You know what? Because I actually want to be a lawyer one day. And I'm just somebody trying to make I'm just somebody trying to make it in life. >> And I told you that I'm homeless, okay? That's [music] why I took a few shirts. >> Like a solid court area. We'll get your cell phone. Um, we'll [music] hold it to your ear and you can talk to her. Does that sound good? >> Yeah. >> Okay. >> I appreciate that. >> On April 17th, 2025, a Walmart shoplifting call ended in an arrest and a disputed use of force. The arrest itself was almost certainly lawful. What happened around it is where the legal picture gets complicated. >> Don't crowd me, okay? I want to You guys don't have any proof. You don't have any Can you please let me go, please? Can you let me go, please, so I CAN DO THAT? YOU DIDN'T EVEN GIVE ME A CHANCE. YOU DIDN'T EVEN GIVE ME SIR. You You didn't give me a chance. YOU DID NOT. YOU WON'T EVEN GET OFF OF ME. How can I do that? Sir, can you Can you please get my shoe? You know what? This is This is how you guys treat people. This is how you guys treat people. Get your elbow off of me. Get your elbow off of me. I'm just trying to get my shoe on. You don't have to be a You guys are allowed to treat me like that as a woman and if somebody >> something. Thanks. And when I'm done it's >> Can you please get my shoe on, please? Thank you. Can you please put my shoe on? >> That was unnecessary. >> No, it wasn't. You didn't have to do that to me. Thank you very much. >> me the whole time. >> I was not fighting you at all. You literally grabbed me and smashed me against the wall. >> What? You put your >> And then you put your your knee on my back and I told you I have a spine injury. >> feet underneath >> I can't. I have a spine injury. You have to put You have to literally stand me up. >> Yeah, with your legs. >> I'm not able to do that. I'm telling you that. >> Well, if you're too loud, I won't be able to >> You straight put your knee in my back and my spine and I told you I have a spine injury. You're big as and you're putting your knee in my spine. >> And then this is where Are you injured or >> Can someone help me, please? >> Are you injured at all? >> Yeah, I would like to be a checked out. >> Yeah, they're on the way. >> That's fine. Can you please help me get up? >> I can't help you get up if you can't help me. >> I need two people to stand me up, sir. You just put your knee in my spine. I have a spine injury. >> Okay, are you able to actually assist me? >> How can I assist you? I don't have my hands. >> No, use your legs to stand up. >> I can't. >> Okay, then I can't just lift you up. You're not 5 >> And you're not 5 lbs either. Your big ass gun on the top of me. >> kids' weight and I'll get another officer over here to help me. >> No, it's You You just detained me and didn't even tell me what the reason was. >> We got a plate. They told you. So, what are your injuries? Is it your back? >> I told you what they are. I don't have to say nothing else to you. >> Okay. >> Can I make a phone call, please? And what are you arresting me for? What am I being arrested for? >> Obstruction and theft third. >> Theft third? Theft third is what? For what exactly? You don't even know what I stole. >> It's shoplifting. >> You don't even know what I stole. And and furthermore, isn't there a limit for when you take people to jail? >> It sounds like you're pretty familiar with this process. >> know what? Because I actually want to be a lawyer one day. And that's why. That's why I'm familiar with something like that. >> lawyer. >> I don't have a record. >> Future lawyer. >> I don't have a record. I'm just somebody trying to I'm just somebody trying to make it in life. Unlike you. >> Take her to the office. >> Yeah. You want to get her out of the car first? >> Yeah. >> help. I have a spine injury. >> Spine injury. >> So, can you please be careful? He put his knee in my spine and I told him I had a spine injury. >> Okay. Uh we can solve that problem by don't resist, right? >> I'm not resisting, sir. >> no, you're not, but >> I wasn't resisting in the first place, so don't tell me not to resist. >> Okay, we're going to start off this way, all right? >> Thank you. I appreciate that. I'm not talking to anybody at all. >> This process >> Okay. You can just fine. No, I'm not treated like everybody else. I'm a black woman in America. >> Oh, please stop resisting. >> I'm black too. >> Yeah, you're black. >> And you And you seen him just throw me on the ground. >> No, I didn't see anybody. Have a seat, please. Thank you. >> I'm not talking to anybody, sir. >> Well, I don't care if you're talking to >> Thank you. >> I'm not talking to you. >> I was talking to that officer. >> On the on the front porch. She took underwear shirts and she was >> I did not take underwear. I paid for my underwear. >> That's what I'm saying. She had one that we have on. Underwear shirts and she or she stole the shirts and paid for the underwear. That's what I was saying, man. >> Ma'am, was there anything else? >> There's nothing else. It's just shirts and you don't You don't have You do >> Yes, yes, legal authority. Stop. >> No, I did not authorize that. >> Exercise your right to remain silent then. >> Listen, I did not authorize him to go through my items. >> have to. You're under arrest for shoplifting. >> what? And I didn't authorize you and you have the wrong ID. >> Oh my god. No, nobody's going to We're going to stop talking to you. >> I can go to jail. >> That's the wrong ID. Sir, just Why are you going to get all that stuff out of my purse? It's just a couple shirts. Don't go through my purse. You're not That's it. That's all I have. You don't have to go through my purse. Marijuana is legal. You can put that back in my purse. You have no right to go through the rest of my items. >> to advise you of your rights, okay? >> No, I'm not. He has Why are you going through the rest of my purse? >> Argue with it in court. That's your legal right. >> Okay, that's fine. I will do that. >> I'm going to advise you of your rights right now. Having these rights in mind, do you wish to talk to us now? >> Listen, I will I will cooperate, but I don't like how he's going through my purse. There's nothing else in there for you to go through my purse. I would appreciate if you do not not go through the rest of my purse. >> You're going to go to jail today. So, be from obstruction and theft third, okay? >> No, listen. I I have every You can just >> So, for that reason, I need to actually look through this. >> Take me to jail. I don't have a record. Okay, and I apologize, but I'm homeless, okay? I am homeless. I don't have any any [ __ ] where to go. Can you please put me put my stuff? Can I please go home? That's all I want to do is go home. Take me to jail. I'm homeless. Like, I'm homeless. That's why I took a few shirts. >> Where's home? >> What do you mean, where's home? >> Said you're home, but you want to be taken home. >> I want in my car. In my car. That's where I belong, in my car. >> Which car is yours outside? >> Sir, so you're taking me to jail for what? >> Yeah. >> For what? >> For obstruction. You fought me. >> I did not fight you, sir. You >> Yeah, I gave you a lawful order to stop. >> No, sir. You literally put your knee in my back. >> The foundation is the merchant detention privilege, recognized in nearly every American jurisdiction. A retailer with probable cause to believe merchandise was concealed may detain briefly and transfer that cause to responding officers. That transfer satisfied the Fourth Amendment threshold for a warrantless arrest. Force is analyzed under a separate standard entirely. Graham versus Connor, decided in 1989. Graham requires objective reasonableness judged from a reasonable officer's perspective on the scene, not with hindsight. That reasonableness must be continuously reassessed. Force proportionate at takedown may become excessive once the arrestee is cuffed. A stated medical condition enters that calculus. Officers need not believe Edward Colvin but must factor it in. Sustained knee pressure after handcuffing and a repeated spinal injury statement is the pattern generating adverse federal law. The exposure here is civil. Section 1983 claims for excessive force post-cuffing and claims under 42 U.S.C. 1983 survive qualified immunity. >> You're taking me to jail and you literally slammed me against and you didn't even give me an opportunity. >> Yes, I did. I gave you >> No, you did not. >> Okay. >> So, taking me to jail for what? >> Shoplifting is theft. It's a crime. >> I understand. Okay. I understand that, but take me to jail for Why do I have to go to jail? Why can't I be seen in the court? >> Again, see there's that self-entitled thing. Anybody who commits a crime can be taken to jail. But I'm telling you if you commit a crime Well, you are today. You shouldn't have committed shoplifting. >> Can I please make a phone call? >> Yeah, after jail. >> Can I please >> Yes, after jail you can. You have a right to at the jail. That'll probably help you in court. You should keep talking. >> Sir, listen. I'm already in trouble for whatever this is. He literally He his knee in my in my throat. >> Don't resist. >> No, I wasn't resisting. I was not resisting. >> Well, I can tell by your attitude from the moment I met you that it's probably more plausible that you were resisting and arguing. >> not, sir. He literally slammed me against the the the door. >> Okay, well, like I told you before, then just argue with it in court. >> Okay. Those are all my cards. So, why do you >> Is there something that you're worried that I'm going to find? >> No, I'm not. But >> don't want me to keep searching. >> Because this is my belongings. >> All right. >> I don't need you to go through my pocketbook. >> under arrest, so yeah, you have to be searched incident to an arrest. >> Can you please open answer that, please, so I can talk to him? >> Nope. You're under arrest. You don't get a phone call. Officer Cardozo, would you like to do a search incident to arrest on this gal? So, I'm going to explain to you real quick. He's going to stand you up, and he's going to search your person per law. So, have you stand up. He's going to search your pockets. Do you have anything else that you shouldn't have on you? Do you? Perfect. I like the way you responded. >> I didn't have to turn around. >> He's just doing the search real quick, and then just one second. Sorry. Yeah, do you have your ID? Okay. Do you want me to Are you wanting to go to the hospital today? >> Sir, I I want to go home. I want to go sleep in my car. That's where I live. I don't have a home. This is >> So, what I'm worried about is your medical condition right now. Are you in Are you in back pain? >> I do have pain. >> Do you want to go to the hospital? Okay. Do you think so? We don't see anything based on the eval that we're seeing. >> Okay. >> But but based on what happened, if you'd like to go to the hospital to get an X-ray? You don't want that? >> I will check myself out when I get out. >> Okay. All right. No problem. >> The purse search rests on separate doctrine. Under United States versus Robinson, search incident to a lawful custodial arrest is per se reasonable. A purse carried on the person a purse squarely within that authority. No warrant is required. No consent is required. Riley versus California do require a warrant. The phone itself may not be searched without a warrant. Miranda warning is a common misconception. It is not triggered by arrest, but by custody combined with interrogation. Statements volunteered before any warning remain admissible. The warning is required only before questions designed to elicit incrimination. The advice may precede any questions designed to elicit incrimination. That time is legally sound. The obstruction charge is the weakest link. Obstruction statutes do not require any obstruction in the lawful discharge under City of Houston versus Hill decided in 1987. The first amendment protects wide ranging verbal challenges directed at police. It protects passive non-cooperation standing alone where it satisfies the statutory elements. The verbal resting on direct observation and a close proximity to the means of solid resistance.