Some praised her. Others criticized her. But now, an Oahu woman is an internet sensation after a surveillance camera clip that went viral.
Even an eye-opening and maybe life-changing offer resulted from it.
During the holiday season, Summer Tapasa was employed by Best Buy and took her job seriously. However, a man who was allegedly trying to steal from the Aiea store, Tapasa stopped the incident by tackling the would-be shoplifter, and even though the store’s policy did not authorize the use of force to apprehend shoplifters, she couldn’t allow a brazen repeat offender to get away again, the Hawaii native’s sense of justice was so strong.
“Summer Tapasa was on her shift as an asset protection worker when she saw the man trying to flee with a pricey portable speaker. Tapasa says she saw the man shoplift another speaker from the store a few days earlier, but he got away. Feeling fed up, she decided to take action,” according to ABC News.
Summer Tapasa (pictured) made a split-second decision to use brute force with the shoplifter.
The 24-year-old asset protection employee is seen preventing the man from departing with the box on the security footage.“That was my first instinct, was to just stop him. He’s not going anywhere. He’s not about to do this again. I’m not about to let it happen, especially not on my watch,”said Tapasa.
He eventually crashed through a nearby barrier and another employee tried to help. The footage showed the man holding onto her shirt as a shopper and other workers intervened.
Summer Tapasa body blocks the shoplifter
After a brief scuffle, he left empty-handed and Tapasa followed him outside.
“I could hear my manager in the back of me saying, ‘Let him go, Summer. It’s okay, let him go. Let him go,'”recalled Tapasa. “They would rather let an item go than us risking our lives, and I totally understand that. I appreciate that.”
She said,“I found out who the guy is, and I mean to reach out to him and bless him. I want to bless him so that he could stop doing what he’s doing.”
Tapasa said she would have been fired for violating the company’s policy, but she had already put in her notice to resign because she wanted to focus on her other job, the Hawaii News Now reported.
Summer Tapasa tackles the shoplifter
Best Buy provided the following statement rather than providing more information regarding their anti-shoplifting measures:
“Our biggest concern is always keeping our employees and customers safe. The reality is simple: Physically engaging with criminals can be dangerous. None of the products we sell is worth putting the safety of our employees at risk.”
The clip has been viewed millions of times online, sparking positive and negative reactions as well as some job offers. But what is shocking is, UFC president Dana White invited Tapasa to UFC 246, where she received VIP treatment and even served as security during the weigh-in between Conor McGregor and Donald “Cowboy” Cerrone. She was even offered to have a full-time job at UFC headquarters in Las Vegas, where she works security for the organization’s corporate office.
“Uncle Dana, from the moment I stepped onto the plane, from the moment I stepped off of that plane coming home, it was just super amazing. Everything was perfect,” she said.
Tapasa recalled, “That weekend was probably one of the best weekends of my life.”
Including other celebrities such as Tom Brady and Joe Rogan, her viral moment reportedly garnered plenty of positive attention, “It’s been amazing. Everyone, they’re super, super nice, I had a couple fighters take pictures of me like Jon Jones. It’s been pretty amazing since I’ve been here.”
