Opinion ID: 4524554
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: The Saco Shaw's

Text: The Saco Shaw's is a grocery store located in downtown Saco, Maine that serves around 15,000 customers per week.2 It is one of the biggest Shaw's in Maine. The Saco Shaw's served a very, very diverse clientele with a lot of walkers with backpacks. The store has two front entrances, one on each side of the store. When a customer enters the store, the produce section is on the far left and the floral department is on the far right of the store. The ice cream aisle is closer to the side of the store with the floral department. The management personnel of the Saco Shaw's changed several times between 2009 and 2015. John DeRoche was the store manager from 2009 to 2014. An interim manager served for a few months in mid-2014 until Bryan Goodrich took over as the manager 1 We describe the testimony and incidents involving MacCalister primarily relied upon by Boudreau. For additional detail, we refer the reader to the district court's decision. 2 Shaw's conceded at the district court that the knowledge of its employees may be treated as its own knowledge. - 3 - around November 1, 2014. Goodrich was the Saco Shaw's manager at the time of Wendy Boudreau's murder. 2. MacCalister's Interactions with Shaw's Employees and Customers Before the August 2015 Attack Connor MacCalister frequently visited the Saco Shaw's in the years before the murder of Wendy Boudreau. DeRoche recalled first seeing MacCalister in the Saco Shaw's in 2010 or 2011. He stated that the first time he saw her he was a little shocked because of her really baggy clothes with a chain down on her side and her shaved head. During his time at Shaw's, DeRoche never saw MacCalister behave violently, raise her voice, or carrying a weapon at any time inside the Saco Shaw's. He had no knowledge of her acting strangely in the Saco community. On May 24, 2011, more than four years before the murder of Wendy Boudreau, two customers complained to DeRoche that MacCalister had scared them outside as they entered the store. MacCalister had been standing outside of Shaw's by the entrance, smoking discarded cigarettes out of an ashtray and blowing smoke rings from underneath a hood that partially covered her face. DeRoche promptly went outside to investigate the complaints, saw MacCalister, and recalled that it looked like something out of a scary movie. DeRoche stated that usually MacCalister just looked weird but on that day she looked scary and frozen. DeRoche acted on the complaints by calling the police. - 4 - He told the police, can you tell this person I don't want her here anymore. The police conveyed to MacCalister that she was banned from the Saco Shaw's. The police also told DeRoche that they had interacted with MacCalister before, that she lived nearby with her mother, and that her mother is crazier than she is. For a year following this incident, MacCalister was not permitted to shop at the Saco Shaw's.3 A year later in mid-2012, MacCalister called DeRoche and asked if she could return to Shaw's. DeRoche did not realize MacCalister was the caller until he later saw her in Shaw's and asked what she was doing there. MacCalister told DeRoche that she had called to ask if she could come back. DeRoche told her that she could return if she did not cause any problems. After the May 2011 incident, DeRoche requested that the Shaw's Loss Prevention Department watch MacCalister because she look[ed] suspicious, but he had never heard any complaint that she shoplifted. In response to the request, Loss Prevention told DeRoche that they had watched her before and she had never taken 3 Boudreau also relies on several phone calls referenced in the affidavit of a Saco police dispatcher. The dispatcher stated that [a]fter MacCalister was banned, [he] took dispatch calls from employees of Shaw's who noted that MacCalister had returned to the premises and they were concerned. We understand these calls to be evidence of Shaw's employees enforcing the ban against MacCalister. As to the several other calls referenced in the record, we agree with the district court's decision to disregard them because they do not specifically reference MacCalister. - 5 - anything. Loss Prevention continued to watch her a couple more times but never observed her shoplifting. Nor did they observe any other concerning behavior by her. Warren McCourt, a Shaw's Asset Protection Specialist, also observed MacCalister about four or five times between 2012 and 2014. He stated that her behavior never seemed unusual. McCourt observed MacCalister come into the store, purchase product, and leave. After the 2011 smoking incident, there were no further customer complaints to DeRoche about MacCalister and no observations by Shaw's employees of MacCalister engaging in scary or concerning behavior. DeRoche specifically stated that [n]o one ever said a word to [him] about feeling uncomfortable with her in the store or being afraid of her and that he didn't have any fear of [his] safety or any of [his] employees' safety when she was in the store. Goodrich stated that after becoming manager in 2014, no one ever reported anything to [him] about MacCalister and he never saw her behaving strangely. Adam Veno, Shaw's assistant store director who started six weeks before the murder, stated that he never saw MacCalister in the store. Joan Doyle worked as a cashier at the Saco Shaw's from 1997 through 2015. She typically worked midday shifts and estimated that she had seen MacCalister probably four times in the Saco Shaw's before 2015. When asked what stood out to her - 6 - about MacCalister, Doyle stated [w]hat she was wearing, which Doyle described as usually a camouflage outfit. Doyle stated that MacCalister was very quiet, never said anything in response to Doyle's greetings, and that this was pretty unusual for customers. She never heard that MacCalister had bothered a customer. Doyle had heard rumors that MacCalister shoplifted but never observed this herself. She also never observed MacCalister act violently or even speak, nor had she ever seen MacCalister outside of the Saco Shaw's. Michelle Schaffer worked for Shaw's as a customer service representative beginning in 2011. She estimated that she had seen MacCalister multiple times between 2011 and 2015 and stated that MacCalister came into the store quite often. She described MacCalister as dressing in baggy clothes that were all black, [with] big jackets, [a] hood . . . [and] dark, black makeup. Schaffer stated that MacCalister's eyes were big from time to time and she would just look at you in a way that made Schaffer think that she was on something. Sometimes MacCalister came into the store shaking. Schaffer stated that if somebody saw the same thing that [Schaffer] saw, they would think that something is up with [MacCalister] but that this was not out of the norm in downtown Saco. She stated that she thought MacCalister's appearance and demeanor may have made some people probably [feel] threatened and be a little bit more on guard - 7 - but that she had never witnessed any threatening behavior by MacCalister. She explained that there were moments where she felt probably uncomfortable or awkward around MacCalister but that MacCalister never did anything directly towards [her]. Schaffer had heard rumors that MacCalister shoplifted but never observed MacCalister shoplifting. She had seen MacCalister a couple times outside of the Saco Shaw's but never saw her behaving strangely. She also never saw MacCalister with a knife inside the Saco Shaw's, nor had she ever witnessed MacCalister act violently or raise her voice. Brittani Wood worked as a Shaw's cashier beginning in 2013. In 2015, she worked shifts during the late evening[] into the night and she recalled seeing MacCalister [q]uite frequently at Shaw's and sometimes more than once in a day. Wood observed MacCalister wearing baggy pants, military clothing, and a backpack and with a shaved head, which Wood described as strange. She never observed MacCalister carry a weapon, appear angry, or yell or lunge at another customer. Wood had not heard any rumors that MacCalister shoplifted and stated that MacCalister always bought something when she entered the Saco Shaw's. In her interactions with MacCalister, Wood stated that MacCalister would acknowledge you were talking to her; but she wouldn't really, like, speak. Wood stated that MacCalister was quiet and shy. Wood had heard customers make comments such as what's with her or she - 8 - seems weird when referring to MacCalister but no customer ever made a report about MacCalister to Wood. In the weeks before Wendy Boudreau's murder, MacCalister had several interactions with customers at the Saco Shaw's. These interactions were not reported to Shaw's except as we explicitly note, and even then, they were not reports made to supervisors but verbal comments made to a cashier. The rest of the statements we describe were only made at depositions after this suit started. First, Debra Surran stated she went to Shaw's in June or July 2015 and estimated she was in the store for about forty-five minutes. While shopping, Surran saw MacCalister at the end of the aisles she was shopping in three separate times, as if MacCalister were following her. MacCalister was not going down the aisles and did not have a cart, which Surran thought was a little strange. When Surran went to check out, she noticed that MacCalister had gotten in line directly behind her. Surran stated that Connor was glaring at me, like she really wanted to hurt me and she looked angry and her jaw was tight. Surran was scared so she grabbed a nearby cart and placed it between herself and MacCalister until MacCalister checked out and left the store. Before leaving, Surran told Michelle Lavoie, the cashier with whom both MacCalister and Surran checked out, that there's something wrong with that girl. Lavoie stated no, no, Connor comes in here all the time. She's fine. Surran repeated that - 9 - there's something wrong with her and whispered to Lavoie that MacCalister scared her.4 Surran did not talk to any other Shaw's employee about the incident. Lavoie stated that she was familiar with MacCalister and recalled that she had seen her occasionally from time to time in the years before 2015. Lavoie was also familiar with Surran and stated that she often waited on Surran at Shaw's. When asked about the incident, Lavoie could only recall that Surran was not thrilled with Connor based on her interpretation of [Surran's] body language. Lavoie explained that with her regular customers, she can tell sometimes if they're having a good day. She stated that with my years of experience, [I think I would have] picked up if [Surran] was uncomfortable. I didn't pick up on body language that she was on defensive. Lavoie stated that she did not report the incident to a manager because it would need something more than just [her] own gut instinct that there was something more going on. She explained that: [i]f I'm not seeing anything out of the norm and I'm not getting anything from the customer . . . that there was a problem, I'm not going 4 Surran stated in her affidavit that she whispered to the cashier . . . that [she] was scared of MacCalister. But later at her deposition, she did not include this fact when recounting what happened. Counsel for Shaw's asked her if she said anything else to Lavoie and Surran stated, No. That was it. Counsel for Shaw's confronted Surran with her affidavit and Surran stated, [i]t's basically the same thing, yeah. Like the district court, we assume favorably to Boudreau that Surran did whisper to Lavoie that MacCalister scared her. - 10 - to go any further than what I normally would, other than to wait on her, check her out, and thank her for shopping with us. In early August 2015, Katherine Corriveau rode her bike to the Saco Shaw's. She saw MacCalister sitting under a tree at the back entrance to the Shaw's plaza. As Corriveau passed, she made eye contact with MacCalister, who was wearing sunglasses. She stated that she got the willies and her alarm bells went off because MacCalister looked angry, had a set jaw, and stood up as Corriveau passed. As Corriveau locked up her bike, she saw MacCalister walking with a determined gait toward Shaw's. Corriveau entered the store and about five minutes later, she saw MacCalister about ten feet away from her in the ice cream aisle. Corriveau felt as though MacCalister was following her and feared for [her] safety so she went to another aisle. Within a short time, MacCalister appeared in the same aisle. Corriveau then went to the produce section and again saw MacCalister. Corriveau lost track of MacCalister while she finished shopping. She went to check out after spending about thirty minutes at the most in the store and saw MacCalister ahead of her at a different register. MacCalister purchased a Coke and left the store. Corriveau did not tell any Shaw's employee about the incident. About a week before the murder, Cindy Belanger, another Shaw's customer, noticed MacCalister while waiting in the Shaw's checkout line. MacCalister was laughing and talking in a group - 11 - of people on the other side of the store. Belanger stated that when MacCalister noticed Belanger looking at her, MacCalister turned her body, put her arms back, and lunged at Belanger without moving her feet while yelling rah. Belanger could not hear MacCalister well because she was too far away. The act scared Belanger and she took it as a threat. She stated that other customers saw the gesture, but that no Shaw's employee seemed to see it. Belanger checked out, left the store, and did not report the incident to a Shaw's employee. 3. MacCalister's Behavior on the Day of the Attack On August 19, 2015, MacCalister visited Shaw's two separate times. Her first visit was around 12:00 p.m. and did not provide cause for concern to Shaw's. She wore army fatigues, sunglasses, and a backpack, and she did not use a shopping cart. She checked out with Doyle and purchased a gallon of milk and a couple of other items. Doyle stated that MacCalister kind of gave [her] a little smirk when [she] was handing her the receipt but that she didn't think too much of it at the time. MacCalister left the store and sat on the ground, almost on the automatic door sensor, for about five minutes. There is no evidence any Shaw's employee observed this behavior. Around 3:00 p.m., Wendy Boudreau entered Shaw's, as did MacCalister for the second time that day. Two Saco EMTs, Jerry and Armand Beaulieu, were shopping in the store at this time. - 12 - Armand stated that he and MacCalister passed each other in the same area a couple of times. He did not think anything different about her behavior and stated that she appeared to be shopping. Jerry described MacCalister's behavior as walking the back row, like she was looking for something . . . she kept going back and forth. He stated that she did not look angry, just that she was in a hurry, looking for something.5 About ten minutes after 3:00 p.m., MacCalister approached Wendy Boudreau, who was alone in the ice cream aisle. She walked up behind Wendy Boudreau and stabbed her multiple times. Wendy Boudreau screamed and that caught the attention of another customer, who pinned MacCalister to the ground. A Shaw's employee who had also gone to investigate the screams attempted to help Wendy Boudreau. Wendy Boudreau was transported to a hospital but did not survive. MacCalister was arrested by the Saco Police and taken to the Saco Police Department. The police interviewed her around 5:20 p.m. She confessed that she went to Shaw's intending to kill someone. She chose Wendy Boudreau because she was in the open with no one around [and] couldn't fight back. MacCalister stated 5 Boudreau asserts that two individuals in the security footage of the minutes leading up to the attack are Shaw's employees. Like the district court, we assume in the plaintiff's favor that these two individuals were Shaw's employees and so could have observed what the two EMTs observed. - 13 - that she always carried two knives in her pockets. There is no evidence that the knives were visible to a Shaw's employee before the attack.6