Foot, Lock, And Key

(I am at a store getting a footlocker. It is a fairly cheap plastic one, but it is all I can afford. There is only one left on the shelf and it has a padlock on it. I wave down a nearby employee to show him and she finds it odd. She radios in for someone to bring bolt cutters from maintenance to cut the lock. After ten minutes, someone comes with bolt cutters and cuts the lock. After he cuts the lock off, someone comes by fuming that they did that.)

Customer: “HEY! THAT WAS MY LOCK! YOU HAD NO RIGHT TO DO THAT!”

Employee: “Miss, calm down!”

Customer: “No! That was my lock, and now he went and broke it!”

Employee: “Miss, the maintenance guy cut it off so that this gentleman can buy this.”

Customer: “That’s why I put the lock on: so no one else would take it.”

Employee: “Miss, you can’t do that.”

Customer: “YES, I CAN!”

Employee: “Miss, calm down, or I’m going to have security escort you out.”

Customer: “No, I put that lock on there so no one else would take it. That makes it mine.”

Employee: “Miss, that does not make it yours. If you wanted it, you would have put it your cart and paid for it.”

Customer: “No, I had no room in my cart!”

Employee: “Well, miss, that is your problem.”

(She then looks at me.)

Customer: “Give that to me now.”

Me: “No.”

Customer: “What did you just say to me?”

Me: “I said no.”

(She tries to take it out of my cart, but I push her away and she starts screaming. The employee then turns to me.)

Employee: “Sir, go ahead and continue your shopping while I handle her.”

(I continue my shopping and go to check out to pay for the footlocker. When I get outside, the cops are there talking to her. She spots me and points me out to the cops.)

Customer: “That’s him, officer; he’s the one that pushed me.”

Officer: “Sir, please come here so we can ask you a few questions.”

Me: “There a problem, officer?”

Officer: “This woman says you shoved her over that footlocker in your cart.”

Me: “Yeah, she tried to steal it from my cart.”

Customer: “I had my lock on there; that makes it mine.”

Officer: *confused* “Hold on. Was this lock on there while the footlocker was on the shelf?”

Customer: “Yeah, I put it on there so no one else would take it.”

Officer: “Miss, you can’t do that.”

Customer: “YES, I CAN!”

Officer: “Miss, lower your voice. And no, you cannot do that. If you wanted that footlocker, you should’ve put that in your cart.”

Customer: “BUT HE PUSHED ME!”

Officer: “Miss, from the way this story is being told, from you and him, you tried to steal it from him, so him pushing you away was justified.” *turns to me* “Sir, you’re free to go.” *turns back to her* “You, on the other hand, miss, are under arrest for causing a public disturbance.”

(She started screaming as I went back to my car, and continued screaming as the cops cuffed her and put her in the back of the squad car.)