A Seattle Walgreens security guard accused a woman of shoplifting and told her surveillance video caught her in the act, but then later told police there was no footage of the alleged theft.
Meika Prince posted cellphone video of her encounter with a guard at the drug store on Saturday, March 27. The guard, identified as Brian Vinegar, approached Prince and told her she must empty her pockets and relinquish store items he accused her of taking.
Vinegar told Prince that a store manager looked at the store’s surveillance camera feed and saw Prince pocket some items.
However, Vinegar later told police there was no video surveillance capturing the incident and that he “could not clarify who told him that she was stealing,” according to a police report. He also said his body-worn video camera was not activated at the time he approached Prince.
In the video, Prince firmly pushes back against the accusations in the video she posted and demands to see the surveillance footage, but Vinegar ignores her requests and demands she hand over the items she’s accused of stealing.
“You got items on you and I need those items back,” says Vinegar at the start of the video as he flashes a light toward Prince. “Don’t touch me!” responds Prince as she steps away from the encroaching guard.
“I have a job to do, it’s not personal,” insists Vinegar.
“They watched you on camera,” he claimed. “They’re telling me right now that you have the items. Here’s the deal, I’m going to work with you.”
Prince tries to tell the guard she’s at the store to pick up her Adderall prescription and that the only item she has in her pockets is her wallet, but Vinegar still demands she show him.
Prince stood her ground, refusing to show the guard the items in her pocket.
“It’s either you’re calling the police, or…,” says Prince before she’s cut off.
“You don’t get to make the rules, you don’t dictate what happens here,” says Vinegar.
At one point, when Prince starts walking away to try to leave the store, Vinegar tells her, “You’re gonna get detained. You’re gonna go to the ground,” if she doesn’t stop walking.
Prince then starts demanding Vinegar call the store manager and the police. Vinegar says if management or the police find store items on her person, she’ll go to jail. He also calls her a “thief” and begins accusing her of “pulling the scam card.”
After Prince still refuses to empty her pockets, Vinegar switches gears and tells her she’s trespassing, demanding that she leave the store despite his earlier threat that he would detain her.
He tells her to leave multiple times, saying that if she doesn’t, she’ll be charged with criminal trespassing and go to jail.
Prince continues demanding that he call the police or a manager, but Vinegar tells her the manager told him through his earpiece that he doesn’t want to speak with her.
Prince told Vinegar he profiled her because of her race and the way she was dressed, which the guard denied.
Prince also said she later spoke with the store manager who was on duty during her visit who told her he never sent Vinegar after her for shoplifting.
The Atlanta Black Star reached out to Walgreens and the woman’s attorney for comment. Her attorney told us his office’s investigation of the incident is ongoing, but they plan to file a civil claim for assault and false imprisonment.
“Our investigation is ongoing, but at this time we expect to bring a civil claim for assault and false imprisonment, and potentially negligent hiring and supervision as well.”
Washington state law allows a security guard at a retail store to detain a shoplifting suspect if he or she has “reasonable grounds” to believe the suspect stole or was trying to steal. However, they cannot hold the shopper against their will or use force. They must wait for an officer to arrive.
Some updates from Prince’s TikTok page, @ADHDdiaries, show that she called the police herself, filed a police report, and hired an attorney.
Prince’s collection of videos related to the incident has garnered over 3 million views. In one post she thanked her supporters for helping her through the ordeal.
“I really want to say thank you to everyone who’s messaged me and supported me during this whole terrifying situation. I’m a very small nonconfrontational person & it’s difficult to feel safe in a world where things like this can happen to you for just trying to run errands.”
Retailers across the U.S. with theft issues have increased the presence of armed and unarmed guards. While it doesn’t offer the “ideal” shopping environment says Mark Johnson, senior vice president of policy and government affairs at the Washington Retail Association, it’s regarded as the last step before shutting down.
Washington retailers lost approximately $3 billion to theft, according to a report from the National Retail Federation.
