Impossible to say.
I didn't see where there was any footage prior to the woman being on the ground detained by the Loss Prevention Officer (LPO).
IF the LPO just tackled the woman without warning, that would be excessive and I think grounds for significant resistance by both the woman and anyone with her. Unknown men tackling women as they go about their business is a very serious matter, no?
OTOH, if the LPO made verbal contact first and the woman refused to stop, then I think the force is probably not excessive. We've had several reports in our (Utah) media recently of shoplifters getting very violent with LPOs. And once the thief leaves the premises (beyond the parking lot), I'd guess it is going to be all but impossible to ever make a case and recover the stolen property.
Given the woman's past record, and her refusal to even assert her innocence of the shoplifting charge, and her being charged with "shoving the loss prevention officer", I'm going to bet we have a case much closer to the latter than the former. How does she shove the LPO if he just tackles her without warning? Sounds to me like she was confronted by the LPO, got physical, and is now crying foul that the LPO returned the favor to physically detain her until the police arrived.
From the linked story:
"If I was doing anything wrong or I wasn't, he didn't have the rights to put his hands on me," said [the accused shoplifter].
The 31-year-old was charged with shoplifting and shoving the loss prevention officer.
...
"I’m innocent until proven guilty. But, even to that matter, if it was $5, $10, $1,500, there are ways ... I know there are ways around it," she said.
...
She has been convicted of petit larceny in the past.
I too am well past tired of paying more for what I buy to cover what the parasites among us think they have a right to steal. Moreover, we all suffer the inconvenience of more strict return / refund policies because thieves so often steal merchandise and then walk back into the store a short time later to return it for a refund.
How often is anyone wrongly accused of shoplifting by an LPO vs how often do shoplifters make a clean getaway?
Those who don't like being detained by LPOs should avoid shoplifting.
Charles
Trust me I got one fired, took a while but I got Wally World to get rid of him. You never see that kind of response with LEO's usually takes years instead of months. Since LPO's do not get paid what LEO's do, and are mostly non union it does have an affect on them.
