Self-proclaimed bishop forces alleged shoplifters to apologize on camera

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- A self-proclaimed church bishop has been banned from a Louisville business after he recorded himself confronting alleged shoplifters and forcing them to apologize -- in a video he then posted to social media.

Employees at a Dollar General on Dixie Highway say Kenneth Hopkins volunteered his time doing security at the store, but they say he was not employed with the company.

“This is Bishop Kenneth Hopkins -- pastor and founder of Beyond the Walls Outreach,” Hopkins is heard saying in one of several videos on his Facebook page. “I’m gonna have mercy on another individual because God has had mercy on me.”

Hopkins posted that he would then let the alleged shoplifted leave and he would not call police.

In one video a woman is seen crying as she tries to shield her face.

Hopkins: “You want to tell everybody sorry?”

Female: “I apologize, Facebook. OK?”

Hopkins: “And the city of Louisville?”

Female: “And the city of Louisville.”

Hopkins: “What did you take?”

Female: “It’s cold. This is embarrassing. Are you serious?”

“I’m sorry for stealing from Dollar General,” a man says in another video. “I’ve been doing this like four or five months. I’m disabled. I’m homeless. $643 a month ain’t cutting it.”

The videos made Eddie Hardy angry, so he took to his own Facebook page, asking people to put a stop to what he calls the “senseless humiliation” of people in the community.

“The way he’s doing his job is just not right,” Hardy said. “You’re shaming somebody who needs help. You know, they could’ve left from that situation and been so hurt, they could’ve done something worse.”

According to an employee at Dollar General, once the videos surfaced, Hopkins was ordered not to return to the store.

When WDRB News reached out to Hopkins for comment, the videos vanished from his Facebook page.

In the videos, Hopkins mentioned that he was with Beyond the Walls Outreach. A flyer for that church was found on his Facebook page, along with an Indianapolis phone number.

Calls to that number and messages to Hopkins were not returned.