The X post showed police detaining a teen at a Walmart after managers asked for her vest back. The video captured officers repeatedly urging the teen to hand over the vest and leave peacefully.

    • orbitz@lemmy.ca
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      14 hours ago

      I think they get a higher score the more they act like a complete douche and shitrag. Unsure what the score is for but seems to be a safe assumption

    • whotookkarl@lemmy.dbzer0.com
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      22 hours ago

      Poor quality or no training because there are no training and education standards & no filtering for violent candidates

      poor quality or no internal affairs oversight to prosecute unnecessary escalation and police crimes

      police unions that abuse the idea of worker unions to protect police from facing charges for committing crimes while wearing a badge

      no charges for turning off body cams during arrests or interrogations

      immunity laws that privilege police to protect them from facing liability for crimes they commit while on the clock

      failure to hold trainers and leaders accountable for the ill prepared and violent individuals they pay to put on the street with a badge who constantly escalate

      no licensing to revoke so when a violent criminal is fired they can move a state or county over and get hired into police again

  • Phoenixz@lemmy.ca
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    22 hours ago

    I’m divided myself about this…

    Let her keep the vest, it’s a 5 dollar loss, is it really worth the publicity, the work, the crap that comes with it?

    The girl was constantly breaking basic rules, which I also understand isn’t a good thing. She’s still young, and needs to learn, but we all have rules. This rule “no eating at the cash register” I understand and agree with, I would not like it if a cashier takes my groceries with dirty chocolate hands or something

    Then, police over a fucking 5 dollar vest? I’m guessing this is the USA?

    Listening how the girl responded I feel like she has some anger management issues, I wonder how her home situation is. Most kids don’t respond like she did when being fired.

    Then the US police being US police, what can I even say about that that hasn’t been said a million times already?

    Just overall a lot to say about everyone in this video, I guess my takeaway is that she needs help

    • godsammitdam@lemmy.zip
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      21 hours ago

      You have more empathy than the management, legislators, and law enforcement.

      And that’s the problem. You looked for a cause, talking about her home life potentially being difficult. You treated her as a human being and are looking to help her.

      That’s not “tough on crime” policy nor does it help for profit prison systems nor law enforcement meet their quotas. She’s not a human to them, she’s a statistic. Those with capital are the people they protect and serve.

  • Maeve@kbin.earth
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    2 days ago

    One commenter who sided with the teen wrote, “To beat up a human being mercilessly for a dirty plastic vest. The cops will never arrest a tax-dodging millionaires but spring into action like Viagra fed hares and jump on a hapless person and try to escalate it into a slaughter.” They further called out the original poster for supporting the arrest…

    “This is f—— stupid. You take it out of her last check since you still owe her money, it is impossible for her to steal from you,” one comment said, “Charge the company with creating a false police report.”

    Only decent comments in the article.

    • pdxfed@lemmy.world
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      1 day ago

      Depending on the state the (ex)employee is in, it can be illegal to withhold wages of any reason not prior authorized by the employee. As this was an involuntary termination(firing) the employee likely did not known it was coming. Depending on how she was normally paid it may have required payment at time of termination(depending on state again) so the employer may not have been able to deduct anything from a final check already processed/created.

      With that said, everything ever in any company, security and HR basics book ever says you let the person walk with something and if you want to pursue theft charges you do so as a company. Most companies know people who are being fired experience a lot of emotions and it can put them in a state where they may act unpredictably. It may escalate into violence, retaliation by the (ex-employee), cause a scene, etc., none of which are anything approaching “worth it” for a company unless you’re talking about trade secrets or the like and not a $1.14 vest. Many employees/humans, when given the chance to take a breath and leave the situation would have returned the vest, but being treated like a caged animal yields predictable results for corporations who sees their employees as such.

      Horrifying and unsurprising from Walmart where customers are/were funneled into violence chutes(black Friday) to save $50 on TVs each year with no thought to the bigger picture or safety basics.

  • GreenKnight23@lemmy.world
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    1 day ago

    I kept all my vests when I quit. I had collected almost all of them.

    • blue
    • maroon
    • white
    • green
    • brown

    I worked almost every single department in the store at one point or another.

  • BarneyPiccolo@lemmy.today
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    1 day ago

    I didn’t read the article, and I don’t know anything factual about this situation at all, but I 100% support the kid, and Wal-Mart and the police should give her a million bucks.

    Or burn the store down.

  • HeyJoe@lemmy.world
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    2 days ago

    Yet I see shit all the time where things like someones thousand dollar bike is stolen and they are just told by police to eat dirt because theres nothing they can do.

    • OwOarchist@pawb.social
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      2 days ago

      someones thousand dollar bike is stolen and they are just told by police to eat dirt because theres nothing they can do

      For anyone who finds themselves in that situation, here’s the cheat code:

      No: “Hey, police? My bike was stolen and I know exactly who took it and where it is. Can you get it back for me?”

      Yes: “Hey, police? My bike was stolen and I’m going right now to get it back. You can come along and watch if you want.”

      And then they’ll actually show up. Which can be nice because the thief is unlikely to try shit if the cops are there observing things.

      Source: I’ve had to do this several times myself. Worked every time.

      • ContactClosure@lemmus.org
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        21 hours ago

        Can confirm, they are completely incapable of doing anything unless it is to stop you from retrieving your property.

  • Madison420@lemmy.world
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    2 days ago

    Walmart vests are company property, and refusing to return one after termination can lead to criminal charges.

    No they can’t, that’s civil and theft is almost always strict intent.

    • Justin@lemmy.dbzer0.com
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      1 day ago

      I have two of them. I worked for Walmart for about six months when they swapped the dark blue vests for the light blue ones. I initially got one dark blue vest, but they gave me a light blue one, and never asked for either back even after I finished out my two weeks. Why is this only just now a thing?..

    • pivot_root@lemmy.world
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      1 day ago

      In a world where cops will harass individuals to stop them from being able to serve the owners of a store and shit like section 1201 of the DMCA exists, giant corporations will find a way to inflate a civil issue into a criminal one.

  • BeardededSquidward@lemmy.blahaj.zone
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    2 days ago

    One hand, I have never wanted to keep any of the nasty clothes I had working such shit jobs. But HEAVILY on the other hand fuck the police, ACAB. That thing probably costs the company $1 at most.

  • AA5B@lemmy.world
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    2 days ago

    ESH but Walmart sucks a lot more. By all Means fire him because he quit? But sue him for the $12.99 for the vest. There shouldn’t be criminal charges over something this small, and let them see what it costsnto recover their $12.99

      • BarneyPiccolo@lemmy.today
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        1 day ago

        There is nothing wrong with a 16 year old having a job. The problem is that they are only paid minimum wage, by a company owned by three of the Top 10 wealthiest people in America.

        • Virtvirt588@lemmy.world
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          1 day ago

          Agreed, a teenager should have the rights to work - that means, along side their studies if they desire. Saying otherwise, is abuse, not the other way around - that’s because they are not children but soon to be adults (teenagers), that are expected to have some experience in the world.

          Like you said the real problem is the ageism which causes poor pay - discrimination is the key here. This is what we should focus on, solidarity and work conditions of all workers regardless of age.

        • stray@pawb.social
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          1 day ago

          They also pay taxes without the right to vote. I’m in favor of kids working because I think occupation is fun and healthy, but labor is married to exploitation in current society.

        • DupaCycki@lemmy.world
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          1 day ago

          If the conditions are good (they are not), then I can agree it’s okay.

          However, I have another question. Why on earth would a 16-year-old want to work? Maybe some of them are curious and wanted to give it a try. But I’d wager the answer to most cases is that they need money badly.

          No family should be in a situation where a child has to help support the household financially, even occasionally.

          • Virtvirt588@lemmy.world
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            1 day ago

            I’ll have to disagree with you - since this is not particularly true everywhere. You’re forgetting that teenagers are also people - they have needs and wants. This doesn’t necessarily mean they have a whole family to support but maybe themselves, their hobbies, or even other things that dont mean the whole family is in financial trouble.

            Self reliance is an important topic within teenage years, and supporting teenagers while they become less financially reliant on parents is important. At the end the objective is to support themselves, and buy whatever the hell they want without judgement.

    • Virtvirt588@lemmy.world
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      1 day ago

      A 16 year old employee. Or simply, an employee.

      Discrimination isnt helping no one, the problem is unfair treatment of workers.