Customer Accuses Whole Foods Worker Of Telling Her To Put Autistic Brother 'On A Leash'

A Whole Foods customer says that employees told her to put her autistic brother "on a leash" after he took food without paying for it.

Emily Goldman of Milwaukee told Fox6 she took her 26-year-old brother, Michael, to the store with her, when he began taking food without paying.

"I told them that he had autism, apologized that he had taken the food, and immediately offered to pay for it. They told me he needed to get out of the store and not come back unless he was on a leash,” Goldman said.

Goldman started a petition against the grocer.

A Whole Foods spokeswoman had a different version of the story. She said that Michael had eaten from the food bar in the past, and the staff had been understanding. She also said that the security guard told Goldman "you don't have to keep him on a leash, but you have to watch him."

Whole Foods did release this statement to the network:

"We apologize and regret that one of our contracted security guards made insensitive comments to a Whole Foods Market shopper who was disabled. We are conducting special training this week for all team members at Whole Foods Market Milwaukee, even though none of our team members were involved.”

The security guard resigned after the incident, according to Fox6.

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