'Hero Sean': Hundreds protest in support of 'nicest' Walsall Morrisons manager sacked for tackling shoplifter
Hundreds of people protest outside Morrisons in Walsall after “hero” manager sacked for tackling a shoplifter.
Hundreds of people protested outside Morrisons in Walsall today (Saturday 25 April) in support of a “hero” manager who was sacked for tackling a shoplifter.
Over a hundred people gathered outside Morrisons holding placards that read ‘Hero Sean’ and ‘Sean the hero Morrisons the zero’.
Scores of cars that went past beeped their horn in support too.
Locals rallied together to show their support of Sean Egan, aged 46, who had worked in the Aldridge Morrisons store, in Walsall, for 29 years.
He was sacked after tackling a repeated shoplifter, who became aggressive while being escorted from the supermarket.
Mr Egan, from Lanesfield in Wolverhampton, said the incident happened in December last year and was subsequently investigated by Morrisons.
The former store manager was involved in a disciplinary hearing.
He said that during this hearing he had been told he would be dismissed on the grounds of not following the company's deter-and-not-detain policy.
Locals in the area are outraged in what they call the “disgusting” sacking of Mr Egan.
An ex-Morrisons customer at the protest today told the Express & Star: “I think it’s disgusting. I’m never shopping in there again.
“I’d be happy for Morrisons to close down and have a Lidl or Aldi there. They’ve got no empathy for people or their employees.”
An employee from Lidl in Sutton Coldfield also joined the protest today in support of Mr Egan.
The employee told the Express & Star: “I feel really bad for Sean. Someone who has worked for so long and given so much to the community, who has been dismissed for something that if it happened in the street, would have been nothing.
“To dismiss him for that is outrageous.”
Mr Egan said he gave his “life and soul” to Morrisons since he was 17 and “worked hard”.
He added: “It’s disappointing that the people who are running Morrisons are not people who are on the shop floor or on the front line.
“I really want some change to take place, not just for people at Morrisons, but people who work in retail and hospitality.
“The policy that is in right now, deter-and-not-detain needs to be updated”.
Morrisons told the BBC that it could not comment on individual cases, but the health and safety of all colleagues and customers was of paramount importance.
A spokesperson for Morrisons previously said: "We are continuing to take wide-ranging action to address the threat of shoplifting or violence in our stores.
"The health and safety of all colleagues and customers is of paramount importance to Morrisons. We have very clear guidance, procedures and controls in place to protect our colleagues and customers from the risk of harm, which must be strictly followed.
"These include detailed procedures for handling shoplifting incidents, which are in place to protect both the colleague involved and surrounding colleagues and customers, and which seek to de-escalate and calmly control the situation. We will not ask colleagues to put themselves at risk.”
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