Handcuffed and detained in police car at Walmart!!

[Gabby6177]

Texas. I was shopping at Walmart one night with a female friend who was doing an exchange, she clearly brought the item inside and went to customer service, they told her the remote wasn't inside, so when she told me I went out to truck to search for remote and on my way back in the store I was approached, handcuffed, and placed in a police unit and continuously told over and over I was stealing, they got me, so after being searched and no items found, they ran my background which came back clean after 3 separate trys, so then I was told I was going to steal the item, and issued a CTW, and let go and told don't ever come back again, which very strangely sounded to me like they said "Now don't ya come poking yo nose around this way again BOY!!" Kind of curious if they had rights to do any of that??

 

[Zigner]

Texas. I was shopping at Walmart one night with a female friend who was doing an exchange, she clearly brought the item inside and went to customer service, they told her the remote wasn't inside, so when she told me I went out to truck to search for remote and on my way back in the store I was approached, handcuffed, and placed in a police unit and continuously told over and over I was stealing, they got me, so after being searched and no items found, they ran my background which came back clean after 3 separate trys, so then I was told I was going to steal the item, and issued a CTW, and let go and told don't ever come back again, which very strangely sounded to me like they said "Now don't ya come poking yo nose around this way again BOY!!" Kind of curious if they had rights to do any of that??

You have the right to not shop at Walmart.

ETA: I'm sorry - I misread your question. The answer to your question is that yes, they have the right to tell you not to come on to their property.

 

[Gabby6177]

So they can handcuffe and put me in a car without a crime being committed, oh ok glad to know

 

[PayrollHRGuy]

Yes the police can hold you if they have reason to believe you committed a crime.

Yes the police can pass along a message that you are no longer welcome at the store.

 

[Zigner]

To be clear (for the OP): This is what is known as an "investigation". Yes, it is legal to detain you for an investigation.

 

[Gabby6177]

I was walking into store the item they say I was stealing was inside my basket inside the store, and it couldn't be stuffed in a pocket or under a shirt, I was headed back inside to the item that was waiting. With my friend, so what reason to believe

 

[Zigner]

I was walking into store the item they say I was stealing was inside my basket inside the store, and it couldn't be stuffed in a pocket or under a shirt, I was headed back inside to the item that was waiting. With my friend, so what reason to believe

AGAIN, this was an investigation.

I'm sorry, but if you don't like the answers you are being given here, please feel free to discuss the matter with a local attorney. Best of luck and good day to you.

 

[xylene]

What is a CTW?

 

[Zigner]

What is a CTW?

"Criminal Trespass Warning"

(I had to look it up)

 

[xylene]

What happened to your female friend?

 

[Gabby6177]

What happened to your female friend?

They gave her one also and let us go and told us don't come back

 

[LdiJ]

They gave her one also and let us go and told us don't come back

I think that was kind of "knee jerk" on their part...they were ticked off that they could not find any evidence of what they believed happened so instead of apologizing for making a mistake, they issued the criminal trespass warnings and told you to stay away. That is really kind of sad.

The manager of the store might be able to override that if a complaint was made to them.

 

[Zigner]

The manager of the store might be able to override that if a complaint was made to them.

Do you think that the greeter at the door issued the warning (or requested that it be issued)?

 

[LdiJ]

Do you think that the greeter at the door issued the warning (or requested that it be issued)?

No, I think that the loss prevention people issued the CTWs. I do believe that the loss prevention people are under the store manager. I am pretty certain that is the way it works at Walmart. I know that he said that he was put in a "police unit" but Walmart has outside rent-a-cops that drive vehicles that look like police cars but are not. I just don't see Walmart LPOs actually 1) calling the cops that quickly...it would have had to have been WAY fast, and 2) calling the police when they had absolutely no evidence.

Think about it? They walk into the store with an item to exchange, go straight to the customer service desk, discover that the remote is missing from the item, and he goes out to the car to look for it. How fast would Walmart had to have called the cops in order to have someone there to immediately cuff him? Even if the LPO's were having a REALLY slow day it would have been nearly impossible to have the cops there that fast.

 

[Zigner]

I won't say it's impossible (because I simply don't know), but I would be astonished if LP reports to the store manager at Walmart.