Crime & Safety

Woman Strips at Walmart After Accused of Shoplifting, Police Say

Waukesha woman, 40, charged with two misdemeanors after bizarre encounter with store staff.

A 40-year-old Waukesha woman began to strip at Walmart in front of customers when she was accused of shoplifting Friday evening, according to a criminal complaint.

Susanna C. Bingen was charged Monday with obstructing an officer and disorderly conduct – with a repeat offender penalty enhancer due to past convictions. If convicted of the misdemeanor charges, she faces up to four years in jail and $11,000 in fines.

According to the criminal complaint:

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Waukesha police were called to the store at 6:07 p.m. Friday for a report that Bingen was yelling, screaming, trying to strike a security officer and taking off her clothes. When police arrived, they noted she was staggering and losing her balance.

Store employees told police Bingen caused a disturbance near the fitting room when she took a flavored water and started drinking it. When she was confronted, she said she would pay for it at the register. She walked to the cash register and didn’t pay for the drink, the employee said. Instead, Bingen went into the restroom for 45 minutes and then exited without her purse.

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When store employees again confronted Bingen, they told police, she said “I’ll show you” and began taking her shirt and pants off in front of customers and other employees.

A Waukesha police officer on scene asked for Bingen’s identification, so she sat down on the floor to dig through her bag and purse while yelling at the store employees. The officer told her to stop yelling.

The woman couldn’t find her identification, so the police officer looked in the bag. The officer reported finding two half-empty bottles of wine and two full bottles of wine in the bag. At that point, Bingen began to reach for the bag to pull it away from the officer, so the police officer told her to relax and calm down.

The police officer reported Bingen tried to grab his name tag off his uniform, so he told her she was under arrest. She tried to walk away from him to avoid being handcuffed, but two police officers were able to take her into custody.


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