(NewsNation) — The attorney of a former Circle K clerk who claims she was fired for interacting with a shoplifter says her client “acted instinctively.”
In October 2020, NewsNation affiliate KDVR based out of Denver reports Tyler Wimmer walked into a Circle K store in Westminster, Colorado, with a knife in one hand and a sealed package containing a knife in the other.
According to the outlet, Wimmer asked store clerk Mary Ann Moreno, then 72 years old, for a pack of cigarettes for free and she refused. As Wimmer snatched the cigarettes anyway, video shows Moreno briefly grabbing his arm and then backing away.
“I reacted,” Moreno told NewsNation host Leland Vittert. “You’re worried about your life. He’s carrying a hunting knife. I was really shaken up.”
After Wimmer left the store, Moreno called her store manager and then 911. A customer had already alerted authorities.
After working for the company for 18 years, Moreno says she was fired a few days after the incident for allegedly violating Circle K’s “Don’t Chase or Confront” policy.
“I was devastated,” Moreno remembers. “I’m a widow. For one thing, I depended on my job to live and I liked my job. I really did like my job. I liked my customers. My customers liked me.”
Now, Moreno’s taking legal action with help from attorney Iris Halpern, who insists Moreno acted in self-defense.
“She simply was attacked without any warning ahead of time. So, I think she just acted instinctively to try to defend herself, which is kind of a common practice,” Halpern said.
Wimmer ended up getting arrested and pleading guilty to the Circle K robbery that left Moreno without a job.
“She (Moreno) is the victim of a crime. That’s not even been disputed. The district attorney prosecuted the person who attacked her,” Halpern said, later adding: “You don’t have to wait until you’re actually in trouble and getting stabbed or shot up before you try to push someone away.”
Halpern thinks Moreno’s case presents a major legal question.
“There’s a legal question. It’s being answered in the courts, which is at least in Colorado, whether there is a kind of limited right to self-defense when you’re being attacked by someone or someone could be using lethal force against you,” Halpern said. “So, I think realistically, the next step is for the courts to rule on whether that right exists and if employees can maintain and keep their jobs under those circumstances if they do try to defend themselves.”
Once that legal ruling is made, Halpern says they potentially expect a trial in the case.
Circle K said its shoplifter policy “is for your protection and for the safety of everyone.”
