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  • badass mall cop

    From RichD@21:1/5 to All on Mon Sep 19 21:22:22 2022
    Yesterday, at a bus station, I noticed a security guard,
    employed by a private contractor. He wore a uniform,
    with a belt stuffed with gadgets, including a heavy baton.

    In what circumstances is he authorized to swing that?


    --
    Rich

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  • From Barry Gold@21:1/5 to RichD on Tue Sep 20 06:34:58 2022
    On 9/19/2022 9:22 PM, RichD wrote:
    Yesterday, at a bus station, I noticed a security guard,
    employed by a private contractor. He wore a uniform,
    with a belt stuffed with gadgets, including a heavy baton.

    In what circumstances is he authorized to swing that?

    In most states, he is authorized to use that baton only in the same circumstances as any other civilian: to defend himself or somebody else
    against attack.

    It's also conceivable that he might use it in making a citizen's arrest,
    but the typical mall cop doesn't have a lot of training, and citizen's
    arrests are fraught with pitfalls that can get you sued. So most mall
    operators are going to take the attitude of "give the stuff back, leave,
    and never come back."

    Unless the perp has stolen a bunch of expensive stuff or assaulted
    somebody, it probably ends there.

    I remember one episode of Adam-12 (a police procedural created by Jack
    Webb and R. A. Cinader, which pretty much stuck to LAPD procedures): a homeowner had somebody who had committed a misdemeanor (I forget if it
    was stealing something, trespassing, or an actual assault). He called
    LAPD, and the two lead cops (Reed and Malloy) showed up.

    Since it was a misdemeanor, they couldn't arrest the perp. So they
    coached the homeowner through a citizen's arrest, then they put the
    cuffs on the guy and took him to jail.

    --
    I do so have a memory. It's backed up on DVD... somewhere...

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  • From RichD@21:1/5 to Barry Gold on Tue Sep 20 20:54:40 2022
    On September 20, Barry Gold wrote:
    Yesterday, at a bus station, I noticed a security guard,
    employed by a private contractor. He wore a uniform,
    with a belt stuffed with gadgets, including a heavy baton.
    In what circumstances is he authorized to swing that?

    In most states, he is authorized to use that baton only in the same circumstances as any other civilian: to defend himself or somebody else against attack.

    So it's a bluff?
    Which is probably worthwhile, as it doesn't cost anything,
    assuming the 'cop' isn't trigger happy.

    It's also conceivable that he might use it in making a citizen's arrest,
    but the typical mall cop doesn't have a lot of training, and citizen's arrests are fraught with pitfalls that can get you sued.
    Unless the perp has stolen a bunch of expensive stuff or assaulted
    somebody, it probably ends there.

    I remember one episode of Adam-12: a homeowner had somebody who
    had committed a misdemeanor (I forget if it
    was stealing something, trespassing, or an actual assault). He called
    LAPD, and the two lead cops showed up.
    Since it was a misdemeanor, they couldn't arrest the perp.

    huh?

    So they coached the homeowner through a citizen's arrest, then they put the cuffs on the guy and took him to jail.

    I witnessed that once. A person was spit upon, he called 911. The cop said "It didn't occur in my presence, but if you want to make the arrest, I can assist."

    So he "assisted". And off they went - (not including the victim)

    --
    Rich

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  • From Bernie Cosell@21:1/5 to All on Tue Sep 20 20:59:48 2022
    Barry Gold <[email protected]> wrote:

    } On 9/19/2022 9:22 PM, RichD wrote:
    } > Yesterday, at a bus station, I noticed a security guard,
    } > employed by a private contractor. He wore a uniform,
    } > with a belt stuffed with gadgets, including a heavy baton.
    } >
    } > In what circumstances is he authorized to swing that?
    }
    } In most states, he is authorized to use that baton only in the same
    } circumstances as any other civilian: to defend himself or somebody else
    } against attack.

    Ah -- I think that's the key observation [that I didn't know]: that even thought he may be an off-duty cop, as a mall cop he is, basically, just a citizen and can only really do what any citizen could.

    He's paid, supposedly, not to just run away from a threatening situation, I guess.

    /Bernie\
    --
    Bernie Cosell Fantasy Farm Fibers
    [email protected] Pearisburg, VA
    --> Too many people, too few sheep <--

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  • From Roy@21:1/5 to Bernie Cosell on Tue Sep 20 21:55:13 2022
    On 9/20/2022 8:59 PM, Bernie Cosell wrote:
    ...

    Ah -- I think that's the key observation [that I didn't know]: that even thought he may be an off-duty cop, as a mall cop he is, basically, just a citizen and can only really do what any citizen could.

    He's paid, supposedly, not to just run away from a threatening situation, I guess.

    /Bernie\

    If the person is an off-duty cop then there may be different rules in
    some jurisdiction. As an example, a typical mall cop may not have a gun however an off-duty cop could be armed (mall cop or just a shopper).

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  • From Barry Gold@21:1/5 to RichD on Wed Sep 21 11:22:46 2022
    On 9/20/2022 8:54 PM, RichD wrote:
    I remember one episode of Adam-12: a homeowner had somebody who
    had committed a misdemeanor (I forget if it
    was stealing something, trespassing, or an actual assault). He called
    LAPD, and the two lead cops showed up.
    Since it was a misdemeanor, they couldn't arrest the perp.
    huh?


    In California (and I suspect many other states), you can make an arrest
    for a misdemeanor ONLY if you witnessed it, but you can arrest for a
    felony if you have "probable cause" to believe that the arrestee
    committed it. This rule applies both to arrests by police and "citizens arrests".

    --
    I do so have a memory. It's backed up on DVD... somewhere...

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