In the late afternoon of Tuesday, May 3, 2016, a routine shopping day at the Kmart on Carlisle and Indian School NE in Albuquerque, New Mexico, turned fatal for 25-year-old Jonathan Sorensen, a Caucasian male. Sorensen, a student at the University of New Mexico who reportedly lived with schizophrenia, was involved in a violent confrontation with three loss prevention employees after being accused of shoplifting.
The encounter escalated to the point where the loss prevention personnel
physically restrained Sorensen. An eyewitness to the event reported that two of the employees sat on Sorensen while he was face-down and handcuffed, and a third held his legs. The witness stated that Sorensen was screaming for help and that it was clear he was having trouble breathing. His last words were reported to be "I'm sorry" and "I'm scared." The struggle and restraint by the employees continued for approximately 20 minutes before they realized he was unresponsive.
Emergency services and the Albuquerque Police Department arrived at the scene shortly after. The initial narrative that emerged in some media reports suggested that Sorensen may have experienced a "medical episode." However, his friends and supporters, along with the eyewitness, contested this, asserting that his death was a direct result of the physical force used by the Kmart employees.
In the immediate aftermath of the incident, it was reported that Kmart had a "hands-off" policy for its loss prevention staff, which was put in place following a previous lawsuit. This policy directed employees not to physically touch or restrain suspected shoplifters. Despite the circumstances of Sorensen's death and the apparent violation of this policy, no immediate arrests were made, and the employees involved were not publicly identified as suspects in a crime. The Albuquerque Police Department began an investigation into the matter, but no charges were filed at the time. The incident sparked outrage among community members and activists, who held vigils and protests demanding justice for Sorensen. As of the latest available online reports from the time, the police investigation was ongoing, and it remained unclear whether the case was ever presented to the District Attorney for prosecution. There is no publicly available information regarding an official cause of death from an autopsy or if any of the Kmart employees were ever charged in connection with Jonathan Sorensen's death.
