Tarrant County Constable Suspected Of Shoplifting At Former Workplace
FORT WORTH (CBSDFW.COM) - A Tarrant County constable's trip to Walmart ended with him getting stopped on suspicion of shoplifting at a Fort Worth store, where he was once linked to a double dipping scandal.
Precinct 8 Constable Michael Campbell was in the self-checkout lane on September 2nd, where surveillance video shows he scanned bread, lunchmeat, and other items. When it was time to pay, he pulled out his wallet and his cell phone. He then made a call, put his wallet back in his pocket, grabbed the bags, and left without paying.
A Precinct 1 deputy constable working off duty at the store reported an employee recognized Campbell and was pointing him out on the surveillance system, when she said, "Look! Look! He isn't paying for his stuff."
Over the phone, Campbell called it a mistake.
"I was on the phone with my fiancée. She distracted me," he said.
When he realized what happened, he said, "I stopped. I went back. I didn't go out of the store."
According to the deputy's report, though, a customer service employee stopped the constable in the parking lot and escorted him back.
Surveillance video shows the deputy and an employee present as Campbell returned to pay.
The Walmart on I-30 and Eastchase is among several where a CBS11 undercover investigation in 2017 found Campbell's deputies working private security jobs while they were being paid to be on duty for the county. Three were later convicted. A fourth agreed to surrender his peace officer's license.
But, Campbell, who former deputies testified had coordinated it all, was never charged.
He wasn't charged for the suspected shoplifting at the Walmart this month either. A manager told CBS11 the value of what he walked out with was just below what the store would press charges for.
The deputy, though, did file an incident report as required by precinct one for "any event or involvement… that may be or become a significant matter of concern…"