Man held down on burning pavement until he died

Wal-Mart loss prevention workers tackled a man suspected of stealing diapers - a new father with a two month old child - holding him down with a choke hold and knee to the back while he was shirtless on the scalding pavement of a Wal-Mart parking lot in Texas.

The incident was witnessed by dozens of shoppers, including a prominent Texas attorney, Charles Portz:

Charles Portz said he was getting out of his car when he saw a heavy blonde haired man being chased by five people who appeared to be security or store employees. He said he saw them wrestling the man to the ground. "The blacktop was extremely hot," said Portz "He had no shirt on and they wouldn't let him up off the blacktop." He said one of the men had Driver in a chokehold and had his knee in the back of his neck as the men tried to subdue him. "He kept trying to get up and they kept pushing him back down," Portz said.

According to Portz, Driver began to plead with them men. "He's begging, 'Please call an ambulance, let me up, do something, I'm gonna die," said Portz. He said the loss prevention employees called the police more than once, but another bystander called for an ambulance after realizing Driver was in trouble. Portz said he eventually began to plead with the Walmart employees. "I told them, this guy doesn't look like he's breathing," Portz said, "They said, 'He's all right." He says he continued to plead with the men, pointing out that the man's fingernails were turning gray. "They said he's just high on something," adding, "They just kept him pinned down for twenty minutes or more until the ambulance came." He said he believed Driver was dead when the ambulance left with him, but he was not certain.

The store employees could not have known that the witness who was pleading with them to let Driver get up from the hot pavement was a high profile Houston attorney, from the Portz and Portz law firm. He said after the man was handcuffed he continued trying in vain to persuade the Walmart employees to allow him to get up, even pointing out that a second pair of cuffs could be used to attach the ones already on Driver to a nearby truck trailer. "The problem is they kept him down on the blistering concrete with no shirt on," Portz reiterated. He said law enforcement arrived at about the same time as the ambulance.


Just found a bit more to the story......
Detective Robert T. Tonry, with the Homicide Division of the Harris County Sheriff's Department is investigating the death. He confirmed that Driver had struggled with Walmart loss prevention employees before being handcuffed and was not breathing a short time later. Tonry said he was transported to Northeast Medical Center in Humble where he pronounced dead. According to Tonry, some of the items Driver had in his possession which were believed to have been stolen were baby diapers, a BB gun and BBs.

Tonry said he was talking to store employees and would be contacting other witnesses. He said anyone else who might have information should contact the Homicide Division of the Harris County Sheriff's Department.

Driver was the son of H.C. Driver of Cleveland. Pat Driver was his step-mother and her sister Lily was speaking for the family on Monday. "The boy was loved and he might have done something wrong, but he did not deserve that," Lily said, "The family has no other comment at this time. "He would have celebrated his 31st birthday on August 31. Instead, his family is making funeral arrangements. As of this writing, the official cause of death had not been released.




Crap, just saw this was from the 13th.........

Here

Looks like Wally World is in for a LARGE settlement!

Boo..fucking...hoo.

So your saying you should be killed for stealing? Now, dont get me wrong, what he did was wrong, and should be in jail, but being killed??? Thats harsh.....

Quoted: Boo..fucking...hoo.

Quoted: Boo..fucking...hoo.

Dude....diapers.....  Notice this story lacks any mention that the guy had priors?  Probably because he didn't.

This is overzealousness by mall ninja wanna-be cops who were too stupid to pass the PO test.

Quoted: So your saying you should be killed for stealing? Now, dont get me wrong, what he did was wrong, and should be in jail, but being killed??? Thats harsh..... Quoted: Boo..fucking...hoo.

Shit happens. When you least expect it.



No someone should not be killed for stealing. But he would not have died if he was not stealing.

Quoted: So your saying you should be killed for stealing? Now, dont get me wrong, what he did was wrong, and should be in jail, but being killed??? Thats harsh..... Quoted: Boo..fucking...hoo.

No one killed this man except for his own actions.

If the LP people let him up he would have ran away.

Sgat1r5

Damn thing is, he could have called just about anybody, even 9-1-1, and got all the baby food and diapers he could carry.

Oh, man. A dead thief. Let me look in my stash box. . . . . . Sorry. All out of give-a-shit.

#1. Wal Mart LP is notallowed to really chase outside of the store
#2. They are not licensed security, and arent allowed to have cuffs in this state.
#3. They arent allowed to bring a suspected shoplifter to the ground unless he physically attacked them.
#4. If they do decide physical force is needed, then chokeholds are not to be used...ever.  They are to lay down on them.
#5. It is not up to LP or MoD to determine peoples health

This basically comes from the Wal Mart guide book.

Wal Mart will be sued, rightly so.

The members of LP will be charged with the death of this man, rightly so.

The District and Regional LPs will probably lose their jobs, or at the very least be demoted.

Quoted: Looks like Wally World is in for a LARGE settlement!

I'd take this one to a verdict.

Quoted: Quoted: Boo..fucking...hoo. Dude....diapers.....  Notice this story lacks any mention that the guy had priors?  Probably because he didn't. This is overzealousness by mall ninja wanna-be cops who were too stupid to pass the PO test.

WIC, AFDC, and just about any church will GIVE you free diapers and food.

This guy didn't have to steal.

Sgat1r5

damn, that may have been a little overbord, holy shit


Anyone know if he really did steal the diapers?

Quoted: The members of LP will be charged with the death of this man, rightly so. The District and Regional LPs will probably lose their jobs, or at the very least be demoted.

You are from Texas and you believe that crap?

I thought you people were patriots?

Sgat1r5

holy mother...thats a shitty way to die. Sad for the man I am.

Quoted: Quoted: So your saying you should be killed for stealing? Now, dont get me wrong, what he did was wrong, and should be in jail, but being killed??? Thats harsh..... Quoted: Boo..fucking...hoo. No one killed this man except for his own actions.

yeah, that and the guy kneeling on his back pinning him to the griddle


you don't think they could have kept him from running away by putting him in a sitting or kneeling position.



get real.


what would jesus have to say about your callus disregard for human life.

Wal-Mart is going to be paying a settlement out the ass for this one

Quoted: #1. Wal Mart LP is notallowed to really chase outside of the store #2. They are not licensed security, and arent allowed to have cuffs in this state. #3. They arent allowed to bring a suspected shoplifter to the ground unless he physically attacked them. #4. If they do decide physical force is needed, then chokeholds are not to be used...ever.  They are to lay down on them. #5. It is not up to LP or MoD to determine peoples health This basically comes from the Wal Mart guide book. Wal Mart will be sued, rightly so. The members of LP will be charged with the death of this man, rightly so. The District and Regional LPs will probably lose their jobs, or at the very least be demoted.

Don't know about Texas law but here. You can chase a shop lifter down, tackle them and beat their ass till the cops get there. Then they can have them.

Fucking thieves.

Where's the link to the article?  

Quoted: Quoted: Quoted: So your saying you should be killed for stealing? Now, dont get me wrong, what he did was wrong, and should be in jail, but being killed??? Thats harsh..... Quoted: Boo..fucking...hoo. No one killed this man except for his own actions. yeah, that and the guy kneeling on his back pinning him to the griddle you don't think they could have kept him from running away by putting him in a sitting or kneeling position. get real. what would jesus have to say about your callus disregard for human life.

Don't steal and shit don't happen.

Plenty of programs for free diapers.

Are Loss Prevention allowed to tackle someone? I dont think they can do anything physically in my state.


PS how come they never have a shirt on? The criminal? Just like on COPs, they never have a shirt on.

Quoted: you don't think they could have kept him from running away by putting him in a sitting or kneeling position. get real. what would jesus have to say about your callus disregard for human life.

My callous regard?

Jesus says people are punished for their sins.

Stealing is a sin.

When you are confronted with a thief do YOU use the least amount of force possible?

Sgat1r5

Quoted: Where's the link to the article?

link to the article

Quoted: Are Loss Prevention allowed to tackle someone? I dont think they can do anything physically in my state. PS how come they never have a shirt on? The criminal? Just like on COPs, they never have a shirt on.

No shirt or a wife beater.

I don't think that the lawyer will be able to get in on the lawsuit.  Cali courts (don't know about TX) usually don't allow witnesses to act as attorneys.

Sounds like there was plenty of stupidity to go around.  Bad guy shouldn't have stolen stuff - Mall ninjas shouldn't have choked him out and pinned him to the skillet.

Quoted: Quoted: Are Loss Prevention allowed to tackle someone? I dont think they can do anything physically in my state. PS how come they never have a shirt on? The criminal? Just like on COPs, they never have a shirt on. No shirt or a wife beater.

ripped off during the chase.

Quoted: ripped off during the chase.

WHich means the guy was resisting.

SGat1r5

It ain't like they stood him up against the back wall and shot him or hanged him from the surveillance canera on the roof.

Damages = (annual white trash wages X (life expectancy - age of disability due to obesity, diabetes & emphysema)) + (12% X number of meth heads on jury). Sympathy = 0.  The orphaned kid will wreck his/her 2021 Camaro within 90 days of purchase, and before his/her 17th birthday will name his/her firstborn after the dead thief: Stacy II if it's a boy, Stacinelle if it's a girl.

A BB GUN???? Hell. That's different. I didn;t know it was stuff he needed.

I hate thieves.

Quoted: Boo..fucking...hoo.

+1

Quoted: Are Loss Prevention allowed to tackle someone? I dont think they can do anything physically in my state.

They can do pretty much whatever they want to do.

Quoted: Quoted: Quoted: Quoted: So your saying you should be killed for stealing? Now, dont get me wrong, what he did was wrong, and should be in jail, but being killed??? Thats harsh..... Quoted: Boo..fucking...hoo. No one killed this man except for his own actions. yeah, that and the guy kneeling on his back pinning him to the griddle you don't think they could have kept him from running away by putting him in a sitting or kneeling position. get real. what would jesus have to say about your callus disregard for human life. Don't steal and shit don't happen.

I agree. I also think it was wrong of them to pin the guy to the griddle until he died.

Quoted: Quoted: you don't think they could have kept him from running away by putting him in a sitting or kneeling position. get real. what would jesus have to say about your callus disregard for human life. My callous regard? Jesus says people are punished for their sins. Stealing is a sin. When you are confronted with a thief do YOU use the least amount of force possible? Sgat1r5

Why yes, yes I do, for fear of being sued.

Up here we had a night club that a bouncer held down a kid (18yrs old) with his knee in the middle of his back, he was breaking up a fight. Long story short, the kid choked on his gum because the bouncer wouldn't let him up. The family sued the club owners and all the bouncers involved (5 I think?) and won enough to shut the club down and bankrupt all involved.

I believe they deserved every penny of it.

Unless you are a police/peace officer you shouldn't be allowed by law to lay your hands on another person (unless it is a life or death situation) These yahoo's with little or no training can kill someone with what they think they know.

Quoted: Unless you are a police/peace officer you shouldn't be allowed by law to lay your hands on another person (unless it is a life or death situation) These yahoo's with little or no training can kill someone with what they think they know.

Free advice: get out of New York before you finish turning into a pod person. Apparently, if I walk into your house, naked and unarmed, you and your family should watch me eat everything in the refrigerator, drink all your booze, fondle your wife's tits, piss on the couch, and smash the piano with your easy chair while you wait for the cops, right? After all, it's not life or death, right?

Quoted: Unless you are a police/peace officer you shouldn't be allowed by law to lay your hands on another person (unless it is a life or death situation) These yahoo's with little or no training can kill someone with what they think they know.

Really now?   So you would have no problem with me coming into your home while you are there and taking every single piece of property you have?

ANd you won't lay a finger on me?

Because..I'll be long gone WAY before the cops ever get there.

Sgat1r5

Quoted: Quoted: Are Loss Prevention allowed to tackle someone? I dont think they can do anything physically in my state. They can do pretty much whatever they want to do.

Thanks

(c)  The taking into custody and detention by a law enforcement officer, merchant, merchant's employee, farmer, or a transit agency's employee or agent, if done in compliance with all the requirements of this subsection, shall not render such law enforcement officer, merchant, merchant's employee, farmer, or a transit agency's employee or agent, criminally or civilly liable for false arrest, false imprisonment, or unlawful detention.

(5)(a)  A merchant, merchant's employee, farmer, or a transit agency's employee or agent who takes a person into custody, as provided in subsection (3), or who causes an arrest, as provided in subsection (4), of a person for retail theft, farm theft, transit fare evasion, or trespass shall not be criminally or civilly liable for false arrest or false imprisonment when the merchant, merchant's employee, farmer, or a transit agency's employee or agent has probable cause to believe that the person committed retail theft, farm theft, transit fare evasion, or trespass.

Looks like if the buzzer goes off and even though you have not stole anything, they are allowed to apprehend and detain you without repurcussion as well.

Quoted: Quoted: So your saying you should be killed for stealing? Now, dont get me wrong, what he did was wrong, and should be in jail, but being killed??? Thats harsh..... Quoted: Boo..fucking...hoo. No one killed this man except for his own actions. If the LP people let him up he would have ran away. Sgat1r5

Sounds to me like the mall-ninjas killed him.  How's he going to run away if he's unconscious?

Ill let them look at my bags if they want, but they wont be detaining me at all....

Quoted: Quoted: Quoted: Are Loss Prevention allowed to tackle someone? I dont think they can do anything physically in my state. They can do pretty much whatever they want to do. Thanks (c)  The taking into custody and detention by a law enforcement officer, merchant, merchant's employee, farmer, or a transit agency's employee or agent, if done in compliance with all the requirements of this subsection, shall not render such law enforcement officer, merchant, merchant's employee, farmer, or a transit agency's employee or agent, criminally or civilly liable for false arrest, false imprisonment, or unlawful detention. (5)(a)  A merchant, merchant's employee, farmer, or a transit agency's employee or agent who takes a person into custody, as provided in subsection (3), or who causes an arrest, as provided in subsection (4), of a person for retail theft, farm theft, transit fare evasion, or trespass shall not be criminally or civilly liable for false arrest or false imprisonment when the merchant, merchant's employee, farmer, or a transit agency's employee or agent has probable cause to believe that the person committed retail theft, farm theft, transit fare evasion, or trespass. Looks like if the buzzer goes off and even though you have not stole anything, they are allowed to apprehend and detain you without repurcussion as well.

Quoted: I don't think that the lawyer will be able to get in on the lawsuit.  Cali courts (don't know about TX) usually don't allow witnesses to act as attorneys. Sounds like there was plenty of stupidity to go around.  Bad guy shouldn't have stolen stuff - Mall ninjas shouldn't have choked him out and pinned him to the skillet.

a big +1  chokeholds a a big no no for law enforcement here.  It will be interesting to see if they rule cause of death as positional asphixa(sp) which is why you never hog tie someone.

I'm pretty anti-thieving but I'm sorry, those mall ninjas deserve whats coming.  They did not need to kill the man to affect his arrest.  You can't justify that any more than you could putting him in a choke hold until he expired.  

Yeah sucky stuff happens when you steal.  I predict these boys will be seeking employment and possibly a large loan in the future though.

Quoted: Free advice: get out of New York before you finish turning into a pod person. Apparently, if I walk into your house, naked and unarmed, you and your family should watch me eat everything in the refrigerator, drink all your booze, fondle your wife's tits, piss on the couch, and smash the piano with your easy chair while you wait for the cops, right? After all, it's not life or death, right?

well, if he kills you while you are sitting at the table eating, he'll probably go to jail.

Quoted: Quoted: Unless you are a police/peace officer you shouldn't be allowed by law to lay your hands on another person (unless it is a life or death situation) These yahoo's with little or no training can kill someone with what they think they know. Really now?   So you would have no problem with me coming into your home while you are there and taking every single piece of property you have? ANd you won't lay a finger on me? Because..I'll be long gone WAY before the cops ever get there. Sgat1r5

I will have no problem not laying a hand on you.



My shotgun might have a problem with you though, but hey, if we are playing that game "technically" I wouldn't be "laying a hand on you"

Touche

Quoted: Quoted: Quoted: Are Loss Prevention allowed to tackle someone? I dont think they can do anything physically in my state. They can do pretty much whatever they want to do. Thanks (c)  The taking into custody and detention by a law enforcement officer, merchant, merchant's employee, farmer, or a transit agency's employee or agent, if done in compliance with all the requirements of this subsection, shall not render such law enforcement officer, merchant, merchant's employee, farmer, or a transit agency's employee or agent, criminally or civilly liable for false arrest, false imprisonment, or unlawful detention. (5)(a)  A merchant, merchant's employee, farmer, or a transit agency's employee or agent who takes a person into custody, as provided in subsection (3), or who causes an arrest, as provided in subsection (4), of a person for retail theft, farm theft, transit fare evasion, or trespass shall not be criminally or civilly liable for false arrest or false imprisonment when the merchant, merchant's employee, farmer, or a transit agency's employee or agent has probable cause to believe that the person committed retail theft, farm theft, transit fare evasion, or trespass. Looks like if the buzzer goes off and even though you have not stole anything, they are allowed to apprehend and detain you without repurcussion as well.

So by extension they could tackle you, strangle you to death on the searing pavement and if you did steal then good for them and if not... well.... we'll all be outraged.  

I think I might intervene when I saw someone dying with some asshole sitting on his back.

Quoted: Quoted: Boo..fucking...hoo. Dude....diapers.....  Notice this story lacks any mention that the guy had priors?  Probably because he didn't. This is overzealousness by mall ninja wanna-be cops who were too stupid to pass the PO test.

According to the article he stole more than diapers......

This was posted over at glocktalk a couple days ago. I didn't link it over here cause I figured it would have been a dupe. According to someone over there the guy did have a couple priors, and IIRC one of them was for theft. Not that that should make any difference. He stole stuff, then fought the security. If he died from positional asphixia then I agree the LPs are guilty. If he died of a heart attack or because of drugs in his system then I have no sympathy for him, cause he brought it on himself.

ETA:glocktalk.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=418305

ETA:

G36's Rule Senior Member FYI According to PublicData.com, Stacy Clay Driver has a record of assualt in 1996 and theft in 2004.

If they were real LEO everyone here would have a shitstorm and wanting to know if any dogs were killed.hinking.gif

People who steal give up a lot of rights, even the right to their own life sometimes.

This guy was caught and cuffed and held on the pavement in Texas for 20 minutes. They killed him and they didnt have to.
Mall ninjas out of control and they should hang for it.

If the guy who died was an actual thief and someone actually saw him steal something, instead of just thinking that he stole something, then he definately got what he deserved.

[edit]Good riddence to more white trash, I wonder if the fucker had his daily dose of meth for the day yet.[/edit]

Quoted: #1. Wal Mart LP is notallowed to really chase outside of the storeFalse, not supposed to chase off property #2. They are not licensed security, and arent allowed to have cuffs in this state.We can carry cuffs in my state, and the many others #3. They arent allowed to bring a suspected shoplifter to the ground unless he physically attacked them.The law, atleast here in Wa, says the least amount of necessary force to detain, he doesn't have to attack, he just has to resist #4. If they do decide physical force is needed, then chokeholds are not to be used...ever.  They are to lay down on them. #5. It is not up to LP or MoD to determine peoples health This basically comes from the Wal Mart guide book. Wal Mart will be sued, rightly so. The members of LP will be charged with the death of this man, rightly so. The District and Regional LPs will probably lose their jobs, or at the very least be demoted.

Quoted: Are Loss Prevention allowed to tackle someone? I dont think they can do anything physically in my state. PS how come they never have a shirt on? The criminal? Just like on COPs, they never have a shirt on.

oh yes they can

Make me whole bitch!

ETA: FWIW (pretty much nothing) In GA, you could say that is a false arrest imprisonment under GA code 16-5-41.

GA code 16-5-41.
(a) A person commits the offense of false imprisonment when, in violation of the personal liberty of another, he arrests, confines, or detains such person without legal authority.
(b) A person convicted of the offense of false imprisonment shall be punished by imprisonment for not less than one nor more than ten years.

Under Georgia codified law, an arrest is defined as:

GA code 17-4-1
An actual touching of a person with a hand is not essential to constitute a valid arrest. If the person voluntarily submits to being considered under arrest or yields on condition of being allowed his freedom of locomotion, under the discretion of the officer, the arrest is complete.

Quoted: People who steal give up a lot of rights, even the right to their own life sometimes. This guy was caught and cuffed and held on the pavement in Texas for 20 minutes. They killed him and they didnt have to. Mall ninjas out of control and they should hang for it.

From the article:

He also said a review of surveillance tape showed that nine minutes had elapsed between the time employees "got (Driver) under control and the time EMS showed up."