combat of any time and place

[swaghauler]

I'm sure this applies to most of the LE here but 9 out of 10 of my incidents involved people who were addicts of some kind. Impaired judgement is always a factor in people offering violence to other people.

The reason so many of my incidents were during Retail Theft stops is because of the Law of Unintended Consequences. In the 90's in PA, a 1st Offense was a Summary Offense (like a speeding ticket) unless the value of the item was $200 or more (then it became a Misdemeanor). A 2nd Offense was a Misdemeanor 2 (unless the item's value was $200+, then it was an M1). A 3rd Offense was a Felony 3 (irregardless of the item's value) with jail in most cases. Since most shoplifters are "repeat offenders," they had nothing to lose by fighting with you. Most of the people I had altercations with carried knives for one simple reason. They were prior offenders and many were already on probation/parole. A gun would mean 10 years, but a knife would generally only mean a 48 hour detainer. I will never do retail theft again.

[Rockwolf66]

Swag,

In one of the retail incidents I was involved with Some Chica was trying to steal something for over an hour it seemed like. My fellow employees and I were doing things in the same areas she was in. Finally she got desperate and ripped open a package of hair color and bolted for the door. Between her and the door was one of my female co-workers. I got involved when my co-worker started screaming for help after pinning the shoplifter to a register counter. Said perp went from threatening to pleading and begging. My co-worker warned me that the shoplifter had a knife. All I had on me at the time was a cheap sheet metal boxcutter due to store policy. It seemed like forever for the cops to leave the corner starbucks and get into the store. Said Shoplifter had a large Kitchen knife on her. Alledgedly she was four months pregonant and drunk on thunderbird. She was trying to steal something to get in with some clique.

There are some days when I want to watch California burn.