California Vons grocery clerk fired after being assaulted three times

A California man was fired from his job as a grocery store courtesy clerk after he was assaulted three times in four months.

Austin Sherrell, 23, says he was assaulted three times since the new year and, after asking for worker’s comp, his hours were cut and then he was terminated from his position at Vons, a supermarket chain in Southern California and Nevada.

His duties as a courtesy clerk included bagging groceries, collecting shopping carts and dealing with trash which he was doing on January 19, when he encountered two alleged shoplifters behind the store.

“I’m taking out the trash, two people are stealing, they go out the side,” Sherrell told KGET.com of the horrific encounter where he was punched in the face by one of the thieves before his companion pepper sprayed the defenseless employee.

“I’m bleeding and I get away and I run back inside,” Sherrell said when he reported the incident to his managers, who called the police.

Sherrell, who’s been working at the Vons for nearly three years, says he is on the autism spectrum.

“My biggest problem, what I have is that I’m mildly autistic, I have a hard time processing things,” Sherrell said.

The second assault on Sherrell was similar to the first instance, where on March 17 he was again outside at the dumpster, when a man lunged at him with a knife, stabbing Sherrell, but the knife penetrated a roll of trash bags inside an apron pocket instead of the 23-year-old’s abdomen.

“Lo and behold, this guy’s lunging at me with a knife,” Sherrell told the outlet. “And it goes into the trash bags. Unbelievable. The first incident didn’t shake me too much but the second incident, like, when you are close to death, I’m the most shook up I’ve ever been in my entire life. The most scared I’ve even been in my entire life.”

Police were called back to the store, but by the time they arrived, the suspect was gone, just like the first incident.

On April 1st, the third assault took place when a customer, who was possibly inebriated, allegedly harassed female shoppers.

The man got into Sherrell’s face when the employee went to get his manager and a security guard.

“He’s cussing me out, he’s threatening my life,” Sherrell said. “I back away, he comes back in my face. I back away again. The third time I defend myself, I push him off of me.”

Sherrell claimed he applied for workers’ compensation following the three assaults because he was having nightmares and panic attacks and was asked to take time off.

Upon his return to work, Sherrell noticed his hours had been cut and on April 10 he was suspended pending an investigation and nine days later the store terminated his employment because he touched a customer, according to Sherrell’s father Adam.

“On April 3rd my son requested Workmen’s Comp. paperwork because he was having nightmares and panic attacks ever since he was almost stabbed. Seven days later on April 10 my son was suspended pending investigation. He was then called in on April 19 and terminated because he touched a customer,” Adam said of his son’s firing.

While some people weren’t pleased with his job, Sherrell took pride in his work and even humble bragged a little.

“Not to toot my own horn, a lot of people say that they like me, a lot of people are like ‘Oh we like that (employee)… Like, I hear it. I hear it all the time,” Sherrell told the station.

The United Food and Commercial Workers 8- Golden State, the union that is representing Sherrell, is appealing the termination with the union.

“Our initial findings are that Mr. Sherrell’s termination was unwarranted,” President Jacques Loveall said.

A GoFundMe was created by Sherrell’s father Adam, who is looking to raise $5,000 to help his son pay his monthly bills because he was “wrongfully terminated.”

It has generated about $2,000 as of early Friday morning.

Sherrell has no plans on returning to work at Vons, but said he will miss the nice customers he has interacted with throughout his time working for the chain.