Texas law?

Question

I noticed a lot of stores here where I walmart,that when someone is shoplifting the employees try to stop them,by physical force.I am all for stopping shop lifters,but is that legal.I thought in a place of buisness the only thing that they could do was call the cops.

Answer 1

I don't know the law, but company policy should prevent employees from taking the law into their own hands...mainly to protect the employee.

Answer 2

I'm not exactly sure on this, but I have heard that employees are not allowed to use physical force; even in cases of Citizen's arrest. Every state, county is different, so your best bet would be to check the law books. Good luck!

edit:

United States

All states other than North Carolina permit citizen arrests if a felony crime is witnessed by the citizen carrying out the arrest, or when a citizen is asked to help apprehend a suspect by the police. The application of state laws varies widely with respect to misdemeanor crimes, breaches of the peace, and felonies not witnessed by the arresting party. Note particularly that American citizens do not have the authorities or the legal protections of the police, and are liable before both the civil law and criminal law for any violation of the rights of another. In the United States, the police do not have to determine the legality of the citizens arrest and this practice has been greatly criticized.

North Carolina General Statutes do not provide for citizen arrest, but instead provide for detention by private persons. [4] These statues apply both to civilians and to police officers outside their jurisdiction. Citizens and police may detain any person whom they have probable cause to believe committed in their presence a felony, breach of the peace, physical injury to another person, or theft or destruction of property. The key distinction between an arrest and a detainment is that the detainee may not be transported without their consent.

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I found this on Wikipedia, I hope it helps answer your question.

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Another link:

http://ask.yahoo.com/ask/20010220.html

Answer 3

have you tried talking to the people themselves? I know that when we first moved to our 80 acres, we didn't have all the money in the world to start out with. We had to keep our horses in small pens too., for about 4 months. now we have a nice big pen and are working on our pastures. They didn't have shelter either. They did fine. I live in South Dakota. If the horse looks healthy...whats wrong with it? If you don't see them every day and you don't know if they are excersising the horse...I took mine for walks and still do. It's a nice spending that time with them. I ride them too, but I don't like it to be all work and no play. I would try to befriend the people. Find out the situation. A lot of horses live their life in a small stall at a fancy stable...their owners might come see them twice a month...that doesn't make the horse any happier. Now that horse who is in a 20 x 20 pen, probably see it's owner 2 times a day, gets talked to, brushed and loved every day. It's a happy horse. This is just my thoughts. I could see calling the humane society if the pen was filled with crap and there was a starving, unhappy horse standing in the crap...but even if it was in a pasture, it would still be standing in mud. Not everyone has the same situation but sometimes befriending helps more than just calling the law.

Answer 4

Ever hear of a Citizen's Arrest? Besides, those "employees" are actually private security company personnel hired by Walmart and other similar businesses. It IS legal indeed. They have to be extra careful of not making a mistake because of lawsuits, though (like falsely accusing someone).

Answer 5

yes it is! Sec. 9.43 in the Texas penal code - A person
is justified in using force or deadly force against another to
protect land or tangible, movable property of a third person if,
under the circumstances as he reasonably believes them to be, the actor would be justified under Section 9.41 or 9.42 in using force or deadly force to protect his own land or property and:
(1) the actor reasonably believes the unlawful interference constitutes attempted or consummated theft of or criminal mischief to the tangible, movable property; or
(2) the actor reasonably believes that:
(A) the third person has requested his protection of the land or property;
(B) he has a legal duty to protect the third person's land or property; or
(C) the third person whose land or property he
uses force or deadly force to protect is the actor's spouse, parent, or child, resides with the actor, or is under the actor's care

so the employee would be the actor and there boss would be the third person (even though they don't own the property they asked you on behalf of walmart to protect it)
if you want to know more check out the link (every law in texas)

Answer 6

Nope, depending on the state. But generally, any citizen is allowed to forcibly detain another if he/she has committed a crime. But, the police will need to be called, they just cant hold them indefinately.

Answer 7

You really need advice from a Texas lawyers. Also, you might try Texas legal aid.

Below are some texas legal directories that might help locate a lawyer:

http://www.austin-texas-lawyers-attorneys-directory.com/austin-legal-services.htm

http://www.dallas-fort-worth-texas-lawyers-attorneys-directory.com/dallas-legal-services.htm

http://www.houston-texas-lawyers-attorneys-directory.com/houston-legal-services.htm

http://www.san-antonio-texas-lawyers-attorneys-directory.com
http://www.las-vegas-nevada-lawyer-attorney-legal-injury-defense-directory.com
http://www.brokerforyou.com/san-diego-real-estate-sales.html
http://www.legal-advice-library.info

Answer 8

legal in the state of Texas......for instance did that there DVD player look to you like it needed stealing?

Answer 9

No, that is legal and necessary!