Timothy O’Neal, owner and president of Sacramento-based Protection Loss Prevention, says his officer used textbook police technique when he apprehended an alleged shoplifter Saturday afternoon across the street from the Arcata Co-op. O’Neal’s company has been contracted by the Co-op since 2011.
As we reported yesterday, bead store owner Michael King witnessed the tail end of the incident and later accused the unidentified loss prevention officer of using excessive force. King also said that the officer tried to confiscate his camera. O’Neal, who called the Journal from his company’s Sacramento headquarters this morning, offered a different take.
“That is a protocol armband hold,” O’Neal said of the pictures snapped by King. He said you can tell by the angle of the officer’s legs that he was keeping most of his weight on the front foot, not the knee kneeling on the woman’s neck. This technique, he said, is taught at police academies all over the world.
“It’s for his safety and her safety, having the knee toward the back of her neck,” O’Neal said. “It looks painful. It does. But we’re not dealing with somebody who’s just a victim.”
The Journal asked Arcata Police Detective Sgt. Todd Dokweiler to look at the photos and try to analyze the technique. “That doesn’t look to be drastically different than certain law enforcement handcuffing techniques,” Dokweiler said, though he added that it’s impossible to tell from photographs what level of force was used.
After speaking with his employee, whose name he would not reveal, O’Neal claimed that the loss prevention officer identified himself and tried to apprehend the woman after she left the store with stolen merchandise, but the woman resisted violently — running across the parking lot, hitting the officer, scratching his arms and finally throwing a cup of scalding-hot coffee on him.
And O’Neal vehemently denied that his employee tried to take King’s camera. “At no point did he ever say, ‘Give me your camera.’ He said, ‘Please do not take pictures of me.'”
King claims that the man repeatedly demanded his camera, even asking a Co-op employee to take it from him and then trying to enter the locked bead shop.
Melanie Bettenhausen, the North Coast Co-op’s outreach director, said that she couldn’t talk about the case due to privacy concerns and an ongoing investigation into the specifics. But she did say that the Co-op chose to contract with Protection Loss Prevention after verbal and physical threats against store employees got out of hand.
“We know we made the right choice, as the number and nature of thieves in our area has increased and gotten more violent over the years,” Bettenhausen said in an email. “We want to have a safe environment for our employees to work and our customers to shop.”
Asked whether there’s a policy about the loss prevention officers pursuing people off the property, Bettenhausen said management prefers them to remain on the premises and contact the police. “However, in order for the loss prevention company to do its job, we have to allow them to use their discretion when safety is an issue.”
This article appears in Marimba!.
It still would be more appropriate in my view to be in a uniform for safety reasons, she may have acted differently. If they continue to use this company and these tactics, I will gladly shop elsewhere.
Instead of putting her in a head lock a better thing to do would be to give her the bread to eat. She stole food not money. She’s hungry.
I own a grocery store… I often feed hungry people if they ask and are decent. Thievery sucks. I work hard and I don’t like being stolen from. I already accept food stamps, pay into social welfare programs, feed the hungry, and have a community garden that donates to the resource center. If you’re hungry there are better ways to find a meal. Stealing is wrong; hungry or not. I respect the co-op protecting themselves from theft. It really does hurt a business. And if your response is they can afford it, you are looking through a scratched lens. We can all afford to do a lot more than we do. But no one likes to be taken advantage of. Maybe next time she foresees hunger, she’ll go get a job or get on food stamps rather than reducing our society to thievery and brutality.
North Coast Co-op Dear Community Members,
The recent media coverage of one of our loss prevention officers arresting a shoplifter is unfortunate, as it inaccurately portrays the facts of this confidential incident. We can assure you that the situation was handled professionally. The loss prevention officer involved in the incident is a professionally trained post-certified law enforcement officer who reasonably responded defensively to apprehend an aggressive and combative shoplifter.
Police officers and security personnel must use special handhold and takedown techniques to subdue combative or violent suspects. The technique consists of a series of moves designed to control and bring a suspect down to the ground with the least amount of force, and injury to the arresting officer and the suspect. It is standard law enforcement procedure taught in any law enforcement training academy. After properly identifying himself as loss prevention for the Co-op, it became necessary to use reasonable force allowed by law to detain and apprehend the subject that was uncooperative, combative, and a safety concern. Our officer is required to make split decisions where safety is concerned, and he works hard to make sure any stop is resolved peacefully and cooperatively.
We wish we didn’t have regular incidents that require a contract with a loss prevention company, but both of our stores face very different situations–almost daily–that warrant asking for outside assistance. The number of verbal and physical assaults on our employees reached a point where we no longer felt equipped to manage it internally, and we made the decision to contract with a loss prevention company a few years ago. Over the years the number and nature of the theft in our area has increased and gotten more violent and we have been grateful to have a loss prevention officer on sight for the safety of our employees and shoppers, in addition to deterring theft.
With regards to the citizen’s camera, the loss prevention officer’s sole concern in contacting the camera owner was to request that the owner of the camera not publicize the photos in order to protect the identity of the perpetrator and the officer. Unfortunately, the media failed to mention that the loss prevention officer was accompanied by a local police officer when the attempt to contact the camera owner was made.
We hope that you can understand the position we are in to protect the perpetrator and that we conduct a thorough investigation of each incident. We recognize that how this situation is handled is very important to you. We care deeply about the community and thank those of you who have continued to support us over the years.
If you have further questions about this incident, please contact Melanie Bettenhausen at 826-8670 ext. 132 or melanieb@northcoastco-op.com
A shoplifter knows damned well when she is approached by someone identifying himself as store security just whose eyes she’s trying to claw out. Having assisted store security, as a retail store clerk, with just such apprehensions, I can tell you that all of the Monday morning quarterbacks have no idea WTF they would do under those circumstances. Once that woman began trying to physically harm the security officer, I say he’s done his job commendably if she’s able to walk back to the store with him under her own power. What’s more, the store is doing the rest of us a favor to limit its losses from thieves, who serve only to raise grocery prices for the rest of us.
http://www.times-standard.com/news/ci_2358…
CO-OP…..this is what happens when you stand behind this type of excessive force. Behavior is consistant, this officer will do this again. Did he have all his elements of arrest? What was the dollar amount to warrent such a pursuit? You do know you would be liable if in pursuit she was hit by a vehicle or injured? I would definitely recommend that you revisit your policies and procedures. Your LP officer by no means used good judgement for his safety or the publics. Burn it out……if he’d have done that he wouldn’t have had a physical altercation, pursuit, and you would’ve gotten your small amount of groceries back. Now you have a major PR issue & possibly law suit. I’m very happy your officers picture is published, I will be weary of him in the event he is in pursuit of employment elsewhere.
I question these “facts”, as reported by the same man who has such poor judgment to exercise such extreme behavior. Of course his employers are trying to limit liability, but I implore you to consider the source. I made a formal complaint against this same LP officer a little over a month ago for being unprofessional and excessive, also misrepresenting his authority. Disappointing in the way the Co-op handled my complaint and disappointed in the way they are handling this issue. Your employee is extreme and his behavior is out of line, excessive and escalating. Intervene now or he will only escalate further.
Judging by the “likes” and “dislikes” seems the good people of Arcata are tired of the bums and thieves ruining their town. Keep up the good work. Send that guy to the plaza for a little clean up.
As a customer, I have watched people stealing shamelessly (and repeatedly) from the co-op for years and have found it really frustrating. Most co-op employees (understandably) were uncomfortable confronting shoplifters, so I’m glad they’ve hired some professional help. I feel pretty confident that the security guard was following protocol and that excessive force wasn’t being used, but if it was I have no doubt that Co-op management will get to the bottom of it and address any issues they discover.
I may be off-topic, but why is it there is a Sacramento Based Loss Prevention Company in our LOCAL Co-Op? Do we not have 4 other LOCAL companies to choose from?
I’m happy to see consequences for shoplifters (and especially for this ne’er-do-well who violently resisted arrest).
I’ve lived in Humboldt County long enough to know that the thievery at the Arcata Coop branch is quite rampant, and so it’s easy to understand the level of frustration the Coop has to endure in regards to the high cost of loss. I also appreciate the quality of the food they provide, and their efforts to improve the quality of life in the local area. However the Coop is putting all their well intentioned efforts to waste by throwing out the baby with the bath water with respect to some of their best and most loyal customers, some of which spend thousands per year there, but now feel extremely unwelcome by the extreme actions taken by their loss prevention company, which is motivated and rewarded by the number of apprehensions they make, and even perhaps the extremity of their actions to apprehend customers, many of whom are accidentally mislabeling a product, or unknowingly breaking a rule, which in my case was taking a hand basket out to the car to unload my groceries so I wouldn’t waste a bag. I had no intention of stealing the basket. With my dedication to eating natural and healthy, it’s with a heavy heart that I recomend, especially to smaller women, that the Coop be avoided since these misunderstandings do seem to happen, and they have very definitely led to public humiliation, and there’s the possibility of injury as well. This was also recommended to me by a friend who also happens to be a former parole officer, and is all too aware of the motivations behind these loss prevention companies, which tend to take more extreme action toward the more more vulnerable so as to mitigate injury to themselves. I find this very sad, and look forward to the Coop finding peace with its customers and community because I would like to shop there if and when it becomes safe for my family to do so.
The particular issue Ragu mentions could easily be solved by providing brightly colored rolling baskets at the registers for customers to use, possibly in exchange for their driver’s license, to ferry groceries to their cars. Such baskets could also have a pole and flag attached, so that it would be obvious if they were leaving the parking lot.
As for Ragu’s second concern, I’m not sure how someone accidentally mislabels an expensive product as an inexpensive one. Each product has a clear identifying code on its bulk bin.
It’s really a shame that the Coop faces a large enough shoplifting problem to feel that it needs “loss prevention officers,” but apparently it does.
This violent, aggressive criminal got off easy. You cant attack someone while trying to protect your stolen items from the people you stole them from and expect sympathy when they catch you. The thief needs retraining, not the man doing his lawful duty with appropriate restrain. Its really easy to hurt someone if youre not being as careful and skilled as he was. How can she afford coffee? I crave coffee but its not in my budget. Thievery is getting way out of hand. I can barely get to work after having my bike stolen recently in Arcata. I actually lost sleep last night and had bad dreams about people stealing from me. Dont let the self-entitled destroy the community. How can we make these thieves care? How can we achieve utopia when we wont police ourselves. Get her out of here. Shes not a little kid feeling out her boundaries anymore. Shes not hungry, shes caffeinated and doesnt give a darn.
Sanity’s Overated: actually in regards to the mislabeling I was told by a friend that she mislabeled an inexpensive chile paste packet with a bin number that was next to it, resulting in shorting the store fifty cents. This lead to the same character in the above photos pointing his finger in her face in front of the entire store, in affect acusing her of stealing. It was very humiliating and frustrating to be called a thief in front of a crowded store, and frustrating since it was not intentional. Public accusations like that can be very traumatizing and damaging to one’s character and reputation. I think it would be better for the Coop to just correct the mistake and go on, and I think that’s what most Coop employees do, but in this case it was blown out of proportion.
The main issue that I have is that the loss prevention company has created a climate of discomfort, and that feeling is widely held by the local public. When I go out to load the groceries in the car I can bet there’s a fellow with his hands on his hips and a stern look staring down on me from the upstairs office. I can be certain that I’m a suspected thief the minute I walk in that store even when I’ve never stolen anything. I can’t solely blame the store. There is rampant thievery going on, and this is what has created such a hostile environment, but what happened to innocent until proven guilty?
When I took the coop’s hand basket out to my car to unload its contents I had permission from the register clerk. I had the feeling I was being watched, looked up to see mr mean eyes looking down. The next week I walked up to the register with the coop basket in hand, unloaded the basket at the register, mr mean eyes walked up to me and took the basket! Cut me off at the pass! He wasn’t going to let me take my basket to the car again. This is how I was informed that I was not allowed to take the basket to the car.
This is just a very uncomfortable environment to shop in. The register clerk looked uncomfortable too.
Well, Ragu, I guess your friend will have to be more careful now to get the correct bin number. It doesn’t seem like that much of a challenge, and the rest of us Coop customers thank him or her in advance. Bulk bins were set up on the assumption people could successfully and repeatedly label what they take; how sad that in today’s environment, this doesn’t consistently happen, for whatever reason.
If you feel like you are now treated as a suspected thief, I guess that must be because the likelihood of any given customer being a thief is too high for the store’s member-owners to take passively. That’s a shame, but that’s what’s happened. The people to blame are the ones who are stealing, not those who are trying to defend themselves.
As for “innocent until proven guilty,” I’m all for it in the judicial system. No one should be punished by imprisonment or fine without being proven guilty. I don’t think it really applies to having someone point their finger at you and complain in a loud voice.
Store theft is called “shrinkage” and it always hovers around 1% of sales.
Grocery markup isn’t big, and in a depression aggressive managers can become desperate for ANY improvement to the bottom line to justify their salaries.
You rarely, if ever, see this kind of grotesque overreaction in a business operated by its owners, it’s what you expect at Wal-Mart where fortunes are spent on their public image to hide avoidable, well-documented, injuries to others. (Is $10 of merchandise worth a $250,000 ruptured neck vertebra?).
If, in fact, this individual was “violent”, it is a matter for uniformed police professionals to handle; an employee could easily follow at a safe distance with a cell-phone and advise the police, ESPECIALLY in little Arcata.
Those who are stretching to justify this outrageous level and expense of plain-clothed enforcement can be summarized by “Joel Mielke’s” bigoted comments above referring to those damn “ne’er-do-wells”. (As if hunger might not also make someone “violent”).
Take what you want from the bead store. The owner doesn’t mind.
Throwing hot coffee imnsomeomes face is a felony. It is assault with intent to do great bodily harm.
They are watching you…
Get your facts right. Anyone condoning this behavior is gladly giving up their basic human right not to be judged by an idiot on a power trip before proven guilty. The CO-op is all over this post i.e. Sanity Overrated (guess it is at the co-op at least), by the way your store overcharges customers on a regular and obscene basis, how is that accounted for? Should customers start pinning clerks and managers down by the neck every time someone there makes a mistake at check out? No, and the co-op should have the respect to handle under a dollar “mistakes” the same way we customers do, smile correct the matter and move forward not unleash the Dobermans. They need better loss prevention strategy for small level theft! bottom line. And separate your bins by organic and non organic to eliminate the confusion and theft already, (like other stores), if it’s that big of an issue, because believe it or not accidents happen, when your human and tired, hense all the mistakes the co-op clerks make.
What’s next the co-op cutting peoples finger’s off for stolen chili’s!!
The Co-op is on the defense because they know they have taken this to far already, and it’s not a big challenge to get the extremist to rally around these parts. For all you who think everyone accused of stealing at the co-op is guilty, good luck. Mark my words corrupt abuse of authority will eventually happen to you or someone you know. Karma is a bitch and the co-op’s karmic debt will soon be collected on. Guarantee this guy will prove his own truth.
I hope this girl take’s legal action. Unless that guy can prove that she was aggressive she has got a case. I know that LP officer is out of his mind (he act’s like he is in a movie or a video game. Guy is doing his job that way because he has issues and the co-op is paying him to act them out on all their “guilty” customer’s.
*by the way “Jack aleope” your a turd. Doesn’t take a genius to know ne one can hit refresh and like themselves and dislike other’s comment’s all day long.
All u dumb liberals are sticking up for the right to allow shoplifters take what ever they want. What you don’t realize is that all of you who enjoy shopping at the co-op are going to get to shop with these dirt stinky crazy people. Its not like Humboldt county doesn’t have a drug problem or mental health problem that needs to be adressed. Throwing hot coffee and scratching up anyone trying to make a citizens arrest is assault and battery with the intent of great bodily injury. So tell me if you were attacked by someone in the same manner you wouldn’t try and protect yourself. The LP officer is there is because the co-op has had enough with being ripped off and threatend. All of you saying you are being profiled are paranoid and are most likely thieves. Screw the liberal dumb a$$ that post stupid comments. I garuntee that none of you have the confidence to stop someone from commiting a crime. If the lp officer was in the wrong don’t you think the police department would have arrested him. Think about it instead of being judgemental on something you think you know from a picture that some douche bag took. Why didn’t the owner of the bead shop ask to help instead of taking pictures. Because he’s a scared little punk!
anyone asociated with a store knows Shoplifting like the poor is always with us–
If I EVER saw a man in street clothes doing this to a woman, I would very
probably use a blunt instrument on his head…..and the consequences be
DAMNED.
Signed,
A JFK LIBERAL F’ING DEMOCRAT