A security guard has been "permanently removed" from Whole Foods' Oakland store after a Thursday night confrontation that left a customer unconscious and lying in a pool of blood.
The incident took place at the market at 230 Bay Place, near Lake Merritt, around 9:30, Thursday evening. Witness Zoe Marks said the confrontation between the male customer and the security guard began after the customer got into a verbal argument with a cashier. "There was no threat from him to any of the customers or employees," Marks told the Oakland Tribune on Friday. "(We) felt safe until the security guard attacked him."
In a Facebook post later that night, Marks said the customer was "slammed repeatedly against concrete pillars, put in a chokehold, restrained, and suffocated until he was thrown face down on the pavement unconscious." The post also contained two graphic photos of the man lying in a puddle of blood and one of him being tended to by paramedics.
"Not a single employee called the paramedics," wrote Marks.
The Oakland Police Department told SF Weekly that the incident is being investigated as an assault and that the man was recovering and last listed in stable condition.
On Friday morning, Whole Foods said in a statement:
Last night at our Oakland store, there was an altercation that escalated to violence. The graphic images circulating on Facebook and Twitter are disturbing to say the least. Whole Foods Market considers the safety and security of all team members, customers and members of our community a top priority. The security guard involved in the incident has been suspended, and we are actively investigating the details with our security firm. While we move swiftly to gather the facts, we want to make it clear that Whole Foods Market takes a zero tolerance approach to violence.
Later, on Friday evening, Whole Foods said it had "permanently removed" the guard from the store, and on Saturday morning they announced they would be replacing the firm that handles security at their store.
Warning: the below photo is graphic
