A former Walmart employee who was part of an anti-theft duo known as “Starsky & Hutch” was stabbed by a suspected shoplifter — and claims the company betrayed him by subsequently firing him.
John Zalesky, 67, of Aurora, Colo., told the Post he was so good at spotting shady shoplifters during his 10 months working at a store in nearby Centennial that he and another eagle-eyed cashier nicknamed themselves after the TV crime-fighting duo — and Walmart once even recognized him with an award.
“In 10 months, I arrested over 100 people,” Zalesky said recently, adding that his work as a front-line associate likely saved the company thousands of dollars in inventory “shrinkage,” a significant deal for a relatively small store that he estimated lost $500,000 to theft last year.
“There were days when we had eight or nine people on an eight-hour shift,” he said of the shoplifters. “I was a valuable asset to [the store]. If I see someone stealing, I will do everything I can to stop them.
The company even recognized his efforts by awarding Zalesky a “Shrink Buster of the Month” glass award in February.
But Walmart executives changed their minds after the Aug. 11 incident in which Zalesky, a former traffic controller and warehouse worker, was injured while trying to protect his employer, which had revenue of $648 billion last year.
His ordeal began that Sunday night, when his cashier counterpart discreetly flagged down a woman who was a known shoplifter. Zalesky caught up with her at the front door and told her he needed to see inside her bag.
“Did you get the receipt for this thing?” he asked.
The woman didn’t bother to answer and ran away, Zalesky said.
“She didn’t even deny it, she just walked away,” he said. “And I thought, ‘You know what? I’ve had enough of this bullshit. I’ve had enough of these people stealing, this one’s going to stop it.’ So I chased her down to the car she was in, which was stuck in a disabled lane. [spot] just outside the front doors.
The woman jumped into the driver’s seat of the old silver Toyota sedan as one of her accomplices – a short, shirtless man who probably weighed “105 pounds, soaking wet” – approached to confront him, then changed his mind and got in the car as well.
Zalesky opened the door and reached for the woman’s purse full of merchandise – and that’s when the man stabbed him with a knife, leaving a small gash in his left forearm.
The suspect tried to kill Zalesky again, but missed. The driver then hit the gas and the outlaw couple fled.
Zalesky refused to go to the hospital and didn’t bother to stitch it up, even though his colleagues were concerned about the bloody wound. Instead, he cleaned it himself and asked a pharmacist to wrap it in gauze.
“It was probably 3/4 inch wide, nothing serious,” Zalesky said of the cut. “I don’t worry too much about it. I mean, if it was serious, I would have taken it more seriously.”
The police came to take their statements and Zalesky was back at work the next morning.
But about a week later, he discovered that his troubles weren’t over.
The store’s assistant manager took him aside and reluctantly told him that the store was firing him for violating a company policy that prohibits employees from following shoplifters out of its doors.
“They told me, ‘We have no choice, it’s the company that decides,’” Zalesky said. “I was disgusted. No one had ever tried to stop me from doing what I was doing before. They were actually happy.”
“They didn’t complain because it saves the company money and improves the store’s image because now the losses are not so bad,” he continued. “They all knew I was very good… at detecting people who steal things.”
In a statement last week, a Walmart representative said only that Zalesky’s situation was “unfortunate” and that the company wished him a speedy recovery.
“We have trained associates to combat theft and follow our policies to ensure Walmart is a safe place to shop and work,” the representative said.
Police are searching for the suspects, who officers describe as being in their thirties.
“The female has purple hair,” the Arapahoe County Sheriff’s Office said in an August Facebook post that also asked the public to call if they knew who the suspects were.
Meanwhile, Zalesky said his layoff was a relief: He no longer had to deal with the absurdities that come with retail, like rude customers and sometimes violence.
He launched a GoFundMe campaign, which has raised about $1,600, to help shore up his finances. And he’s taking a few weeks to figure out his next step.
But he is still a little unhappy with his former employer’s decision.
“I’m sad that I lost my job because I had fantastic people I worked with,” he said. “I was hoping to work there for 10 years and then retire and enjoy life. But you try to do the right thing and you get told off. That’s the most upsetting part.”
“I was disappointed that with all the [things] “I did it, this is Walmart’s way of saying thank you,” he continued.
“You save them from stealing thousands and thousands of dollars worth of merchandise. And you have one thing, a little knife wound, and you fire the guy for that?”
