Woman passively outed for shoplifting and I did nothing?

[Juliesdagger]

Weird one that’s rolling in my mind as I’m wondering if I should have stepped in ☹️
busy well known coffee shop in a supermarket this morning. As I was queuing, a man in front of me said loudly to the lady paying at the till “don’t forget the crisps you’ve got” as he spoke so loudly it was hard not to then hear the rest - she looked confused and said what crisps? I’m just getting my coffee” and again in a loud voice the man said “the crisps you put in your shopping bag” again the woman looked bemused, looked down at her carrier bag and said oh gosh they must have fallen in when I got my phone” (or similar, I didn’t get the exact words) and took them out to be scanned. She looked a bit upset and I heard her apologising to the barista at the till saying they were for her kid’s snack and she couldn’t believe she’d nearly forgotten to pay for them. The man who had called her out then started scoffing loudly saying “oh yeah, that happens to me allllll the time, things just fall into my bag and I forget about them” and smirking and rolling his eyes, clearly insinuating she had stolen them or tried to. The woman just looked clearly flustered and by this time had paid and she left looking like she was going to cry.

I then to my surprise saw the man leave
the queue (despite him being next in line to order) and head for the staff only door so he must work there! And was only waiting in line to see if she paid at the till for the crisps.

it’s been playing on my mind all day. The woman was clearly upset but I would have been too if I’d Been passively accused like that 🤷‍♀️I know you can’t type cast but she was buying an overpriced coffee and pastry, the crisps couldn’t have cost more
than £0.60 extra 🤷‍♀️and she looked well dressed, a bit flustered but not wonder and really just like your
average mum rushing Round supermarket etc so I guess I’m doubting if she was stealing? And I feel bad I didn’t challenge that It felt unprofessional of this man who clearly worked there to passively accuse her?

or am I being naive and she likely was attention to shoplift for a reason I can’t fathom?

I've rather enjoyed reading the replies today in response to this account of a woman possibly stealing (possibly not). Following 36yrs in a policing background I've heard countless lies. However, her guilt has to be beyond reasonable doubt otherwise it's mob rule. We all know that is not fair justice and will rebound on those who practice it.
I still think that this level of alleged criminal activity could have been better managed by having a quiet word at the till or possibly (depending how the item ended up in her bag) before the lady got there.

If you think she's a thief then she is also a liar. Most of us hate liars even if we excuse thieves.
The man was the victim. Guess what you are doing.

Stuff does get caught on/in handbags - I sailed out of tk maxx with a hanger stuck to the back of my shoulder bag that trailed a (horrible) evening gown.

I was cringing but the staff had a good laugh.

I’ve stuffed my bag with a fistful of swanky scent samples at the counter while waiting to pay at the chemist - only to realise they were priced at 4.99 each when I got home. 😬