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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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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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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Barry Gold <bgold@labcats.org> 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
bernie@fantasyfarm.com Pearisburg, VA
--> Too many people, too few sheep <--

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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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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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