something that you can munch on in your purse for you and the children. Be sure that it's in a baggie or container. I've watched moms in grocery stores open chips etc. and allow their children to eat while they're shopping. I've also watched managers walk up to them, and state that they can't open food while in the store. The policy is they must pay before consuming it. I think the situation was handled poorly, and she honestly forgot to pay when she went through the check out. What's most upsetting is that they hauled that poor little girl off while sending her parents to jail for $5.00 worth of sandwiches. Do you think the situation was handled poorly? What advice do you have for pregnant women or moms of tots who may get famished while out shopping? Leave us a comment, we can't wait to hear from you.
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