Knife-wielding shoplifter charged in Hennepin County Court

[Don of the Dead]

Howdy folks!

Don here in MN, I hear the 2 LP are doing OK, one is my brothers co-workers roommate. One got stabbed in the leg and one in the arm, they were treated and released, thank God.

I am lucky enough to work for a company that does allow us to carry defensive weapons. We are trained and carry both pepper spray (which I have used) and an Asp baton (which I hope to NEVER use). We are also allowed to wear protective vests if we wish to, my partner wears one I do not.

[Ewfr 'Gomulee]

Loss Prevention Officers over here in England are NEVER armed and are not, generally, allowed to wear anti Stab or Anti Ballistics vests because of all of the Political correctness going on over here it's also very hard for LPOs to arrest people.

I was an LPO over the Christmas period (Inhouse) and I came across quite a few people taking stuff but was almost arrested on a charge of Racism because I attempted to arrest a man from Pakistan, he called me a racist and I was given a warning.

Hope those Officers pull through though.

[Piper_1]

The company I work for makes it mandatory for LPO staff to attend and pass PPCT training, ground fighting tactics, speed cuffing, and knife awareness/stab avoidance training. We also get non-confrontational intervention training so that we don't have to get to a physical stage. We also are provincially licensed and certified to carry and use cuffs and batons (provided you meet certain training requirements). In the case of the company I work for, we complete our training with the local police force and are expected to perform to their standards in order to get our certification recognized provincially for licensing purposes.

There is another thing that comes to my mind - sometimes $100.00 of merchandise is just not worth my life, and I'll be honest about that. No matter how much training you have - there are times that your personal safety is being compromised and the smart thing to do is back off and dial 911. I have had one incident where an individual pulled a needle on my partner and I. We backed off, called 911 and followed the suspect at a safe distance - we got the merchandise back, the suspect was caught, and my partner and I got home safe and sound that night. Situational awareness is something that is stressed to us at all times, and it's the one factor you personally can control at all times.

[bpdblue]

Isn't funny.....

That the bad guy will fight two unarmed guards, but give up to the police.

Hmmmmmmmmm, what was the difference between the two groups, was it the uniforms, hair cuts, I just can't figure it out.

OH, wait a minute, the police may have had some type of weapon, yeah, that's the ticket. (That could have punched the bad guy's ticket )

[NRM_Oz]

I would like it further recognised globally that LP does have a dark side where people will arm themselves with whatever they can find to avoid detection and arrest. Worst part is a sales girl who says "excuse me would you like to pay for that here, sir" could be stabbed because she followed customer service protocols and some mongrel brings out a knife or syringe to cause injury.

[LPAjh9558]

Thanks, Curt & LPA! (You've only yourself to blame for my presence, Mr. Baillie... I followed a link you posted over there to get here. )

Now you've joined the "Dark Side!"

[Lynch Mob]

Am I the only one here concerned that the overwhelming response to this article is that LP agents should be armed to protect themselves?

[Curtis Baillie]

Thanks...I believe there is much to learn from both sites.

[darkenna]

Welcome to the site.

Thanks, Curt & LPA! (You've only yourself to blame for my presence, Mr. Baillie... I followed a link you posted over there to get here. )

[Curtis Baillie]

We had a situation similar to this in one of my stores last week. LP team observes a pair of scruffs who had hit the store before going about the same M.O. as they had on the previous hits. 2 LPOs set themselves up outside the doors, 2 stay on CCTV. PD is contacted and set themselves up in the parking lot. (Yeah, it was one of those, "yup, they're gonna be fighters" situations.) Scruff #1 goes out the doors empty-handed and starts to get into a car (stolen) which was backed into a parking space just outside the doors and idling. Scruff #2 gets out the doors with the trash bag of merchandise. LPOs attempt to app Scruff #2, Scruff #1 takes off on foot. PD pursues scruff 1 (2 marked units & 2 unmarked, 3 uniforms, 1 detective, 1 det-sgt...), Scruff #2 is fighting with LPOs. LPOs manage to get him down, he's got something in his hand and his other hand is reaching for his coat pocket. LPOs try to keep his hand out of the pocket while getting cuffs on him and keeping whatever is in his other hand pinned. One of the LPOs manages to get what's in his hand away from him and tosses it aside as 3rd LPO arrives from CCTV. Takes all 3 to get the Scruff cuffed; moment they do, fight goes out of him. Item that was tossed away? Small can of pepper spray. When Scruff #2 is searched, a sharpened screwdriver is found in his coat pocket.

You never know what they're gonna have.

Welcome to the site.

[bigdog]

We have just had our laws changed in NSW, Australia giving security personnel a bit more power (in our duties including powers of arrest and conducting searches if we fear for our safety) but ironically no handcuffs are allowed for violent people. I have positive and negative views of using handcuffs as the mentality of many LP is to play bondage queens and cuff their friends for the fun of it when on duty.

As people are becoming more desperate they will steal anything not tied down and some of these people are not afraid to use any weapons or means to evade arrest or to threaten or initmidate those offering customer service (would you like to pay for those 4 Xbox units inside your coat ?). Some of the horror stories I am hearing and see in the news make me wonder what is the next stage of offender violence around the globe. The worse thing I heard of last year was an internal who are fired and arrested by the police for dealing big time at work and her having her b/f and brothers come back and tap dance on the head of the LPM as he went to his car in broad daylight.

wow thats an odd law.

[LPAjh9558]

We have just had our laws changed in NSW, Australia giving security personnel a bit more power (in our duties including powers of arrest and conducting searches if we fear for our safety) but ironically no handcuffs are allowed for violent people. I have positive and negative views of using handcuffs as the mentality of many LP is to play bondage queens and cuff their friends for the fun of it when on duty.

As people are becoming more desperate they will steal anything not tied down and some of these people are not afraid to use any weapons or means to evade arrest or to threaten or initmidate those offering customer service (would you like to pay for those 4 Xbox units inside your coat ?). Some of the horror stories I am hearing and see in the news make me wonder what is the next stage of offender violence around the globe. The worse thing I heard of last year was an internal who are fired and arrested by the police for dealing big time at work and her having her b/f and brothers come back and tap dance on the head of the LPM as he went to his car in broad daylight.

To my knowledge...at the most LP's are only allowed handcuffs (if even that). And they do seem to be toys for a select number of LP's. We were told upon begining our employment that being caught playing with them on duty and even off (during lunch) could be grounds for dismissal. The handcuffs weren't to be seen unless they were needed for an apprehension or a violent suspect.

You're right! The way things are going now, people will steal whatever they can. I'm curious to see what the "next stage" will be also.

[NRM_Oz]

We have just had our laws changed in NSW, Australia giving security personnel a bit more power (in our duties including powers of arrest and conducting searches if we fear for our safety) but ironically no handcuffs are allowed for violent people. I have positive and negative views of using handcuffs as the mentality of many LP is to play bondage queens and cuff their friends for the fun of it when on duty.

As people are becoming more desperate they will steal anything not tied down and some of these people are not afraid to use any weapons or means to evade arrest or to threaten or initmidate those offering customer service (would you like to pay for those 4 Xbox units inside your coat ?). Some of the horror stories I am hearing and see in the news make me wonder what is the next stage of offender violence around the globe. The worse thing I heard of last year was an internal who are fired and arrested by the police for dealing big time at work and her having her b/f and brothers come back and tap dance on the head of the LPM as he went to his car in broad daylight.

[LPAjh9558]

The more that you hear about these stories from other LP's, the more you really wonder why and/or how we're not allowed to carry anything. At least a can of pepper spray or something would help

It's good to know that everyone came out of the situation unharmed I really think that this is a very important issue that could be looked into further down the road.....1 can only hope for the best!

BTW...welcome aboard.

[darkenna]

After getting the guy on the ground, the LP went to handcuff him but somehow he managed to get to his feet and the fight was on again. How did he manage to get to his feet At one point the individual reached into his pocket for something and at which point the LP took his handcuffs and struck the suspect in the chest, sending him to the ground. After handcuffing the suspect a body search was conducted and in his pocket was a large knife

We had a situation similar to this in one of my stores last week. LP team observes a pair of scruffs who had hit the store before going about the same M.O. as they had on the previous hits. 2 LPOs set themselves up outside the doors, 2 stay on CCTV. PD is contacted and set themselves up in the parking lot. (Yeah, it was one of those, "yup, they're gonna be fighters" situations.) Scruff #1 goes out the doors empty-handed and starts to get into a car (stolen) which was backed into a parking space just outside the doors and idling. Scruff #2 gets out the doors with the trash bag of merchandise. LPOs attempt to app Scruff #2, Scruff #1 takes off on foot. PD pursues scruff 1 (2 marked units & 2 unmarked, 3 uniforms, 1 detective, 1 det-sgt...), Scruff #2 is fighting with LPOs. LPOs manage to get him down, he's got something in his hand and his other hand is reaching for his coat pocket. LPOs try to keep his hand out of the pocket while getting cuffs on him and keeping whatever is in his other hand pinned. One of the LPOs manages to get what's in his hand away from him and tosses it aside as 3rd LPO arrives from CCTV. Takes all 3 to get the Scruff cuffed; moment they do, fight goes out of him. Item that was tossed away? Small can of pepper spray. When Scruff #2 is searched, a sharpened screwdriver is found in his coat pocket.

You never know what they're gonna have.