Detainment By Store Personnel

[mcinfantry]

entertaining thread. i always erred on the side of the merchant (within reason). if you FIGHT they (store personnel, security) can FIGHT too. if you pull a GUN (store personnel, security) they can too. while i wouldnt want to be searched and detained, i sure as hell dont want to get shot or hurt.... esp since me fighting would mean he could apply REASONABLE SIMILAR FORCE. by law.

they can hold you for 5 hours, if they can justify it. i.e. if they call the cops, and the cops are busy... you can just wait. or, man up, show them you dont have anything and leave....

 

[mcinfantry]

bonus points. what OTHER laws can you be "detained" for by a NON leo?

 

[Manimal]

Someone mentioned the TSA scumbags!?

***NWS***
[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z7AWw7t5zj0[/ame]
[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uRl1WLcU6ec[/ame]
***NWS***

Yeah, I don't take too kindly to being detained by anyone...it's not cool.

 

[mrmccoy]

the greeters at wal-mart only check stuff that is not in a bag.......... at least that is how the hammond wal-mart is.

 

[dantheman]

the greeters at wal-mart only check stuff that is not in a bag.......... at least that is how the hammond wal-mart is.

Exactly . And for the record , you don't have to stop .

 

[nikolai]

I wouldn't dream of taking your money- just remember it is wise not to call BS on LAC.

That's only because after the paypal fees, you'd prolly owe him money.

EDIT: After reading the rest of the thread, I think that a few of you guys either have way too much testosterone running through your veins or don't have a grasp on what exactly is justifiable lethal force. I think an store employee "laying his hands on you" for the purpose of detaining you is hardly just cause to draw on him.

With that said, LSP's story was awesome.

 

[Ske1etor]

he also said that they arent supposed to be holding people up unless they have a electronic item like a tv or big box item.

From what I understand, it is just un-bagged items. If everything is in a bag, they aren't supposed to stop you to check your receipt.

 

[Ske1etor]

Exactly . And for the record , you don't have to stop .

Truthiness...

 

[Mwill75]

EDIT: After reading the rest of the thread, I think that a few of you guys either have way too much testosterone running through your veins or don't have a grasp on what exactly is justifiable lethal force. I think an store employee "laying his hands on you" for the purpose of detaining you is hardly just cause to draw on him.

With that said, LSP's story was awesome.

I wasn't under the impression that upon entering a store that I somehow gave up my rights to not be handled unprovoked. I can understand an employee(in my situatation anyway) asking what I did with the item, considering I didn't restock it, but unless I have it in my hand and am walking out the store with it, you're just displaying an uneccesary show of aggression which I will respond to. Innocent until PROVEN guilty...not innocent until I don't like your face. Not that I saw that situation as dangerous or serious enough to draw on or shoot the poor jerk. I don't like fighting, but I am trained and not small by any stetch of the word. I'd have obliged him if he attempted to forcibly keep me from leaving.

 

[nikolai]

My point is that drawing on the guy is a bit much and you prolly wouldn't have a much a case in court. I'm definitely not saying that you shouldn't defend yourself.

 

[posse comatosis]

If he forcibly tries to detain you, and you know you have no stolen items on your person, you can meet force with like force. If you have stolen something, then his force is justified and yours is not. You can make the call better than a store clerk. He suspects, but you know. Again, a very tough decision for the retailer and his employees to make. Cheaper in the long run to exercise a hands off policy, or hire off duty police for security. Their authority to stop and detain is well defined.

 

[Bullet]

Regarding Walmart, everytime I buy an item that is to big for a bag it seems the greeters check the receipt and everytime all items are bagged I'm never stopped. So it seems to be the norm. Once as I walked out and the alarm sounded and the greeter asked for the receipt, but never looked at the bags. He simply logged it in a note book. He stated they keep records for the number of times a cashier fails to demagnatize items.

As for being detained, this is a little off topic. I seen a security guard show some one a card claiming she was authorized by the city of New Orleans to make an arrest. This was at a downtown building. Maybe she is and maybe not. We'll never know.

 

[LACamper]

What's funny is on the odd times I go with my wife to either walmart or sams and buy a ton of groceries, you know when the cart is filled to the top. The checker always stops us and stares at the basket for a minute, then swipes her highlighter. There is NO way she could count the number of items short of emptying the basket. I've always been tempted to call over the manager and raise hell for her not checking everything. I mean, if they're going to inconvenience me, they should do their job. If they aren't going to count everything then just let me go!

 

[dawg23]

What's funny is on the odd times I go with my wife to either walmart or sams and buy a ton of groceries, you know when the cart is filled to the top. The checker always stops us and stares at the basket for a minute, then swipes her highlighter. There is NO way she could count the number of items short of emptying the basket. I've always been tempted to call over the manager and raise hell for her not checking everything. I mean, if they're going to inconvenience me, they should do their job. If they aren't going to count everything then just let me go!

I'm telling ya ..................... carry an AK-47 with a single point sling and nobody will inconvenience you at all.

 

[W1nds0rF0x]

the reason Sam's does that is they don't have bags.

 

[topgunz1]

the reason Sam's does that is they don't have bags.

They still have to draw their little line on my receipt even if all I have is a prescription pickup from the pharmacy, in the bag stapled shut

 

[Woofie]

I bet $5 PayPal that you can't find a statute.

http://www.legis.state.la.us/lss/lss.asp?doc=112363

Art. 215. Detention and arrest of shoplifters

A.(1) A peace officer, merchant, or a specifically authorized employee or agent of a merchant, may use reasonable force to detain a person for questioning on the merchant's premises, for a length of time, not to exceed sixty minutes, unless it is reasonable under the circumstances that the person be detained longer, when he has reasonable cause to believe that the person has committed a theft of goods held for sale by the merchant, regardless of the actual value of the goods. The merchant or his employee or agent may also detain such a person for arrest by a peace officer. The detention shall not constitute an arrest.

(2) A peace officer may, without a warrant, arrest a person when he has reasonable grounds to believe the person has committed a theft of goods held for sale by a merchant, regardless of the actual value of the goods. A complaint made to a peace officer by a merchant or a merchant's employee or agent shall constitute reasonable cause for the officer making the arrest.

B. If a merchant utilizes electronic devices which are designed to detect the unauthorized removal of marked merchandise from the store, and if sufficient notice has been posted to advise the patrons that such a device is being utilized, a signal from the device to the merchant or his employee or agent indicating the removal of specially marked merchandise shall constitute a sufficient basis for reasonable cause to detain the person.

C. As used in this Article, "reasonable under the circumstances" shall be construed in such a manner so as to include the value of the merchandise in question, the location of the store, the length of time taken for law enforcement personnel to respond, the cooperation of the person detained, and any other relevant circumstances to be considered with respect to the length of time a person is detained.

Acts 1983, No. 187, §1; Acts 1987, No. 632, §1.

 

[aroundlsu]

Uhh You're a little late on that. LC posted the statute and refused my money a few weeks ago.

 

[aroundlsu]

Actually now that I look at it, it's not really a statute. It's a "Code of Criminal Procedure". Not sure what the difference is or how it's enforced differently but I think I still win since I asked for a statute.

 

[Woofie]

Uhh You're a little late on that. LC posted the statute and refused my money a few weeks ago.

Yeah, I saw that after I posted it. Wasn't worried about $5 anyway. I was just really bored.

Actually now that I look at it, it's not really a statute. It's a "Code of Criminal Procedure". Not sure what the difference is or how it's enforced differently but I think I still win since I asked for a statute.

Now you're just playing word games.