This man was shoplifting at WalMart and was tackled by security in the parking lot. They held him down on the boiling blacktop in a chokehold for between 10 and 30 minutes, and he had no shirt on.
A witness pleaded with them to let him up, pointing out that his fingernails were turning gray, but the employees said that was because he was on drugs. Turns out the witness is a high-profile attorney. He was not breathing when they let him up and he was pronounced dead at the hospital.
while this man most certainly didn't deserve to die, i can completely understand why a store - any store - would be inclined to aggressively pursue shoplifters and don't blame wal-mart or there employees for going after this thief.
LaRocca said retailers lose just more than $30 billion annually to "shrinkage," which includes shoplifting and lost products. A typical store loses about 1.5 percent of its profits as a result of shrinkage, he said.
that's a lot of money to lose every year, and my understanding is that number rises each year. and that lost revenue comes out of my pocket and yours. it's about time, imo, that thieves begin to realize that there are real consequences to their actions. as i said earlier, this man didn't deserve to die for his actions, but he definitely deserved to be pursued and captured. it's sad that he chose to struggle with the security officers instead of surrendering once he was captured, but that was his choice.
I am so glad you brought this to my/our attention. I hadn't heard about this, and I am outraged to learn of this man's death under such cruel and ignorant circumstances.
What they did was without a doubt, based on the account that attorney gives, false arrest and false imprisonment. I'm obviously not well-acquainted with criminal law in Texas, but I'm sure they have laws criminalizing these actions. The criminal behavior of the "security officers" killed this man, and I certainly hope they will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.
n. physically detaining someone without the legal right to do so. Quite often this involves private security people or other owners or employees of retail establishments who hold someone without having seen a crime committed in their presence or pretend that they are police officers.
n. depriving someone of freedom of movement by holding a person in a confined space or by physical restraint including being locked in a car, driven about without opportunity to get out, being tied to a chair or locked in a closet. It may be the follow-up to a false arrest (holding someone in the office of a department store, for example), but more often it resembles a kidnapping with no belief or claim of a legal right to hold the person. Therefore, false imprisonment is often a crime and if proved is almost always the basis of a lawsuit for damages.
Texas law does give them the right to make a citizen's arrest, though.
exas law allows store employees to make a citizen's arrest as long as they have cause to do so, said Chris McGoey, president of McGoey Security Consulting in California
Texas law does give them the right to make a citizen's arrest, though.
exas law allows store employees to make a citizen's arrest as long as they have cause to do so, said Chris McGoey, president of McGoey Security Consulting in California
I find it highly unlikely that these men actually saw the alleged shoplifting. And a citizen's arrest doesn't involve choking a man to death. So even if they were entitled to make a citizen's arrest, they quite clearly exceeded the scope of reasonable conduct.
as i said earlier, this man didn't deserve to die for his actions, but he definitely deserved to be pursued and captured. it's sad that he chose to struggle with the security officers instead of surrendering once he was captured, but that was his choice.
What opportunity does one have to surrender when he's been smashed down into the hot pavement, face first, and is suffocating? Instinct is going to take over and tell you to fight to breathe so you don't die.
that's a lot of money to lose every year, and my understanding is that number rises each year. and that lost revenue comes out of my pocket and yours. it's about time, imo, that thieves begin to realize that there are real consequences to their actions. as i said earlier, this man didn't deserve to die for his actions, but he definitely deserved to be pursued and captured. it's sad that he chose to struggle with the security officers instead of surrendering once he was captured, but that was his choice.
I'm sure he was struggling for his life once his nails started becoming gray. I'd struggle with that too.
I work for a company that owns lots of retail stores. There is MUCH more at stake for employees who work in stores that have less shrinkage - it's called an incentive bonus. I'm sure the security guards were thinking about their quarterly bonus as well. No reason for someone to die.
May those who love us love us. And for those who don't, may God turn their hearts. And if not, may God turn their ankles so we'll know them by their limping.
well, according to the harris cty sheriff, the man struggled with them for a long period of time before they cuffed him and continued to struggle with them afterwards. some passivity once in the cuffs might have been in order for one detained for shoplifting, no?
li'm not saying at all that i don't feel for this man and his family. just that i can understand why stores are being more vigilant in their pursuit of thieves these days. shoplifters get away with their crimes more often than not, and that has to be frustrating for any retail outlet trying to be profitable un their business, kwim?
Man shoplifting at Walmart killed by security
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Originally Posted by mamahammer
