# Clerk beats thief with stick - can clerk and store be sued? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [August 4, 2023, 6:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/clerk-beats-thief-with-stick-can-clerk-and-store-be-sued/988068 "2023-08-04T18:46:06Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2023, 8:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/clerk-beats-thief-with-stick-can-clerk-and-store-be-sued/988068/21 "2023-08-05T08:20:17Z")
They have been desensitized by watching too much Punch and Judy. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_other_waldo_pepper/32/12370_2.png) [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Other_Waldo_Pepper)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2023, 9:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/clerk-beats-thief-with-stick-can-clerk-and-store-be-sued/988068/22 "2023-08-05T09:36:05Z")
> [@El\_DeLuxo](#): > > Everyone who approves of this brutality should take a long look at those comments and see what kind of filth they’re agreeing with. Done! ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2023, 11:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/clerk-beats-thief-with-stick-can-clerk-and-store-be-sued/988068/23 "2023-08-05T11:53:14Z")
> [@enipla](#): > > Did no one call the cops? There where people outside that where seeing this. I’d be hesitant to call 911 when there’s a chance a cop will arrive and shoot someone. ---
**Author:** ![Common\_Tater](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/common_tater/32/13846_2.png) [@Common\_Tater](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Common_Tater)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2023, 11:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/clerk-beats-thief-with-stick-can-clerk-and-store-be-sued/988068/24 "2023-08-05T11:56:42Z")
Well, sure. Good luck finding anyone who cares. If you’re emptying the store out with a rollaway garbage can, you’re committing a crime, too. N.b. I’m not agreeing with or “approving” of any of this, I’m just pointing out it isn’t surprising, or put another way _what did you expect?_ People have to get it in their heads these kinds of beatdowns are the natural order of things when things break down. Outsourcing law enforcement to a paid cadre of duly sworn officers is pretty recent, all things considered. ---
**Author:** ![msmith537](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d9b06d/32.png) [@msmith537](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/msmith537)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2023, 12:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/clerk-beats-thief-with-stick-can-clerk-and-store-be-sued/988068/25 "2023-08-05T12:24:38Z")
Why didn’t they drive the thief away with happy thoughts and unicorn kisses? ---
**Author:** ![Dag\_Otto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/439d5e/32.png) [@Dag\_Otto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dag_Otto)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2023, 1:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/clerk-beats-thief-with-stick-can-clerk-and-store-be-sued/988068/26 "2023-08-05T13:27:56Z")
A thief stole all the unicorn kisses and happy thoughts the day before. All the store had left were cigarettes and a stick. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2023, 1:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/clerk-beats-thief-with-stick-can-clerk-and-store-be-sued/988068/27 "2023-08-05T13:49:20Z")
Now, see, this is exactly why we need agencies tasked with enforcing the law and maintaining order. Does anyone know of any cities that have created such an agency? ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2023, 1:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/clerk-beats-thief-with-stick-can-clerk-and-store-be-sued/988068/28 "2023-08-05T13:51:34Z")
> [@Common\_Tater](#): > > or put another way _what did you expect?_ The modern term being FAFO–fuck around, find out. ---
**Author:** ![Common\_Tater](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/common_tater/32/13846_2.png) [@Common\_Tater](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Common_Tater)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2023, 3:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/clerk-beats-thief-with-stick-can-clerk-and-store-be-sued/988068/29 "2023-08-05T15:19:12Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > Does anyone know of any cities that have created such an agency? That’s the hell of it. We live in a police state, how come there’s so much crime? ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2023, 7:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/clerk-beats-thief-with-stick-can-clerk-and-store-be-sued/988068/30 "2023-08-05T19:20:25Z")
Police don’t prevent or deter crime. Police occasionally foil crime in progress and mostly take reports on crime that already happened and is over and done. If you want to have low / no crime then address the social, cultural, economic, and child rearing practices which drive the desire for that behavior. _And_ have police ready and available to push back at the margin. But the fix is not at the margin; it’s at the center of the source. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2023, 7:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/clerk-beats-thief-with-stick-can-clerk-and-store-be-sued/988068/31 "2023-08-05T19:40:15Z")
> [@Johnny\_Bravo](#): > > Hint: if you’re beating somebody’s ass and they’re begging you to stop, you’re committing a crime. If you’re beating somebody’s ass so they don’t stab you with a knife you’re not committing a crime. Given a good reason to start beating them then they may try to get you stop whether you should or not. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2023, 8:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/clerk-beats-thief-with-stick-can-clerk-and-store-be-sued/988068/32 "2023-08-05T20:05:48Z")
I did not watch the vid. Given a situation where I’m overmatched in weapons, number, weight, or youth, the fighting ends when they’re incapable of further hazardous movement. And not one blow or round before. Note I said “incapable” not “unwilling”. Unwillingness is subject to sudden revision; incapability not so much. ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2023, 8:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/clerk-beats-thief-with-stick-can-clerk-and-store-be-sued/988068/33 "2023-08-05T20:18:20Z")
> [@LSLGuy](#): > > I did not watch the vid. One guy tackled him and held him down while a second guy hit him fairly lightly a number of times on his lower legs with some sort of cane or rod. More of a moderate spanking than an ass-kicking. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2023, 8:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/clerk-beats-thief-with-stick-can-clerk-and-store-be-sued/988068/34 "2023-08-05T20:24:21Z")
> [@mbh](#): > > In California, if you steal less than $900, it’s only a misdemeanor, and many left-wing DAs refuse to prosecute those. Yeah, because it costs the government several thousands to prosecute. BUT- that guy threatened a deadly weapons- he’d be prosecuted. Repeat offenders or blatant ones are usually prosecuted. Or if not, the police will arrest and cite. But the dude stealing that “loaf of bread” will not be. Nor should he be, IMHO. Sure the shopkeeper can use his shopkeeper privilege to recover his stuff, and hold the perp until the cops get there- who in a sane world would take the perp to the station, run for priors and warrants, and if clean cite and release. Or just release. > [@Voyager](#): > > Defunding also means moving money for cops being social workers to trained social workers. > Now, the police department might be understaffed, but that in my Bay Area town at least is due to the housing crisis, not lack of money or positions. ACLU calls that “divest and invest” meaning a small % of funds are moved to social programs. Another reason for understaffing is Police Unions wanting more overtime. ---
**Author:** ![Tim\_T-Bonham.net](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/46a35a/32.png) [@Tim\_T-Bonham.net](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tim_T-Bonham.net)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2023, 12:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/clerk-beats-thief-with-stick-can-clerk-and-store-be-sued/988068/35 "2023-08-06T00:18:10Z")
> [@Voyager](#): > > Wrong. The budget for the police in San Francisco went up 4.4% from 2019 - 2022 > Cite: [SFPD budget up 4.4% since 2019, despite Mayor Breed, supervisors making bold promises to defund - ABC7 San Francisco](https://abc7news.com/sfpd-budget-defund-the-police-department-funding/12321818/) “Between 2019 and 2022: San Francisco experienced an average inflation rate of 3.48% per year.”\* So that 's a 13.92% inflation cost increase over those 4 years, thus a de-funding of 9.52%. Cite: [San Francisco price inflation, 2019→2022](https://www.in2013dollars.com/San-Francisco-California/price-inflation/2019-to-2022?amount=20) ---
**Author:** ![suranyi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e36b37/32.png) [@suranyi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/suranyi)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2023, 2:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/clerk-beats-thief-with-stick-can-clerk-and-store-be-sued/988068/36 "2023-08-06T02:00:31Z")
Geez, absolutely nobody has got a pay increase or a funding increase to match inflation. Why should the police be the exception? ---
**Author:** ![Mighty\_Mouse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mighty_mouse/32/7776_2.png) [@Mighty\_Mouse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mighty_Mouse)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2023, 2:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/clerk-beats-thief-with-stick-can-clerk-and-store-be-sued/988068/37 "2023-08-06T02:15:35Z")
Because they’re heroes! ---
**Author:** ![bump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7c8e57/32.png) [@bump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bump)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2023, 4:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/clerk-beats-thief-with-stick-can-clerk-and-store-be-sued/988068/38 "2023-08-06T16:05:23Z")
Around here (Dallas) the police are short-handed, but it’s not due to de-funding. Instead, it’s because the suburban departments all essentially have done the opposite- they pay considerably more for what amounts to cushy police jobs, and as a result, Dallas has a hard time retaining police. They come here, go through the academy, and then shortly thereafter quit and go work in the burbs. IIRC, the police budget has gone up the past few years, but not enough to lure officers back or retain them. There was also some shady/stupid goings-on with the police/fire pension that drove a lot away several years back. As far as that shoplifter is concerned, I don’t feel a lot of sympathy. You can’t just go steal shit and expect that there won’t be any consequences or retribution. Those guys could be franchisees, and that’s their life savings/livelihood on the shelves that the clown is stealing. ---
**Author:** ![enipla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/54ee81/32.png) [@enipla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/enipla)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2023, 5:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/clerk-beats-thief-with-stick-can-clerk-and-store-be-sued/988068/39 "2023-08-06T17:55:38Z")
> [@Darren\_Garrison](#): > > One guy tackled him and held him down while a second guy hit him fairly lightly a number of times on his lower legs with some sort of cane or rod. More of a moderate spanking than an ass-kicking. Disagree with that. It looked like a broom or mop handle. Hardly hit him lightly, and certainly not a moderate spanking. Being held down while someone beats you with a one inch diameter ‘stick’ is rage. I understand the rage though when he was told to leave and just continued to steal cigarettes and make a total mess that would take hours to put back together. The thief showed a knife. That’s assault I believe. The man that clubbed him was somewhat understandably very mad. The man with the stick could be charged with assault and battery I think. He should have just stood over the thief while the other person held him down. It was punishment. That’s what the fellow with the stick was doing. The guy with the camera, and the guy holding him down told him to stop. The thief is lucky he could walk away. ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2023, 6:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/clerk-beats-thief-with-stick-can-clerk-and-store-be-sued/988068/40 "2023-08-06T18:34:26Z")
I characterized it as hitting “fairly lightly” because apparently he didn’t break bones. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/clerk-beats-thief-with-stick-can-clerk-and-store-be-sued/988068.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/clerk-beats-thief-with-stick-can-clerk-and-store-be-sued/988068.md?page=3)