Overview
- Footage from a Tesco Express in Leeds on September 23 shows a staff member grappling with a man and retrieving two packs of washing tablets.
- The clip has drawn about 1.4 million views online, with reactions split between praise for the worker and concern over personal risk.
- Legal advisers at Leverets say retailers may detain suspected shoplifters on their premises but risk liability if force is excessive or detention becomes false imprisonment.
- Citations from the Sentencing Council and the Criminal Law Act 1967 note that citizen’s arrest can be used when police attendance is impractical and only reasonable force is permitted.
- Guidance urges clear policies and staff training, prompt police notification, use of recorded evidence, respect for privacy and data-protection rules, and avoidance of interrogations or public shaming, with no reported arrests or charges from this incident.