Pregnant woman shot by Nashville Walgreens clerk files lawsuit
A woman who was pregnant when she was shot seven times last year by an East Nashville Walgreens clerk who suspected her of shoplifting has filed a lawsuit against the drug store giant alleging that it failed to properly train its employee.
Nashville resident Travonsha Ferguson, 24, was seven months pregnant when a Walgreens clerk followed her into the parking lot and shot her after a confrontation.
She was rushed to a hospital where doctors performed an emergency C-section to deliver her son premature, she said in a lawsuit filed in Davidson County Circuit Court on Wednesday. Ferguson said her son, Raheem, now nearly a year old, was born with a heart defect and is at risk of long-term disabilities.
In a news conference Wednesday, her attorney L. Chris Stewart said Walgreens has a "no chase" policy in regard to shoplifters but failed to warn its employee. He said the company should hire security instead of relying on its employees to police shoplifters.
"What we have found is a lot of times, companies are using their own workers as security when they simply can hire off-duty police officers if they are facing a lot of crime," said Stewart, an Atlanta-based civil rights lawyer. "Don't have an employee go chasing after two young girls who are allegedly taking lipstick, and then shoot one of them seven times.... It's insanity."
A spokesperson for Walgreens declined comment.
A Davidson County grand jury in August declined to indict the clerk on an assault charge, but they indicted Ferguson on misdemeanor charges of theft and assault. She is accused of spraying the clerk with mace. The charges are pending.
More: Nashville Walgreens worker shoots pregnant shoplifting suspect, forcing emergency C-Section
The clerk told police that he confronted Ferguson and her friend for stealing items from the store and then pulled out his semi-automatic handgun in self defense after Ferguson sprayed him with mace.
Ferguson in her lawsuit said she was prompted to spray mace out of fear for herself and her unborn baby when the clerk aggressively confronted her.
She said she sustained severe, permanent injuries and must now wear a colostomy bag. Ferguson was joined by her son and her mother, Shantanica Ferguson.
"My daughter did not deserve for this to happen to her," she said. "It's not fair. She deserves justice."
This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Pregnant woman shot by Nashville Walgreens clerk files lawsuit
