...and then FIRED by Kroger 3 DAYS LATER for helping her!!!
After 14 YEARS WORKING THERE!!!!!!
Yes, you read that right.
Sixteen months later, the men who put him in the hospital have never been arrested.
Not one.
His name is Michael Self.
For 14 years, he ran the Kroger on North Decatur Road in DeKalb County.
On the morning of Saturday, May 24th, 2025, around 8:20 a.m., masked shoplifters walked out of his store.
An elderly employee followed them outside.
Cellphone video shows what happened next. The masked suspects swung a bag of paper towels at her.
Then they SHOVED her.
Michael ran out to help her.
"I literally just wanted to draw the tension away from my associates, get them to stop and everybody just be done," he said.
"As I got away from that door, someone hit me in the back of the head with something."
The video shows him on the ground.
He left Emory University Hospital with a concussion and staples in his head.
AND IT GETS WORSE.
Three days later, Kroger fired him.
Yes, after fourteen years a father of three was TERMINATED FROM HIS JOB for trying to protect an elderly woman.
The reason?
"He violated the company's shoplifting policy."
The termination letter, Michael says, accused HIM of starting the fight.
"I didn't even get to talk to the people that decided to fire me," he said.
So the rule is: watch the elderly cashier get shoved in the parking lot.
Do nothing to help her.
Keep your job.
Step in? You're the problem and you're fired
OH, and the Black men in the masks?
DeKalb County police say the case is "still open."
No names.
No descriptions.
No arrests.
AFTER 16 months.
They beat an old woman, cracked a man's skull open, and walked away with paper towels and their freedom.
The only person who has faced any consequence for what happened in that parking lot is the man who tried to stop it.
Michael is finally telling his side of the story because he is still fighting to clear his name and still looking for work.
WE DO NOT HAVE TO LIVE LIKE THIS!!!!!!!
#1: Esso To: All (#0)
Tamara Staten is charged with intimidation, a Level 5 felony and pointing a firearm, a Level 6 felony.
It happened in July at Once Upon a Child off 86th Street, but the case was not filed until Tuesday.
Store employees hit the hold up alarm after the incident, but police say Staten was already gone by the time officers arrived.
Staff told police that they repeatedly told Staten that her toddler could not play on a motorized ride-on toy because of store policy.
They claim she became irate, harassed the employees and continued allowing the child to play.
At one point, the employee said Staten told her, “We can fight about it.”
Detectives watched security video showing Staten pull out the gun and point it at employees.
The woman said Staten said, “I can use this,” while waiving the gun willy-nilly and pointing it at her.
Police were eventually able to identify Staten using her license plate allegedly caught on store video and the employee picking her out of a lineup.
As of this post, Staten has an active warrant for the charges and has yet to be arrested.
Esso posted on 2026-09-30 14:57:08 Reply Private Reply
#2: FormerLurker To: Esso (#1)
FormerLurker posted on 2026-10-01 10:21:45 Reply Private Reply
#3: Esso To: FormerLurker (#2)
Esso posted on 2026-10-01 10:37:46 Reply Private Reply
#4: FormerLurker To: Esso (#3)
FormerLurker posted on 2026-10-01 12:16:04 Reply Private Reply
#5: Prefrontal Vortex To: Esso (#0)
Prefrontal Vortex posted on 2026-10-01 20:49:18 Reply Private Reply
#6: Esso To: Prefrontal Vortex (#5)
Esso posted on 2026-10-02 05:29:37 Reply Private Reply
#7: Prefrontal Vortex To: Esso (#6)
Prefrontal Vortex posted on 2026-10-03 17:20:21 Reply Private Reply