[IMC-US] Fwd: Wal-Mart kills man for allegedly shoplifting diapers

[max]

of particular interest to those of us involved in wal-mart things.

max



----- Forwarded message from kris <kriskaul at yahoo.com> -----
    Date: Sun, 14 Aug 2005 14:12:20 -0700 (PDT)
    From: kris <kriskaul at yahoo.com>
Reply-To: kris <kriskaul at yahoo.com>
 Subject: [BlackBox] Wal-Mart kills man for allegedly shoplifting diapers
      To: Black Box Radio <radio at michiganimc.org>

from the Daily Kos -Wal-Mart kills man for allegedly shoplifting diapers by
auh20 Fri Aug 12th, 2005 at 23:04:21 PDT
I saw this posted earlier, but didn't see it get much traction due to the
paucity of details. I hope this diary is more recommendable as now there are
considerably more details on Stacy's murder by Wal-Mart security personnel.
Keep in mind these Wal-Mart employees have no special legal standing different
from you or me, even in Texas.

Mr. Driver, 30, was chased into the Wal-Mart parking lot, handcuffed and forced
down to the hot pavement for allegedly shoplifting. He died in under 10 minutes
once he was in the hands of the Wal-Mart employees.

First off, here is the original Houston Chronicle story.

Driver lived in Cleveland, where his parents own a small business, Lindeman
said. Driver was a master carpenter with a 2-month-old son and was about
halfway through taking flying courses to get his pilot's license, Lindeman
said.


Employees told investigators Driver had walked out the store with a package of
diapers, a pair of sunglasses, a BB gun and a package of BBs, Martin said.

Lindeman said otherwise. "It's our belief he was not shoplifting," he said.



More details under the fold.
Diaries :: -->
   auh20's diary :: ::



Mr. Driver pleaded for his life to deaf ears.


"About 30 people were saying, 'Let him up, it's too hot,' " Portz said. He said
another employee brought a rug for Driver to lie on, but one of those holding
Driver said he was fine where he was. "After about five minutes, (Driver) said,
'I'm dying, I can't breathe, call an ambulance,' " Portz said.


Employees struggled with Driver before he was handcuffed, Martin said.

"There was a struggle, and when they finally succeeded after getting him
detained in handcuffs, he continued to struggle," Martin said.

After Driver was handcuffed, Portz said one employee had his knee on the man's
neck and others were putting pressure on his back.

"Finally the guy stopped moving" and the employees got off him, Portz said.
"They wouldn't call an ambulance."

"I looked at him and said, 'Hey, he's not breathing,' but one guy told me
(Driver) was just on drugs. I told them his fingernails were all gray, and
finally they called an ambulance."



Wal-Mart is unusual in its tactics of chasing alleged shoplifters.


"Most retailers have a policy of not going into a chase or getting into a
combative fight with someone," said Joseph LaRocca, vice president of loss
prevention for the National Retail Federation.


...

"Most retailers' policies would say that if a person becomes combative, let them
go," LaRocca added. "You can tell police, and let the police handle the
investigation and follow up."





Walmart is also refusing to discuss their procedures.


Wal-Mart's corporate office has refused to discuss its procedures for detaining
and using force against shoplifting suspects in wake of the death of Stacy Clay
Driver, 30, on Sunday.


...

Christi Gallagher, a Wal-Mart spokeswoman, declined repeated requests to discuss
the retail chain's techniques for apprehending and detaining suspected
shoplifters or whether it permits use of force against suspects. "We don't
speak publicly about our security measures," she said.





Refused. No apologies, no pledge to change their agressive loss-prevention
policies or even a statement their employees went too far. Nobody has been
fired.

Wal-Mart apparently has a history of aggressively going after shoplifters.


The company, however, is widely known for its aggressive prosecution of
shoplifters, said Sgt. Jeff Stauber of the Sheriff's Department burglary and
theft division.


Its aggressiveness also has led to a number of civil lawsuits for false
imprisonment and malicious prosecution



Wal-Mart loses millions (perhaps billions) to shoplifting. It's clear where
their priorities are. But even then, they are wrong. Costco, who pays their
employees well, has reportedly a lower theft rate than Wal-Mart.

Don't let this story go away--recommend this diary. Wal-mart is hoping this
story will just disappear. Don't let it happen.



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