Albertsons Faces Charge In Fatality Alleged Shoplifter Died After Employees Held Him Down

Albertsons employees were protecting shoppers when they fatally wrestled a “violent” suspected shoplifter to the floor in one of its Florida stores, a company spokesman says.

The Boise-based supermarket chain faces a manslaughter charge in connection with the death of William Alexander.

He died Aug. 5 after a scuffle with workers at a Delray Beach store.

Albertsons pleaded innocent and retained Miami attorney Roy Black, who successfully defended William Kennedy Smith against a rape charge. Further court proceedings are to be set on Dec. 1.

Alexander, 33, was caught with toothpaste and a toothbrush, after buying other groceries.

He had admitted his shoplifting and was peacefully accompanying employees to the store’s upstairs office, company spokesman Mike Read said Friday.

For some reason, Alexander then assaulted two workers by shoving them into the stairwell wall to escape, he said.

“At that point what you’ve got is a very large, violent man running amok in your store. All our employees did was to take reasonable steps to subdue and detain him until the police arrived.”

Tony Mead, an investigator with the Palm Beach County Medical Examiner, said Alexander had run down the stairs “shouting he was going to pay for the items.”

Employees grabbed and tackled him, sitting on the 6-foot, 245-pound muscular suspect and holding him down.

“One employee reportedly had Mr. Alexander around the throat,” Mead said. “Mr. Alexander advised the employees to get off of him as he could not breathe.”

When police arrived, Alexander was not breathing, Mead said.

After an autopsy, the medical examiner’s office ruled Alexander died of asphyxiation. A Florida grand jury indicted the company but cleared eight employees of wrongdoing.

Albertsons faces a $10,000 fine, if convicted - far less than attorney fees will amount to, Read conceded.

“We’re just taking every step to defend ourselves against the charge,” he said.

The incident prompted picketing of the store last Sunday to persuade it to use trained security officers to deal with suspected shoplifters.