Posted on 01/23/2014 12:10:47 PM PST by rey
Sometimes it’s better to just let things go.
That could be the mantra for overprotective retail clerks and loss-prevention agents everywhere following a lawsuit in Santa Rosa civil court by a would-be shoplifter who was badly injured when he was tackled by a grocery store manager.
The clash happened when plaintiff Johnny Ramirez was stealing a bottle of rum from the Windsor Raley’s, according to a tentative ruling from Sonoma County Superior Court Judge Arthur Wick.
Ramirez tucked the glass bottle into his waistband and ran out the door, only to be stopped by manager Shea Carpenter, who tackled him to the asphalt, Wick wrote.
The bottle broke when he hit the ground, causing injury that required emergency surgery. Ramirez later sued the grocery chain and the manager for monetary damages.
(Excerpt) Read more at law.blogs.pressdemocrat.com ...
You should have NO reasonable expectation of safety when engaging in thievery or violent crime.
There was a story not long ago that armored car operators would shoot first, if they felt threatened as bad guys are not asking for the money but shooting first. Armored comapnies feel they are acting in self defense. http://www.nytimes.com/2013/12/08/us/in-houston-armored-cars-are-doing-the-opposite-of-dissuading-robbers.html?_r=0
So we could see legal precedent that shoplifters won’t fear being physically stopped.
If that happens, it will give a giant green light to shoplifters and flash mob types. If they learn that nothing will happen to them, we will see much more of this behavior.
Scum Bag Attorneys at their best. . . . .
I agree 100%.
...and Walmart can open a “Shoplifter’s Express Line” to allow them a safer and more orderly egress from their stores.
A person in the commission of a crime should suffer whatever consequences befall them without legal recourse, including injury or death.
So, lets suppose I run a sleazy liquor store. I conspire with a few under aged would-be customers who pre-pay, at premium prices for stuff they then shoplift. I of course won’t lift a finger to stop them, fear for my life and all that.
Absolutely. If a criminal has been caught, the punishment can "fit" the crime as the legal system has the criminal to punish him and make him pay restitution. Before a criminal is caught or during the criminal act the aggrieved party has no assurance of retribution or restitution. Killing or injuring a thief in the act is absolutely morally righteous but unfortunately not legal in most states.
Seems to me years ago there was a case in California where a burglar trying to break into a school fell through a skylight, fell a long distance to the floor and was paralyzed. And he did sue and won lifetime support from the school board.
As a result a bill was introduced in the California Legislature barring you from torts if you were injured while committing a criminal act.
I guess it didn’t pass?
“So we could see legal precedent that shoplifters won’t fear being physically stopped.”
We don’t need the precident, but I believe most retail store policies already advise not trying to interfere with would-be robbers. I know this was the case for me when I tended register.
I was in the street level Bon Marche Food Court in Paris a few years ago when a Communist led protest group went by. A number of marchers came in and stuffed packaged food items under their coats and left. Store employees ignored what was going on. Obviously there would be retribution if they stopped anyone.
It’s amusing that Stalin exterminated people in the Ukraine for taking food when he demanded they send all the food produced there be shipped to other parts of Russia. He was bringing them into submission because Lenin had let them have more freedom than the rest of the Soviet state in exchange for the food they produced. The Ukraine openly greeted the Nazis when they invaded and Hitler made a big mistake in treating them like the rest of the Russians. He could have had a base of support to help him later when the Red Army was pushing him back.
It simply shouldn't be possible to sue for injuries incurred during the commission of a crime.
Warehouse space is cheaper than commercial retail space. No shoplifters. No annoyed shoppers working around the shelf stocking clerks. No shelf stocking clerks. Perhaps completely automated robotic warehouse.
You realize keeping most of the stock behind the counter was once normal business practice .
At Lowes, the policy is, ask a customer to view their cart or bag and if they ignore you and keep walking then oh well. The Loss prevention officer then will get with the local PD and get pictures of the guy.
Problem is somebody can walk out with hundreds or thousands of dollars worth of stuff and no one will do anything about it or they will be fired.
I can hear it now! “That’s Racist!”
Just wondering - would the law treat it any differently if it had been a cop who tackled the thief? Isn’t tackling someone “reasonable force” no matter how you look at it?
Keep this in mind the next time you hear about a clerk getting fired for bringing a gun and defending himself. Stuff like this is exactly why stores have these policies and these clerks get fired.
I shop at a Fred Meyer store, and there have been times when the “theft” beeper goes off on me almost every time I go there. It’s embarrassing, but very rarely does an employee actually come over and check your bags. I’ve tried without success to figure out what it is that triggers the beeper. I noticed during the Christmas season, it was a real “beep-fest,” with the beeper going off for about half of the customers. My theory is that a lot of extra merchandise is electronically tagged at that time, and busy clerks forget to deactivate them.
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