A former fire brigade worker accused of "shoulder barging" a queue-jumper at a Tesco store has won an unfair dismissal claim.
Ryan Shearwood, who worked as a hydrant technician at the London Fire Bridgade (LFB), had stopped off at the shop in Pinner Green, Harrow, during his lunch break on October 10, 2022.
An altercation however occurred when a member of the public pushed to the front of the self-checkout queue he was standing in, an employment tribunal heard.
The woman then complained to the LFB said she had been "physically assaulted" and "shoved to the ground" by one of its employees.
TRENDING
Stories
Videos
Your Say
In her email, she said: "I had been waiting in the scan as you shop area and the scale had not been working on so I was instructed by a member of staff to wait and use one of the self checkout machines to weigh an item.
"As I was standing there in a different part of where the self checkout queue was, I saw an elderly man, so I let him go and then I walked through after him, and that's when this man (in the pictures attached) walked up to self checkout till and said that I pushed in the queue.
"I told him that I didn't and tried to explain the situation to him (that a staff member told me to wait and then go ahead and weigh my item there), but he refused to listen and when I placed my purse and item on the scale he shoved me to the ground."
She added that while she was "not a confrontational person", she was in "such shock" and thinks she may have "actually pushed him back", admitting this was "wrong".
LATEST DEVELOPMENTS:
Mr Shearwood had worked for London Fire Brigade since 2019
|ANADOLU AGENCY/GETTY
Mr Shearwood, who had worked for the LFB since 2019, denied the alleged assault, saying he had extended his elbow to the side to "defend" himself from being "barged out the way".
His witness statement read: "I have simply raised my arm in shock at being unexpectedly and aggressively pushed by a member of the public enraged at being asked not to push in the queue, this is a natural reflexive action to protect myself and prevent me losing my balance and is in no way assault."
Mr Shearwood was suspended by the LFB four days later.
Mr Shearwood was identified by the woman as a LFB employee because he was driving a brigade vehicle at the time of the incident
|PA
Following an investigation, he was then dismissed from his role for gross misconduct on April 18, 2023.
As part of the probe, Mr Shearwood contacted the Tesco store for a CCTV recording of the incident.
The shop manager however said it would only release the footage if it was needed as part of a police investigation.
The employment tribunal ruled that Mr Shearwood's account of the incident was accurate and concluded he had been unfairly dismissed.
Judge Tueje said: "I find it is more likely than not that Mr Shearwood’s account of the altercation on 10th October 2022 is accurate for the reasons set out below.
"The complainant’s account is that during an altercation with Mr Shearwood he 'shoved her to the ground'.
"Neither of the independent witnesses saw Mr Shearwood shove the complainant, and he denies doing so.
The judge added that the alleged shoulder barge "could be as a result of the complainant leaning into Mr Shearwood and him putting up his arm, as he describes".
More From GB News