Salvation Army Store Tried To Stop Elderly Woman From Using ...

An elderly woman was about to soil herself in the aisle of the Hadley Salvation Army thrift store.

She was pleading desperately with an employee to let her use the restroom. A second employee, apparently a manager, arrived and told the woman that she could not use the restroom, that there was nothing the manager could do to help, and that the woman would have to find a way to get into a car and fight traffic to drive across Route 9 to go to an available restroom at Whole Foods.

The woman could barely move, and there was no way she would make it that far. … She started crying. The woman appeared both entirely humiliated and utterly helpless. …

I calmly approached the woman, extended my bent arm to her, told her that I knew where there was a restroom, and offered to escort her there. She held onto my arm and allowed herself to be led into the store’s back hallway.

As we walked, four employees followed us, yelling at me to stop and threatening to call the police.

When we made it to the restroom, the door was locked. I calmly asked the manager to open it, but she refused.

I said, ‘One way or another, this woman is going to use this bathroom.’ The manager refused again. I shouldered the door once with a little force to see if it would easily pop open, but it did not.

I repeated, ‘This woman is going to use this bathroom, so if someone does not open it for her, I’m going to have to open it somehow myself.’ I shouldered the door again with slightly more force, but it did not open. The manager dialed the police.

The woman was in actual physical pain and continued to cry. Imagine her humiliation. If there were any doubts about the significance of her suffering or the imminence of her need, her endurance of this level of embarrassment should have made these clear to anyone present.

Luckily for her, I am relatively handy and carry a small multitool. I looked more closely at the door handle and saw that the lock mechanism had been modified to take a very rudimentary key. A few moments with the screwdriver from my pocket multitool and the door was easily unlocked with no damage to the door or handle.

The woman looked at me with extraordinary gratitude and relief as I opened the door for her. I assured her that I would not leave until she was safely out of the building, so I closed the door behind her and stood guard outside the restroom.

By this time, the manager was talking on the phone with the police. As I waited for the woman, another employee expressed disbelief that I would risk criminal charges just to help a woman I did not know.

Minutes later, the woman opened the door, thread her arm through mine, and together we walked through the aisles and out of the store.

In the parking lot, the woman thanked me tearfully. We squeezed hands, and walked toward our cars. The manager followed, continuing her conversation with police, describing me and the car I was getting into to leave.

Minutes after leaving the store’s parking lot, two police cars with lights flashing appeared behind me and pulled me over. I explained what happened. The officers were polite and understanding. They said that if the store managers chose to do so, I may receive formal charges.