Walmart nabs former employee for shoplifting — in his corrections officer uniform
Pasco WA Oct 11 2017
A onetime Walmart loss prevention officer was arrested Friday for shoplifting from his former employer.
George Smalling, 38, of Pasco, was booked in the Franklin County jail on five counts of shoplifting in what the Pasco Police Department described as an “interesting” case.
According to the police department, Smalling worked at the Pasco Walmart pursuing shoplifters until he left in 2015 to become a corrections officer with the Washington Department of Corrections prison system.
This summer, a current loss prevention officer was investigating a series of shoplifts. In connection with the investigation, the store determined that a particular man came in at least 45 times during that period. The suspect would use the self-checkout lane. He would scan one item but pass others over the reader. He would pay for the scanned item and then leave.
In August, Walmart security confronted Smalling about a shoplift. Smalling, who was in his DOC uniform, was allowed to leave and police were not contacted.
The loss prevention officer reviewed store video going back to June and compared transactions on video against those recorded by the register. In all, the store alleged 45 individual incidents. The purchases and thefts were small and the total loss is less than $400, according to Walmart.
The store contacted Pasco police and turned over copies of video and register transactions as well as a narrative report. Smalling was booked Friday.
Tri-City Herald
