Circuit City Shopper Cuffed for Refusing to Show Receipt
If you shop with any frequency at giant chain stores such as Circuit City, Best Buy, Home Depot or even Bed, Bath & Beyond, you've probably grown accustomed to showing a security person your receipt and allowing him to inspect the contents of your bag as you leave the store.
For most of us, this inspection is routine and nothing more than a nuisance. But, have you ever stopped to wonder if this is even legal, or that this search of your bags is essentially an accusation of theft? Well, this past weekend, an Ohio man decided to refuse the search of his bag at an area Circuit City and soon found himself behind bars.
Though he tells the story in much more detail on his own blog, here's a synopsis of what happened to Michael Righi of Brooklyn, Ohio. This past Saturday afternoon, he dropped into Circuit City and bought a surge protector and a copy of Disney's 'Cars' video game for the Ninetendo Wii. When Righi was told by the door person that his bag needed to be inspected and compared to his receipt, Righi refused with a polite "No thank you" and kept walking outside, where his father was waiting behind the driver's seat of his car. The security person and manager ran out of the store and blocked the car's exit from the parking lot. When neither could tell Righi which U.S. law gave them the right to search his bag, Righi asked to be let go or he would call the police himself. They refused and Righi called the police. When the officer showed up, he inspected the bag and saw nothing had been stolen. He also asked Righi for his driver's license. Since Righi was not driving his father's car, he refused to give up his driver's license, but was happy to give his name and address at the officer's request. Not amused, the officer arrested Righi and booked him for 'Obstructing Official Business.'
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 6)
Mark A. Craig said 4:44PM on 11-10-2008
Frankly this guy sounds like an unrefined barbarian. I shop every month at Wal-Mart, Fry's and other stores that engage in this practice, and I haven't had my bags searched in YEARS. In fact, I haven't even been stopped to have my bags searched. There are simple social engineering tactics that can be employed as one approaches the exit that will virtually completely dissuade any store personnel from accosting you.
Having said that, IF any of them dared to try at this point, I would firmly refuse and remind them that once the transaction is complete the contents of my bags, even the bags themselves, are my personal property; any demand to inspect them against my will - lacking better "just cause" to do so than my mere refusal of the demand - is illegal search and seizure, not to mention unlawful detainment. The fact that law enforcement and the courts might still condone and encourage such actions is evidence just how much personal rights and freedoms no longer apply to common American citizens.
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Mike Rago said 6:27PM on 3-02-2009
I have been in many stores and set off many alarms on the way out, i actually joke around sometimes and point to my wife like she has something in her purse she was trying to steal, its always the same store, they check our bag and we move on. All i can say is this, i know it may sometimes be a moderate inconvenience to fumble around for your reciept and wait a a minute for them to check your bag but i comply with it, i have no point to make and i dont feel like i am being violated or singled out, i feel that if it helps that particular store cut down on theft then i am all for it. Too many places go out of business because of rampant theft of merchandise and mostly by employees but customers are a big part of it. We can all sit here and say we disagree with these policies but we also do not own and operate large retail stores and chains and if we did we would probably have a pretty low tolerance for shoplifting. You same people that have problems with these procedures and systems probably wouldnt feel the same way if airports got rid of metal detectors and security checkpoints or the frisking when entering your favorite sports stadium or ball park. Immagine your family attending a baseball game and dont come home because some lunatic decided it would be fun to blow up citizens bank park?? and as for this kid not providing his I.D well thats just plain dumb. This comes from an inherint lack of respect for authority, We are so worried about wether or not our rights are being violated or if we are being treated unfairly , whats unfair is that this police officer had to waste his time dealing with this punk kid because he felt he didnt need to adhere to circuit citys policies. If you dont agree with the policy then you souldnt go into the store in the first place. And as for not showing propper I.D. well thats just silly, under any circumstances when a law enforcement officer asks to see your id u show it to them and thank them for protecting and serving you community. This punk kid needs a spanking
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highjinx143 said 9:03AM on 8-11-2009
Same thing happened to me but when I handed my license to the officer he used it as a ploy to keep me detained. He said I could leave but he was keeping my license and my packages. Just because an officer gives you an order does not make it law. The officer even went as far as knocking the packages from my hand when I went to get them and exit the store. I know to many people this is a trivial matter but it is a right I am not willing to give up. I dont ask to go back and check the money they put in the register. It is now theirs. why do I have to be inspected when I leave the store. Charges will be pending very soon. Hopefully I can get some news coverage on this ever growing problem. They do not pay me for their theft prevention so do not involve me in it.
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Bill Meador said 5:28PM on 9-04-2007
If there was anything amiss between the purchase and the receipt, looks like the cashier would be responsible. I could understand if they were trying to keep them honest. But I hate being treated as if I was trying to steal something, I hate thieves, but I hate being searched worse. I generally do not return to any store that does that. Retailers, That means LOST CUSTOMERS, LOST REVENUE! Think about THAT!
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jason said 5:44PM on 9-04-2007
American justice at its finest......
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dude said 5:53AM on 9-05-2007
The kid sounds like a little prick. Wouldn't it have been easier to just show the reciept? They do that to cut their losses so you can get better prices. I'm sorry but if a cop asks to see your ID during an altercation I think that is lawful too. He was most likely checking for warrants.
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TAZ said 6:00PM on 9-04-2007
People seem to miss the point of why stores pay for security to check bags at the door. The cost of this paid many times over by the deterent and actual apprehension of thieves. When you enter a merchants PRIVATE property, you have agreed to their security by entering. Customers are'nt bushwhacked with surprise attacks, usually there is a short line of people being checked on the way out. What would be wrong would be checking only people of certain ages, race, etc. Billions are lost to shoplifting, think of the price we all pay.
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Bill Meador said 6:54PM on 9-04-2007
Re: Taz, You're thinking of money. I'm thinking of legal rights and personal freedom. When you submit to questionable authority, you are standing in line for the train to Auschwitz!
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harley said 7:07PM on 9-04-2007
In Hawaii, when the buzzer at the Mililani Walmart SuperCenter went off when I walked out of the store, I just kept walking and nobody cared. The checker just shrugged. I didn't have anything I hadn't paid for, but the decoder thingie on the checkout stand that demagnatizes the items must have failed to work properly. I love Hawaii; it's so laid back.
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TJ said 7:53PM on 9-04-2007
Most shoplifters are not going to go thru the checkout,then put the stolen item in the bag.If a tracking device set off an alarm at the door,I would agree the search is necessary,but not under any other circumstances.When the officer found nothing stolen,his authority to do anything,is then gone.For what reason did he need this man's identification,if there is no proof he has done anything WRONG.Seems to me the cop went a little too far and may find his ass in a wringer.
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Jerry from Southern Cal said 8:03PM on 9-04-2007
Most theft that occurs at stores like Circuit City is by employees, not customers. Anyone who has ever worked in loss prevention knows that.
Good for Michael Righi of Brooklyn, OH for standing up for the rights of all of us! I'm sick and tired of this police state mentality which has gotten much worse in the last 20 years.
Young people would do well to study the political history of the US to learn how our rights are being slowly and relentlessly erroded.
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CynthiaE said 8:09PM on 9-04-2007
These companys are not just checking for theft. They are checking for items that may have been missed by cashiers and for mistakes. I purchased a tv on sale at Best Buy for $400. I assumed I had the right item, and it rang up for the $400 I thought it would be. However, when showing my recipt to the gentleman at the door, he did a comparison and realized the tv I had was actually an HD that was valued twice as much. The sticker with the bar code on the box was incorrect. I wasn't aware of this, but disappointed that he had noticed this. I would have loved the HD one.
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Stephen said 8:14PM on 9-04-2007
I agree with Taz. Additionally, a bag check on the way out does help keep prices down, so the store will not have to raise prices to recover losts. Personal freedom isn't being exchanged - piece of mind for a business and protection against higher prices later for the consumer is being ensured.
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Joe said 9:04PM on 9-04-2007
How is it an invasion of privacy its just the store trying to make sure nothing is lost or stolen and that customers are getting what they paid for.. I work at Best Buy and we just check the high end items and clear bags coming from the wireless and digital section for anything the cashier might have missed(which does happen)or when the alarm goes off the cashier might of not de-magnetized the item correctly or someone snuck something in the bag. In one instance a customer bought a plasma tv for roughly 2500 and a new employee had pulled down the right size but wrong model of plasma worth about around 2200 if we hadnt checked the reciept he would of lost about 300.That guy made a big deal out of it regardless of what people think we do it to keep prices low in the store and anything lost comes out of the stores budget that means cutting hours for employees and less help for our customers.
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brad said 10:07PM on 9-04-2007
The guy should sue for false imprisionment.
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kb6kgx said 3:10AM on 6-19-2009
He certainly would have the right to sue the store for "false imprisonment", however he would not have much of case. One of the defenses that a store would use against a charge of "false imprisonment" is the "Shopkeeper's Privilege", which states:
"Shopkeepers have a privilege to reasonably detain individuals whom they reasonably believe to be in possession of shoplifted goods."
Reasonable detainment is based on reasonable belief that goods were shoplifted; person may be detained for a reasonable time (usually not more than 20 minutes or so) for the purpose of conducting a "reasonable investigation."
Carla said 9:19AM on 9-05-2007
Good For Michael Righi! I agree with "TJ" both the cop and security were out of line. Not even an officer needs to see your ID if you've done nothing. I have worked both sides.In Law enforcement and still been victimized when Cops did not know I was one of them! There are tooo many Power hungry Authority hogs that want control regardless what is reasonable and fair!
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Efren said 10:38PM on 9-04-2007
I think its stupid. anyways the security at the door don't even check anything for acuracy its a waste of time as sometimes i stand there waiting for a check they tell you to go or just barely check.
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Nina S. said 11:44PM on 9-04-2007
he wasn't cuffed for refusing to show his receipt. He was cuffed for refusing to show his ID to an officer.
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not gonna check my sack said 12:36AM on 9-05-2007
I never let them check my bags either, guess what leagally they cant make u, unless there is valid justification such as survelience video or a eye witness account to show that you took something you didnt pay for.
just because the store is private property doesnt mean they can leagally invade your privacy and search your bags store bought or personal bags.
the only time i let them check my bag and reciept is when there door alarm goes off cause a dvd or cd i bought was not properly scaned to deactivate the sensor, that in my opinon is the only time they should be entitled to look through a persons bag.
they are not law enforcement they are not the sherriff dept or police.
they are minimum wage, high school kids who more than likely steal from there own store themselves.
like the other person said above, the majority of theft in retail is employee related.
you never see employees getting chased out of the store or asking to see there reciepts when they leave or get hassled when they get refunds.
but yet thats who is responsible for the majority of retail theft
by the way i have never been chased after when i leave without letting them check my bag,
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