A Del Rey Oaks Safeway employee who was suspended after he helped a pregnant woman when her boyfriend hit her in the grocery store got his job back.
Ryan Young was reinstated with back pay when Safeway executives met with United Food and Commercial Workers union representatives on Tuesday.
On April 21, Young said he was working behind Safeway's meat counter when he saw a customer physically assault the customer's pregnant girlfriend.
Young said he leaped to her defense because his own wife is five months pregnant.
Safeway managers said Young's actions were "courageous and correct." But despite the employee's courage, he was suspended because security video footage showed that he violated a zero-tolerance company policy on workplace violence, Safeway said in a statement.
"We agree that Mr. Young is to be commended for choosing to intervene and come to the defense of the woman involved. However, a videotape of the entire incident appears to reveal actions we cannot condone," the statement wrote.
Quyen Tran, the man accused of kicking and hitting his pregnant girlfriend, pleaded no contest to battery in Monterey County Court last week.
Tran admitted he pushed his girlfriend during an argument at Safeway, but claimed Young's reaction was blown out of proportion.
"I was wrong, I'm not justifying what I did was right. But I'm not justifying what he did was right either," Tran said to KSBW's Felix Cortez.
VIDEO: Watch Tran describe his side of the story to Cortez
Tran claimed Young sucker-punched him from behind.
"I turned around, and he clocked me," Tran said. "I fell down, and he hit me again."
A public outcry erupted after news broke that Safeway suspended Young. More than 180,000 people signed an online petition in support of the butcher, and Young was interviewed on CNN for a national news broadcast.
Del Rey Oaks police officers said they investigated the domestic violence incident and praised Young for stepping in.
Young even had the Del Rey Oaks mayor in his corner. Mayor Jerry Edelen called for the City Council to pass a resolution urging Safeway to release its surveillance video that captured the entire incident. Safeway declined to release the video to KSBW and other local media outlets.
"They need to release that videotape to justify their actions. Right now, they're doing everything wrong with regard to public relations," Edelen said Monday.
Union president Ron Lind said once Safeway executives heard Young's explanation of the altercation, they realized suspending the butcher was a bad move.
On Wednesday, Young thanked all the people who believed he was a hero who should not lose his job.
"Knowing that I had all these people standing behind me and that I wasn't alone really helped me through this difficult time. I’ll be returning to work soon, and I’m ready to move forward."
A judge sentenced Trans to three years of probation, ordered him to attend 52 weeks of domestic violence classes, and barred him from having contact with his victim.
Safeway is the second-largest grocery chain in the U.S. and is based in Pleasanton, Calif.
