Man in store altercation files lawsuit against Dollar General
ALBANY, Ga. (WALB) - A Dollar General and two employees at that store on South Slappey Boulevard are being sued because of an altercation with a customer.
A Facebook video shows an employee laying on top of Michael King. In that video, King can be heard shouting repeatedly, “I can’t breathe.”
Family attorneys said King was on life support for days after that incident — and still hasn’t recovered.
The employee told police he detained King because he thought King was stealing.
The lawyers want those charges against King dropped. But they also want the company to pay for roughly a half-million dollars in medical bills and his future medical expenses.
“This was insanity. The screams of ‘I can’t breathe’ are all too reminding of what we heard with George Floyd and it had dire consequences,” said Chris Stewart, CEO of Stewart Miller Simmons Trial Attorneys.
King’s lawyer held a press conference in Atlanta on Tuesday.
“We named Dollar General and we are pursuing them for the gross negligence of their employees, a failure to properly train and supervise their employees, and a failure to keep their customers safe,” Daedrea Fenwick, civil litigator, said.
King’s lawyers claim he suffered multiple injuries following the incident. A photo of King in the hospital was shown.
Family members told WALB News 10 that King was on life support for days.
“He had to be sedated and he was on a ventilator for nine days. He suffered collapsed lungs and a punctured lung. He had a liver injury and currently, his ankle and feet are still swollen to the point where he still can’t walk,” said Fenwick.
The two employees named in the suit are facing charges of their own.
“You heard about the store manager. We’re pursuing her for negligence after she locked the front doors to prevent any customers from leaving the store. She also instructed the cashier to apprehend Mr. King and then the cashier, who you saw in the video, for negligently and intentionally attacking Mr. King, tackling him and keeping him pinned to the floor so long that he was unable to breathe and ended up needing life support,” said Stewart.
King’s lawyers are still waiting for a response from Dollar General.
“Which is why we are forced to do things like this to bring attention to the abuse that patrons have suffered and are suffering. And if this is a policy that Dollar General allows in minority communities, then this is gonna stop immediately because you will not go hands in physical with a patron because you suspect them of stealing,” said Stewart.
WALB reached out to Dollar General multiple times since the first reports of the story but has never gotten a response.
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