--- description: Three Walmart employees were charged with manslaughter in the death of a man who attempted to steal DVDs from a Florida store in February title: 'I Can't Breathe.' Walmart Employees Charged in Death of Shoplifter image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blta62b7c8ff571af51/6988a0c83c1639098b45e565/florida-walmart1.jpg?branch=production&width=1920&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [U.S.](/section/us/) ## U.S. Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # 'I Can't Breathe.' Walmart Employees Charged in Death of Suspected Shoplifter  by [Katie Reilly](/author/katie-reilly/)  ## Katie Reilly Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Aug 2, 2016 2:49 PM CUT  Nathan Higgins, Crucelis Nunez and Randall Tomko Nathan Higgins, Crucelis Nunez and Randall TomkoPolk County Jail  by [Katie Reilly](/author/katie-reilly/)  ## Katie Reilly Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Aug 2, 2016 2:49 PM CUT Three Walmart employees have been [charged with manslaughter](https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/morning-mix/wp/2016/08/02/i-cant-breathe-walmart-employees-charged-with-fatally-crushing-suspected-shoplifter/ "undefined") 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](https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/morning-mix/wp/2016/08/02/i-cant-breathe-walmart-employees-charged-with-fatally-crushing-suspected-shoplifter/ "undefined"). 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. \[[_Washington Post_](https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/morning-mix/wp/2016/08/02/i-cant-breathe-walmart-employees-charged-with-fatally-crushing-suspected-shoplifter/ "undefined")\] ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4434946/walmart-employees-manslaughter-shoplifter/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4434946/walmart-employees-manslaughter-shoplifter/"},"headline":"'I Can't Breathe.' Walmart Employees Charged in Death of Suspected Shoplifter","datePublished":"2016-08-02T14:49:34.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-22T23:43:09.142Z","description":"They tackled the man after he attempted to steal a cart full of DVDs","url":"https://time.com/4434946/walmart-employees-manslaughter-shoplifter/","keywords":["Crime","Florida"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blta62b7c8ff571af51/6988a0c83c1639098b45e565/florida-walmart1.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Katie Reilly","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/katie-reilly/"}],"articleSection":"U.S.","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blta62b7c8ff571af51/6988a0c83c1639098b45e565/florida-walmart1.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"florida-walmart","caption":"Nathan Higgins, Crucelis Nunez and Randall Tomko","creditText":"Polk County Jail","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/us/","name":"U.S."}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4434946/walmart-employees-manslaughter-shoplifter/","name":"'I Can't Breathe.' Walmart Employees Charged in Death of Suspected Shoplifter"}}]}] ```