There is absolutely no way these two guards should escape a manslaughter charge at the least. I am pretty sure Wal-Mart will backpedal like mad as to whether or not the guards were authorized to pin someone to the ground to restrain them in the first place. I am *very* sure that they're going to be summarily fired just for *keeping* the man on the asphalt after being subdued. That right there is going to play a heavy role during their trial.

The thing that sucks is that there's not much chance the lawyer who was on hand when this happened is going to be allowed to testify, but he can't be the only person around who would be willing to recount the events to a judge and jurors. Those guards need to be put in jail, or at the very least barred from that kind of work for the forseeable future.

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I'd like to add that nonsense like this is the reason you want to keep a cool head if you're ever approached by the employees of a store and accused of shoplifting (or ask you to "come with them"). They can stop you and _ask_ you to submit to a search. They can _ask_ that you wait for the police to come and search you if you don't submit to their pat-down search. (Indeed, if you're very sure you haven't done anything wrong, you should insist on the police searching you, just because it avoids a lot of problems.) Private sector employees are never authorized to engage in any kind of "intrusive" search like a strip search. They are almost *never* authorized to use any kind of force at all against you if you don't use force against them, and generally aren't authorized to do much of anything to you (other than ordering you to leave) if you're not endangering anyone. The problem is that quite frequently they're poorly trained, or improperly informed that they're allowed to do all sorts of things, so...

Tell them outright you've not stolen anything. You may, at your option, voluntarily let them pat you down (don't let them stick their hands into your pockets! If you had something sharp in there they could hurt themselves and we don't want that.) and voluntarily empty your pockets on some nearby surface where your belongings and their merchandise can't be confused, and if that's not enough for them, it's simply time to bring in the police. I wouldn't recommend even bantering with them to see if you can get them angry (because they will likely *want* to play that particular game so they can claim you were being "aggressive") but simply and flatly request that they call in the police if that's not enough for them. From this point on, stand right where you are unless you're impeding the flow of traffic, keep your hands in sight, and don't let them take you beyond the sight of witnesses (you wouldn't want them to magically "find" something on a shelf that could theoretically have been in your pockets in some alternate universe). Call the police *yourself* or ask someone nearby to do it on their cellular phone if you think the police aren't being called to investigate. Remember, detaining someone against their will is still kidnapping, and that typically He Who Calls The Cops First, Wins.

Yes, more than once I have stared down security personnel (it's a good thing I never, ever shoplift), and generally they will give in, but rather often they're not trained well enough to *know* that they're not allowed to use force against you. This can lead to some rather dangerous situations. The most useful phrase I've ever had handy in these situations is very simply put... "You have just attempted to use force against my physical person without due cause. Are you *absolutely sure* that you are authorized by *anyone at all* to do this?" You need not specify anything more than that, and perhaps remind them that if they're unclear on the point, that the police *will* be able to sort it out. Remember, if you're civil to them and keep your hands in plain sight and so on (so they can't say they thought you were trying to draw a weapon), there's not really much they can legally do until the police arrive, and even less that they can do without the other customers seeing it and becoming Unhappy Customers. Remember, being a "security guard" doesn't grant them any magic cop powers. They are just another store employee with a different job title.

Occasionally, you might encounter an actual policeman on-duty or off-duty working as security. Real police (who can be identified by a rather legible badge, and if you're in doubt, ask them if they are a policeman) definitely have more powers than rent-a-cops (even when off duty), and will generally be a lot easier to deal with because they've had _proper training_ so they won't be as inclined to try some crazy macho bullshit like the yokels at that WalMart did. The most sensible thing you can ask them is simply "am I being arrested?", and otherwise try and put them at ease. A rent-a-cop who claims to be an actual policeman had better be ready to pony up a real badge, or you should just call the police yourself.

If you actually *were* shoplifting, just give the stuff over and wait for the police. It's not worth the drama.

RE: Walmart Kills Houston Man for Shoplifting