Police brutality, false arrest at Wal-Mart

By Corey Friedman

Wal-Mart surveillance video will show an Illinois man violently wrestled to the ground and handcuffed by a store security guard after he refused to hand over his receipt for a door search.

Michael J. Phelan, a town alderman from Berwyn, Ill., was arrested and charged with disorderly conduct for allegedly scuffling with an off-duty Chicago police officer who was working as a private security guard in the Forest Park, Ill. Wal-Mart Supercenter on July 27. The guard, Louis Jones, claims Phelan refused to show his receipt and resisted his attempt to handcuff him.

Phelan told IndieRegister.com that he showed Jones his receipt but refused to hand it to him. He is contesting the disorderly conduct charge and said Wal-Mart has caused his court appearance to be delayed because it has failed to turn over store surveillance tapes in a timely manner.

By their very nature, retail receipt checks are voluntary. Store employees can ask to see a shopper’s receipt or look through his purchases, but customers can decline to be searched.

Under state shoplifting laws, stores cannot detain you unless they have probable cause or reasonable suspicion — depending on your state — to believe you’ve committed a crime. Both are established legal standards that require some sort of evidence.

Receipt check causes scuffle, arrest

By Corey Friedman

A city alderman from Berwyn, Ill. was arrested and charged with disorderly conduct after a scuffle with Walmart security guards who tried to detain him for refusing to show his receipt at the door, the Chicago Tribune reported.

Stores can request to see customers’ receipts or inspect their bags, but the checks are voluntary — the instant money changes hands, merchandise becomes the buyer’s personal property. Employees and security guards cannot detain someone simply for refusing to show his or her receipt.

Depending on your state of residence, merchants have to meet the legal standard of “probable cause” or “reasonable suspicion” before detaining someone suspected of shoplifting.