ORLANDO, Fla. – The shooting of two suspected shoplifters by law enforcement at Walmart stores in Orange and Osceola counties this week is raising new questions about how the retail giant handles theft.
Walmart’s internal rules for dealing with suspected shoplifters once placed strict limits on how far its own employees could go — and repeatedly emphasized backing off and calling police when situations turned dangerous.
“While we don’t share specifics regarding security measures, associate and customer safety is a top priority,” a Walmart spokesperson told News 6.
The company declined to provide News 6 with its current security policies.
However, an earlier version of Walmart’s “Investigation and Detention of Shoplifters” policy was made public in court records as part of civil lawsuits filed more than a decade ago.
[BELOW: 16-year-old ID’d as shoplifting suspect killed by deputy in Poinciana Walmart]
Under the company’s 2010 policy, only asset protection staff and certain managers were authorized to surveil, investigate or detain suspected shoplifters.
Other store employees were told to keep their distance, serve as witnesses and contact management or law enforcement when necessary.
The policy ordered those asset protection workers to “PUT PEOPLE FIRST,” describing Walmart’s priority as protecting “the physical well-being of suspects, customers and Walmart associates.”
The company allowed those trained employees to “use reasonable force” to detain a suspected shoplifter, but set sharp limits on any pursuit: if a suspect ran, workers were only permitted to follow for about 10 feet — roughly three long strides — whether inside or just outside the store.
[BELOW: Deputy shoots masked shoplifting suspect outside Orange County Walmart]
The document drew an even clearer line when it came to threats involving weapons.
“If a suspect is believed to possess a weapon, all associates must disengage from the situation, withdraw to a safe position and contact law enforcement,” the 2010 policy stated.
An Orange County deputy shot a shoplifting suspect outside a Walmart store on South Goldenrod Road Feb. 22 after the man declared “martial law,” according to Sheriff John Mina.
In a separate incident Feb. 19, an Osceola County deputy sheriff shot and killed a 16-year-old shoplifting suspect inside a Poinciana Walmart after the teen pulled a gun and was running through the store, officials said.
[BELOW: Osceola County sheriff discusses shooting at Walmart in Poinciana]
In both cases, law enforcement — not Walmart employees — confronted the shoplifting suspects and opened fire.
It remains unclear precisely how store workers or security personnel interacted with the suspects before deputies arrived.
News 6 has requested law enforcement video captured during the shooting incidents along with records detailing how often law enforcement has been called to those Walmart locations in recent years for shoplifting and other disturbances.