On Sat,  6 Sep 2008 14:35:05 +0100, "Wm..."
 wrote:

>Tue, 2 Sep 2008 02:30:07 
> 
>uk.legal.moderated Ste 
>
>>> > Even then, it remains open to question whether the security guard
>>> > performed the arrest lawfully - he did not state at any time that I
>>> > was under arrest (and Asda's defence asserts that I was in fact free
>>> > to go), or what offence I was suspected of committing.
>>>
>>> Umm, how do you know you were arrested? I mean, did somebody touch you, how
>>> long were you detained for, how many security guards, etc?
>>
>>Yes, the security guard placed his hand on my elbow as I moved to
>>leave - at that point I became aware that I was not free to leave. I
>>further put it to the security guard that if I was not free to leave,
>>I was going to call 999. He nodded in astonishment, and at that point
>>I rang the police.
>>
>>There was 1 guard initially, and a second joined him while I spoke to
>>the police operator.
>>
>>In all, it lasted 20-30 minutes.
>>
>
>Perhaps I am the only person in this group that is puzzled by what Ste 
>is saying.

I think you are, yes.

Although you are asking him, I am sure enough of what he has been
saying to answer.

>
>To the OP: were you stealing or not?

No he wasn't.

>
>If you weren't stealing I don't understand why you didn't just show your 
>receipt and continue with life as a whole.

Because he didn't appreciate the way he was approached and dealt with,
and so quote reasonably refused to cooperate.


>
>I sort of see why an inappropriate arrest could be upsetting, but I 
>don't understand why the OP didn't say "look, here is my receipt" and 
>left it at that.
>
>I am not in love with officious people, when I leave a store and an 
>alarm goes off I stop and look around, "is it me"?
>
>Did the OP behave very differently?

I'm not at all sure he was given the chance to do that before the
store guard was blocking his path.

But I'm not quite clear on that, it may be that the store guard only
stopped him when it was already obvious he wasn't stopping.
-- 
Alex Heney, Global Villager
Always glad to share my ignorance - I've got plenty.
To reply by email, my address is alexATheneyDOTplusDOTcom

On Sep 8, 1:15 am, Alex Heney  wrote:
>
> >I sort of see why an inappropriate arrest could be upsetting, but I
> >don't understand why the OP didn't say "look, here is my receipt" and
> >left it at that.
>
> >I am not in love with officious people, when I leave a store and an
> >alarm goes off I stop and look around, "is it me"?
>
> >Did the OP behave very differently?
>
> I'm not at all sure he was given the chance to do that before the
> store guard was blocking his path.

Yes I was given that chance.


> But I'm not quite clear on that, it may be that the store guard only
> stopped him when it was already obvious he wasn't stopping.

The security guard ran to catch up with me, and when he did so I
stopped to speak with him. I was not impolite towards him, I did not
shout, and I did not make any sudden movements (indeed I told him at
each stage what I intended to do). Also, it was not the security
guard's manner that was impolite, and in fact my issue is not with the
security guard personally as he was almost certainly doing what he was
expected to do by his employer.

Indeed, I was quite sympathetic initially, thinking the guard had made
a *personal* mistake. But having written to the company and receiving
no reply, and then in non-verbal terms being told to piss off by the
assistant manager two weeks later, it is clear the company was not
repentant, and was reasonable grounds to suspect (hehe) that they are
complicit in such unlawful behaviour by security employees.

The laugh of all this is, as someone has pointed out, they could have
sent a grovelling apology (whether sincere or not), and some gift
vouchers as a "gesture of goodwill" (£40, say, which I would probably
have passed on to my mother), and I would have been totally satisfied.