I got someone arrested yesterday.

[Miss Magic8ball]

Last night I was working at work(duh) and some guy comes in. He asks me repeatedly for free stuff. After I told him for the 5 time NO, he finally gave up. then, he asked me if the till where I was was a kissing booth. I gave him my best glare. He left me alone.

Then, he went to the next till where my coworker, Shawna, was.

He started to flrit with her, but in a bad way. Then, he reached out and pinched her hip. Her being a quiet person, she jsut stepped back and kinda looked uncomfortable. He got told to leave by Melissa, my OTHER coworker, but he didn't leave, he just kinda loitered. Then, he came up to me and asked me if he would "feel up my shirt for a minute". I told him to fuck off and get the hell out. He left. We called the cops.

An hour later, the idiot came back. We called the cops again, without the dude knowing, and then 10 minutes later when after I finally got it through his head that No, I couldn't sell him snuff because he told me he was 17, the cops were waiting outside. They handcuffed him. And arrested him.

It pisses me off that poeple would be like that.

Was I wrong to get him arrested?

[airdisc]

No. The guy sounds like an ass.

[iampunha]

You didn't get him arrested. HE got his ass arrested. You merely aided in the process.:)

[Miss Magic8ball]

Well, yes, there is that...

But still. What if I ruined his chance at getting a job? Or being a police officer? You can't be a police officer if you ahve any charges on your record.

I kinda feel bad.

[Caffeine.addict]

You didn't do anything. He was a dumbass. He is the one who screwed around and got arrested. He was the one who tried to get you to steal for him, he was the one who tried to grope one of your coworkers, and he is the one who trespassed after being told to leave.

If getting arrested keeps him from being a cop, then you did a GOOD thing. Would you want this dumbass as a cop? Would you want him walking around town with a gun and authority?

[SPOOFE]

What if I ruined his chance at getting a job?
YOU didn't ruin his chance at getting a job. His desire to fondle your - ahem - "shirt" did. Besides, if he was 17, then this infraction will be wiped off his record in short order, anyway.

Hopefully, while in the clink, some big, meaty, scary guy named Bubba made a few gestures to Our Friendly Asshole that were similar to those he made towards you and your coworkers. Maybe that'll scare him straight. Think of it this way: You just did the best possible thing you could do for this guy. Congratulations. In my opinion, you deserve the Congressional Medal of Honor.

[waterj2]

Or being a police officer? You can't be a police officer if you ahve any charges on your record.
If he's the type of guy that grabs random store clerks and pinches their hips, I don't think it's really in society's best interest to give him a badge.

[Dijon Warlock]

Originally posted by SPOOFE
In my opinion, you deserve the Congressional Medal of Honor. Well, yeah, but only because Carter hogged that Nobel all to himself.

No, M8B, you did the right thing. I wouldn't be surprised if in his mind it was your (all of you, not just you personally) fault he got arrested; but that's just the way some people think (if you can call it that).

[Had a relative once who was mad at me because he had to spend the night in jail and it was my fault! Why? Because he got drunk off his ass at a football game and got thrown out of the stadium and hauled downtown. He called me (I was at work) to come down and bail him out. I explained to him that I couldn't leave work, as I was the only one there, and besides, I didn't have the $250 (or whatever it was) to bail him out anyway. Thus, it was MY fault he was in jail. I don't think it even occured to him that his own actions might have had something to do with it.]

As people have said, you didn't ruin his chances of getting a job.

[Blalron]

That dumbass got himself arrested.

While we're on the subject, why the fuck are people so fucking retarded? Where did this guy get the idea that he could go up to some stranger and ask to grab her boobs?

He'll be out on the streets in no time at all, magic8ball. Where he'll probably be doing more begging and ass grabbing, but hopefully somewhere else.

[phouka]

Actually, m8b, I think you should do that more often. If the idiots out there had to face consequences like arrest and jailtime for their churlish behavior more often, we might not see such idiotic behavior as often as we do.

[Cat Whisperer]

When I used to work at a medical clinic in downtown Winnipeg, we had to have people arrested all the time - probably once a week. It just comes with the territory in some jobs; please don't feel badly, Magic 8Ball. You did nothing wrong, and you didn't ruin anything for him. It sounds like you and your co-workers gave him every opportunity to act like a decent citizen, and if he just couldn't find it in him, too bad for him. I feel badly for you and your co-workers, being in a situation where you may have felt threatened and scared by his erratic, inappropriate, and possibly dangerous behaviour.

[Snooooopy]

"Senator Packwood, please come and get your son. He is being an ass in public again."

[Siege]

Magic8ball, what if the job he doesn't get is working with you? Part of being a civilized human being is accepting the consequence of your own actions. He acted unacceptably; hopefully he finds the consequences unacceptable. Maybe he'll even have a harder time next time of convincing himself that "girls like that/me." Normally, I'm not in favor of having people arrested for acting like jerks -- we don't have that much room in our jails. In this case, not only was he acting like a jerk, he was behaving a bit dangerously, especially with regard to the person he pinched.

Ever notice how it's the good people who wonder if they're doing wrong? [sigh!]

CJ

[Sublight]

Others have already said it, but I just wanted to voice my agreement: you did the right thing. Anything ruined for him, he ruined through his own actions. If anything, you're doing him a favor: by getting arrested (and appropriately punished, hopefully) for this, it just might get through to him that this kind of behavior won't fly before he starts going on to bigger and worse things. I doubt that it will, unfortunately, but you never know.

As for him not becoming a cop, I can't think of anything better for the people of your town. Can you imagine how much more obnoxious (and dangerous) this guy would be with a badge, nightstick and gun?

[The Green Feather]

Originally posted by cjhoworth

Ever notice how it's the good people who wonder if they're doing wrong?

And the ones who are doing wrong are blaming everyone else for their problems? It's your fault I got arrested. It's society's fault I got fired. It's [pick the group you want to blame] fault for [pick your latest problem.]

Don't blame your self for this jerks behavior. At least he'll be off the street for a short time.

[ivylass]

Ditto. There is nothing to feel bad about. Do not feel guilty. You did your store and your neighbors a favor by getting this twit off the streets for a bit.

Never be ashamed to defend yourself or your property.

[Neil]

Okay, assuming this guy was sober...(I don't know if he was or wasn't), how the hell do some guys get the idea that they'll get some from girls like that? Are there girls somewhere who would be thrilled by this sort of attention?

[Miss Magic8ball]

You know, everything that you guys have said si EXACTLY what my boss said. She got back today from a gambling trip in Nevada, and she told me that I did the smart thing. You never know... I might even get a raise!!!

The police dude came by today and asked us if we wanted to press charges... I don't think I will.

[iampunha]

At the very least, does this guy realize what he did wrong and *why* it was wrong?

[Miss Magic8ball]

I dunno. He prolly thinks he was just being a stud.

[GingerOfTheNorth]

Originally posted by brujo
If getting arrested keeps him from being a cop, then you did a GOOD thing. Would you want this dumbass as a cop? Would you want him walking around town with a gun and authority?
The city police in Yellowknife ("By-law")do not carry guns. The RCMP do, though.

[Miss Magic8ball]

Yeah.. We refer to the bylaw as "rent-a-cops"

[Caffeine.addict]

What's the by-law?

[GingerOfTheNorth]

By-law enforcement officers. City police. Toy cops.

[Bryan Ekers]

You actually worked at work?






Sucker.

[RexDart]

Getting customers, loiterers and trespassers arrested is pretty much the best thing about those jobs. It's interesting and breaks up the doldrums and monotony. Carding minors for alchohol is a good rush, denying them is priceless, but nothing beats calling the cops. That's real power. After spending so long at the mercy of customers' stupid whims, and the tyranny of management, I find it's nice to exert a little control over a$$holes from time to time.

[Skid Row]

{hijack} ...and the guy starts as a Sr. Special Contributor for Sexual Harassment issues on the Fox News Channel next Suunday. See! You didn't keep him from finding a job! {hijack}

[Skid Row]

{hijack} ...and the guy starts as a Sr. Special Contributor for Sexual Harassment issues on the Fox News Channel next Sunday. See! You didn't keep him from finding a job! {hijack}

[LolaBaby]

If you did press charges, what would the charges be?

...and another late vote for "you did the right thing."

[iampunha]

Boy, it's a good thing your SN isn't Skid Marks, or there'd be some really obvious jokes to make about your posts;)

[iampunha]

Er, it should be rather obvious to even the less-than-casual reader that my comment was not directed at Lola:)

[Jimbrowski]

Originally posted by magic8ball
The police dude came by today and asked us if we wanted to press charges... I don't think I will.

Why not???

C'mon... you've already shown considerable (fortitude), keep up the good work!

Having him arrested then not pressing charges is like sending a bad child to bed without his supper and then... bringing him his supper.

Since this incident happened to you on the job, your employer (go to the owner or corporate level, not just your immediate boss) will most likely hire a lawyer to represent you during any deposition or court appearance (mostly to keep his attorney at bay: <his_attorney> "Well Miss 8ball, what were you doing to provoke my client's otherwise innocent behavior?" <your_attorney> "OBJECTION!")

Stick to your guns, please. This guy definitely falls into the category of "those who need to be taught a lesson".

[Badge]

You need to press charges. This guy assaulted your coworker (by pinching her), trespassed (by returning after being told to leave), and possibly committed some type of harassment charge (depending on local laws). He needs to face some consequences for what he did.

His behavior really worries me. He shows all the signs of a latent sex offender. If he had found one of you alone instead of all three together, he might have done far more than touching. You need to get him into the system so he can be tracked, in case he commits more violent crimes in the future.

[Caffeine.addict]

I agree with everyone that said to press charges. You'll be doing society a favor by putting this guy in the system. Hell, you'll be doing him a favor by helping teach him that his actions do have consequences.

[Left Hand of Dorkness]

I've gotten someone arrested before, too, and I didn't even give her any sort of warning first.

Of course, I only found out who she was after she was arrested, so I didn't have an opportunity to say, "Please don't steal my paycheck from my mailbox," to her before the handcuffs went on.

I say press charges.

Daniel

[CRorex]

You gave him warning before you called the cops?

Bah.

[Cat Whisperer]

If the kid is only 17 years old, the hassle that Magic8Ball would go through pressing charges wouldn't be worth the punishment he'd get at the end of it. At most (from what I understand of Canada's Young Offenders stuff) he would be put in some kind of juvenile detention centre where he could learn to be a real criminal. I think the point has been made to the kid already, by having him removed from the store by the police.

[Jimbrowski]

featherlou, I couldn't agree with you less. In fact, if this is his first offense he won't get juvie at all - most likely nothing more than a slap on the wrist (while what he really needs is a good smack upside the head).

Yes, it will be a hassle for magic8ball, and it is very unfortunate that some idiot made a hassle for her (first hassle was when it happened, second hassle is prosecuting him for it).

I can't speak for her and can't tell her what to do, but this seems like such a clear cut case (she even has two other witnesses/complaintants) that there won't even be any discussion of whether or not he is guilty. The prosecutor will probably plead to some petty offense and it won't (probably) even go to trial.

Yes, it's easy for me to suggest that someone else go through the hassle. But she's an adult (or at least acting like one), and can take my advice or not take my advice.

magic8ball, I advise you press charges mercilessly. featherlou advises otherwise. Take your pick, but I wish you all the best either way.

[Miss Magic8ball]

I don't think I'm going to press charges. Featherlou was right... when hes 18 it'l be wiped off his record; so whats the point?

Plus, I think he was in the mental part of the hospital; You know, where the crazy poeple are... Thats what he told police, any way...


And If I pressed charges it would be for verbal molestation or abuse or whatever...

[Odesio]

Originally posted by magic8ball
Well, yes, there is that...

But still. What if I ruined his chance at getting a job? Or being a police officer? You can't be a police officer if you ahve any charges on your record.

I kinda feel bad.

I do believe felony charges would prevent someone from being a police officer but most misdemeaners would not. So what if it did stop him from becoming an officer? He made his own bed now he can sleep in it.

Marc

[erislover]

When I worked at Taco Bell I used to get people arrested all the time. Being late night and all that, lots of drunk drivers. But, silly them, they figure the regular Joe behind the window wouldn't care that they are sitting there with their beer bottles and cans between their legs (after all, we're only the same Joes that pick up the fucking parking lot after they throw all their trash out there—including the beer bottles!).

The awesome thing is that they are of course there to order food, and late nights are always a little slow to begin with, so when they are waiting at the window—ostensively for their food—as I look busy they think nothing of it. The cops show up (obscured by the building), I hand out the now a little cold food (but they won't be eating it anyway) and smile my biggest, warmest smile like the folks at Pepsi-co want me to.