Rights Violation or a Complete Jerk?

[Vandiablo]

First off... Please, no racial slurs. Maroon is a slur, another word for n****r, specifically referring to Africans left on tiny islands in the Caribbean as slaves.

Nope, a Maroon is a National Hockey League player from the 1920's. I'm positive that's what Bugs Bunny was referring to. So lay off, eh?

Second, once you pay cash for something, it is yours. Transaction OVER. No ands, ifs, or buts.

hmmm... slaves included?

I think you misunderstood. I said THE BAG, as in the thin plastic thingie, is not his until he walks out of the store. I didn't mean the merchandise itself. The bag itself is a courtesy item provided by the store for the customer to use to carry the stuff to the door. After that, the customer may keep the bag as his own.

When you buy something that is on someone else's property there is, or should be, an agreement as what the plan is for the removal of your stuff from their property. Who gets to carry the stuff -- new owner, property owner, or third party?

In this country, we are innocent until proven otherwise. The officer had no right to ask for anything, because there was NO PROOF at all that a crime had been committed. Video evidence suggesting otherwise? Fine, check the person. Otherwise, NO. The burden of proof is not on the accused but the accuser. Officer does not have a leg to stand on, there was absolutely nothing that implied that any criminal activity had taken place. No store dick came along and said he was suspicious on video... All the man had done was exercise his rights to refuse to be harassed.

Innocent until proven guilty is the courtroom verdict standard, but I'm afraid the standard for being held is less than that, and the standard for being arrested is even lower. Flight risk is a big factor in the latter two, and cooperation in the latter, so jumping in a car at the curb after refusing inspection, and refusing to cooperate in identification were just increasing his suspicious behavior. I think the CC employees were overzealous, but I'm with the cop. Yay cop. Yay.

Poor cop didn't get the time to realize he was in a contrarian-libertarian-wannabe situation rather than the usual shoplifter scenario.

In this country, we also have enforcement techniques approved by judges, like sobriety checkpoints and unannounced visits by inspectors. However, if you were to perform random selection for bag inspection at a store, it would take about 5 minutes before you were hit with a discrimination suit -- so inspect everyone's store bag.

In other posts here, we've learned that checking the receipt isn't so much checking for shoplifters (who would have the stuff in their pants or purses) as it is a check for employees ringing up stuff they steal and take home. Too bad the CC doorman didn't realize that.

I hope the officer in question winds up tarred and feathered, and hopefully removed from his job. I also hope that the department gets sued in to the stone age... It is the only way those folks seem to learn anything.

And I hope someday Mr. Righi will realize that he ruined his sister's birthday by pointlessly exposing himself as a jackass. If you really give a rat's arse about rights in this country, you should be out marching against certain federal entities that are overreaching, not kicking CC employees. Sheesh.

-V