A Morrisons store manager who was dismissed for confronting a serial shoplifter after being verbally abused and spat at three times has disclosed that he has been experiencing a spiral of depression since the event.
Sean Egan, 46, a married father who had dedicated nearly three decades to the retailer, intervened to stop career criminal Daniel Kendall, 36, from stealing from the store, which he regarded as his business and family. Despite following company protocol, Kendall became increasingly aggressive and spat in his face on three separate occasions.
Although Egan was a loyal, long-term employee and the thief was jailed for his crime spree across the West Midlands, including the Morrisons incident, he was fired for breaching the firm's deter-and-not-detain policy. His dismissal has provoked public outrage, with calls for his reinstatement.
In the aftermath of losing his job, Egan revealed his mental health struggles. 'My state of mind, I have been in a spiral of depression, been in counselling, medicated,' he told Good Morning Britain. 'The support I have had from the doctor has been fantastic, and ultimately the support I have had from my family has been amazing.' He added, 'I did class Morrisons as my family, but they have been unsupportive throughout.'
Egan, who started at Morrisons at age 17, described the job as all he had ever known. 'It is the only job I have ever had my entire life, it is all I have known, and to be out of work and to be in a situation of uncertainty... when I applied for Morrisons, it was just a simple 15/20-minute interview, that's not the world we live in now.'
He admitted that the thought of working in a supermarket now leaves a sour taste, but he must provide for his family. 'I will do whatever I need to do, but I want to be at work. The trouble is, it has been an absolute black hole of my life so far, and it is stopping me from doing what I want to do.'
Recalling the altercation, Egan described Kendall as being 'as strong as a bear' and suspected he was under the influence of drugs. 'I didn't ask him to spit on me, he spat at me, and yes, I did react, and that was in the disciplinary. I didn't deny it's in the footage. But I didn't ask to be spat at, and I didn't ask to be verbally assaulted.'
He insisted that the store's founder, Ken Morrison, would have praised him for protecting the store. 'He was amazing and he inspired me. The ethos of family business is not where we are now, but it's something I will never forget.'
Metropolitan Police Commissioner Sir Mark Rowley expressed full support for Egan, stating, 'I am bewildered by the case. On the surface, if a store manager or shopkeeper feels able to intervene safely, we always want people to do that. We want the public to be part of the fight against crime.'
Career criminal Daniel Kendall, with at least 40 previous convictions, was jailed for 42 weeks in December for the Morrisons theft and other petty crimes, including stealing chocolate and coffee worth £90 from a Co-op and £390 cash from an ATM. He had previously been jailed for attempting to break into a police officer's home, where he was apprehended by the officer and a neighbour. Kendall also stole two yoghurt pots worth £2.58 and assaulted a shop worker, and later attempted robbery at a Bargain Buys store, threatening staff with half a pair of scissors.
