Woman knocks down 100-year-old Wal-Mart greeter
 

MILWAUKEE?Kai Metcalf said Thursday she had no problem allowing a 100-year-old woman who works as a greeter at a Milwaukee Wal-Mart to inspect her receipt as she left the store last month.

Metcalf, in an interview at her lawyer?s office, said she did have a problem when the greeter, Lois Speelman, kept complaining about ?you people,? before saying something to the effect of, ?You people think you can do whatever you want. Not today.?

That?s when Metcalf, who is black, tried to take her receipt back from Speelman, who is white. The two made what prosecutors described Thursday as ?incidental contact? with each other, causing Speelman to fall backward to the ground.

The Nov. 28 confrontation led to Speelman undergoing a CT scan at a hospital and Metcalf spending a night in jail, but prosecutors said Thursday they would not file charges against Metcalf because surveillance video of the incident shows she did not intend to harm Speelman and that the situation ?does not rise to the level of a crime,? according to a statement from the Milwaukee County district attorney?s office.

Metcalf, 37, said Thursday she wishes she had handled the situation better and apologized for Speelman?s fall.

?It was humbling and humiliating and a lesson learned,? Metcalf, a Milwaukee resident, said of the incident and her arrest. ?I hate that I?ve been made to look like this monster or something, because everybody kind of jumped on the story and ran with it. It was a horrible experience.?

A police report released Thursday shows Speelman made similarly racially charged comments to prosecutors while discussing the case last week.

Speelman told prosecutors that ?these types of people? often become upset when she checks their receipts, the report says.

When she was asked to clarify what she meant by ?these types of people,? Speelman said, ?Mexicans, Spanish and colored people,? according to the report.

Speelman also said ?these types of people? are ?difficult to deal with,? the report says.

The police report also says Speelman violated Wal-Mart policy by grabbing Metcalf?s arm to get her attention and leaving the store to check the receipt while she and Metcalf were on the sidewalk outside the building.

A voicemail left at Speelman?s home Thursday was not immediately returned. Last week, she denied making racially charged comments during the incident and said she had no racial animosity toward Metcalf, whom she said was ?running off at the mouth.?

Speelman?s lawyer, Michael Hupy, said Thursday he couldn?t comment on ?any of (Speelman?s) experiences or her characterization of them.?

?I hope that this is a lesson to a lot of people, however they view this incident,? he said.

Metcalf said Thursday she couldn?t hear Speelman when Speelman was trying to get her attention. Metcalf was pushing her cart out of the store and was using ear buds to talk on her cell phone.

Video of the incident released Thursday shows Speelman hurrying after Metcalf as Metcalf leaves the store, then grabbing Metcalf by the left arm.

Metcalf said Speelman said something like, ?You heard me,? then asked for the receipt. Metcalf said Speelman was talking about ?you people? while reviewing the receipt, then accused her of paying for only one of three items stored on the cart?s bottom rack.

Metcalf had paid for all the items in her cart and pointed this out on the receipt.

?I was insulted and slightly offended by the statements that she was making because I took them to be racially motivated,? Metcalf said while sitting next to her lawyer, Julius Kim. ?I shop there all the time and I see her all the time, and so I was just a little bit bothered by her tone.?

After about 50 seconds, Metcalf asked Speelman to return her receipt so she could leave. Speelman is seen in the video holding up a hand to Metcalf?s face before Metcalf reaches for the receipt and makes incidental contact with Speelman, causing her to fall.

Metcalf walked away without helping Speelman to her feet. Metcalf said Thursday she should have handled the confrontation differently but said she walked away from Speelman because Speelman was accusing Metcalf of assaulting her.

?I felt bad that she fell,? Metcalf said. ?That wasn?t my intention by any means. I just really wanted to remove myself from the situation because I was upset and offended.?

Speelman returned to work four days after the incident.

Metcalf said she should have ignored Speelman?s comments or asked to speak with a manager rather than trying to grab the receipt. She said she was not trying to flee from the store and voluntarily gave her contact information to a store employee before leaving the property.

Speelman?s lawyer said Thursday that Metcalf shouldn?t have left Speelman on the ground.

?It certainly is bad behavior to knock a 100-year-old woman down, go to your car and leave her on the floor,? Hupy said. ?But the district attorney?s office concluded what happened didn?t amount to a crime.?

Metcalf, who has no criminal record, repeatedly apologized Thursday for her role in the incident and said she?s glad Speelman wasn?t seriously injured.

?I was really scared because I?ve never been in trouble before,? she said. ?I?ve never been arrested, never had any kind of police contact, so that for me was really difficult and humbling
woman who knocked down 100-year-old Wal-Mart greeter

It's amazing how many confrontations occur mainly because of a combination of having a bad day and posturing or misunderstandings based on things like appearance. If you're black and you think "old whitey" is out to get you, you might start acting very defensively around whites who seem to fit a certain profile. OTOH, if you're white and you think "those darn black people do whatever they want and need to be kept in line", you're probably going to jump the gun a bit when you're dealing with black people. It's tough for many people but it's much better to throw out all the prejudices and treat everyone as an individual separate from appearances, if you can.

old hag needs to stop working...

Amen to that, can't we all just get along?

who the fuck hires a 100 year old woman?

why do they let greeters check receipts?

what are they going to do if they see discrepancies? tackle them?


the woman leaving the store did nothing wrong.. if someone grabbed my arm i'd get pissed too..

conclusion: fault of walmart for hiring antiques to work security detail...

100 and working at WalMart? damn...

they are both now on the secret police watch list and being monitored very closely. i would not be surprised if they both "disappear" soon.

It already said she wasnt charged, so why post this? and why is the media even reporting on this?

One of the reasons I dont shop at places like Walmart is their offensive policy of checking peoples receipts when they leave the store as if they're MP's or something. They can keep their precious chinese products safe and sound from my US dollar and call it a job well done.

from my experience, 100 year olds hate everybody

agreed :thumbsup non-story here. Granny went nuts and the woman handled the situation well even apologizing for something that could not reasonably seen as her fault.

I'm not reading all that! No funny video?

I don't like how they are making this out to be a racial thing.

This honestly has no bearing on the article at all:

They are sort of making it sound like the black woman beat down an old white woman. I thought we were thirty years past this?

30 years passed? hehe i know what you mean.


but turn on CNN, any news station, anytime. race is always an issue. the average person doesnt care but the media spins it.

it is sad really.

What's wrong with a receipt check? I don't have any issue with it...it's not like the extra 10 seconds it takes for them to check is going to be this massive sinkhole of my time. They do the same thing at Costco. Most of the time, they only do a quick once over on the cart anyways.

Thanks to Home Land Security their suspicious behavior was reported by good upstanding citizens.

:)

At Costco you sign an agreement that you will allow it. And if you choose to allow it at any other store that's your business, but there is no law that requires it and I generally don't follow orders from minimum wage employees.

no fucking video? gay

did you read the whole article?

I just find that the so-called receipt check is another way to say we think you're a thief, prove that you're not. Well.. no thanks.. I opt out. No skin off anyones nose.

Walmart has no right to check your receipt.
Costco does because you agree to it when you accept their membership terms.


Fuck Walmart. :2 cents:

where do you draw the line? $8/hour?

it is completely impossible that any ethnic group of people would in general have a chip on their shoulders and be rude/resistant any time someone of a different, perhaps white, ethnicity questions them about something. thus, it is absolutely the 100 year old white woman's fault.

I feel bad that the old lady has to work at that age.....bad retirement planning!

Wtf is some old fart like that working at wal-mart?

walmart is full of garbage from china anyway

people in korea dont buy any chinese garbage...we should do the same

buy form local stores

The old lady made it out to be a racial thing, not the article about it.

Wal-Mart greeters way back in the day, as in about 20 years ago back when Sam Walton was still alive and they sold a lot of U.S.-made goods, were there mainly for customer service; to help direct shoppers.

However, that was long ago ... these days, Wal-Mart greeters main function is to flag potential shoplifters; slow down their exit, which can help store security catch up to them.

As for ignoring Wal-Mart greeters ... yes, one can legally do that, and in many instances, nothing will happen - though on occasion, they may send security after the person to check their receipt out in the parking lot. I've seen it happen.

So while one has the right to ignore the greeter, Wal-Mart may claim the greeter experience (lol!) is part of the deal when one shops their stores - don't like it, shop elsewhere...

Though in some jurisdictions, such receipt / bag checks may be illegal and hence Costco, which is a members only shop, has one sign an agreement indicating such checks are possible to cover themselves. Regular Wal-Marts are not members only and hence, to reiterate, in some places, receipt / bag checks may be illegal.

Ron

why is it if a person says "you people" to a black person it's a racial thing. She could have easly ment you people as in shoppers. Hell the local bartender always says you people are gonna be the death of me

I never go in Walmart or Kmart, (To many of those people) The lowest I go is Target:winkwink:

i thought that as well...but then later the old lady came and said she was referring to black/spanish etc

The old lady admitted to police that she was referring to Black and Mexicans when she said "you people".

would it be racist if she had said "you people are always so polite and well mannered"?

i like the elderly

We're all going to be working until we are 100. Welcome to the modern world.

I tell them "No Thanks" and keep walking out the door. There's no law here that states they can look at my receipt.

As a matter of fact, I didn't catch that.

So the 100 year old white women is a racist. Well, at that age, I'd imagine it's hard to change her stupid ways.

But it still doesn't make an excuse for the black chick who handed out the ass kicking. The black chick should have said "It's disappointing that there are people as stupid as you" and then walk on.

This is a news story? Jesus, slow news day? "Person accidentally knocks over old person"

Handed out an ass kicking? The old lady fell - wasn't pushed.

Are you sure you read it?

It's even more disappointing that some people comment about an article without reading it.

another great rochard quote

get back to us when you can read heh

No shit.

did you "catch" the bit about how no actual "ass kicking" was "handed out"?

that was kind of important to the narrative.

Why does Walmart employ all those old people? Because they take out life insurance on them all... google it.

100-year-old greeter worked at Walmart - that's surprising. She is so old, and yet she can still work at a job. The purpose of law is often to decrease violence, self defense and promoting peace.

where i live that old lady would have got her ass beat.

What's the fucking point of having someone to greet you when you enter the store anyway? I don't get that and find it pathetic.

Usually the person there is disabled or whatever and walmart seem to be using it as in they are "helping" the less fortunate earn a living somehow.

I think its horrible.

I do feel sorry for the old girl though.

WOW! This is really important webmaster news! Thanks for upping your post count.

I don't think generalizing how certain groups of people behave makes you a racist. Usually they're facts.

are you trolling?