‘I Can’t Breathe.’ Walmart Employees Charged in Death of Suspected Shoplifter

Three Walmart employees have been charged with manslaughter in the death of a man who attempted to steal DVDs from a Florida store in February.

Police said Kenneth Wisham, 64, tried to leave the store with $380.74 worth of DVDs. When confronted, he ran and fell and was detained by three employees, the Washington Post reports. Initial police reports indicated he mysteriously stopped breathing while detained, but an autopsy revealed Wisham died of mechanical asphyxia by restraint, the Post reports. He also had 15 broken ribs.

Their criminal arrest affidavits differ slightly from earlier accounts of the incident, with variations in exactly how Wisham was held down by the employees. One employee said Wisham shouted, “I can’t breathe” before going limp at one point, and a witness said she saw an employee punch Wisham multiple times.

[Washington Post]