NY lawmaker’s bill would add more legal protections to store employees

STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. (NewsNation) — Mohammad Zafar knows the shelves of his Staten Island bagel shop better than anyone.

He also knows the repeat shoplifters of his store well.

“Every time, we couldn’t get them because the guys working behind the counter were busy making people’s food. (The shoplifters) come in and grab stuff and leave.”

New York state Sen. Jessica Scarcella-Spanton, a Democrat, had planned to unveil recently proposed crime legislation at Zafar’s store. Until its most recent burglary.

”They were broken into again, and someone came in with a machete. And this just so happens to be the day before our event,” Scarcella-Spanton said.

Her proposed legislation would elevate retail workers to the same protected category as police officers, firefighters and other front-line workers.

Her bill has bipartisan support.

“I think we really missed the boat by not including the retail workers to begin with,” she said.

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