Wal-Mart Worker Fired For Defending Customer During Assault, Allegedly

A Wal-Mart worker has been fired, he says, after fighting off an attacker in the parking lot of a location of the chain in Heartland, Michigan.

The former Wal-Mart worker is Kristopher Oswald, 30, who describes seeing a woman being assaulted while on a break in the parking lot.

Oswald says that seeing the woman under assault spurred him to action, and explains he intervened to assist the woman. The alleged attack occurred at 2:30 in the morning, and the Wal-Mart worker says he spied the woman being pushed up against the car.

According to Oswald, after he confronted the man, the attacker turned his sights to him and began pummeling him — and two other men joined in.

It wasn’t until the Livingston County Sheriff dispatched to the scene at the Heartland Wal-Mart that the fisticuffs were broken up. Afterwards, Oswald says, he was fired — for stepping in to protect a customer.

Spokeswoman Ashley Hardie confirms that the Wal-Mart worker was relieved of his position, telling the AP:

“We had to make a tough decision, one that we don’t take lightly, and he’s no longer with the company.”

WXYZ reports:

“The company fired Oswald and the reason given on his termination papers states: ‘after a violation of company policy on his lunch break, it was determined to end his temporary assignment.’… Oswald only began working for Wal-Mart about seven weeks ago and would not have been considered a permanent hire until a 180-day probation period ended.”

The fired Wal-Mart employee says being suddenly out of work was a blow, and he is unsure of how to proceed after he was let go — he told the station:

“The last thing I expected was to not have a job… I don’t even know what to put on an application about all this. How do I say this ended?”

However, after being fired from Wal-Mart for assisting the woman in trouble, Oswald also says he would do the same again if faced with the same decision. Neither the woman allegedly attacked nor the alleged attackers have corroborated or denied Oswald’s account of the incident that prompted his firing from Wal-Mart.