Santa Ana, CA asked in Libel & Slander and Personal Injury for California

Q: I was stopped by loss prevention, and while detaining me, he caused injury to my head and wrists.

I am a 5 foot 5 inches, 115 pound female. I was stopped on my way out the door, and LP guy who was much bigger than me, thought it would be appropriate to yank my arm behind my back and then slam my body and head in to the glass wall in order to hand cuff me. He was accusing me of taking a DVD that I did not actually take. After getting one cuff on he repeated the same procedure, slamming my head a second time. He then dragged me to the office and cuffed me to a bench. The hand cuffs left my hands swollen and cut. I was detained for over two hours until I finally begged them to get the police there. I called my boyfriend to tell him what happened and the LP guy over powered me once again in order to take my phone from me. This was all while I was only being detained, not arrested. Everything is on surveillance cameras. Also it happened at a store that is in the same plaza as my place of employment. I have since lost my job and have had multiple people tell me that they saw it happen.

2 Lawyer Answers
Theodore Allan Greene
Theodore Allan Greene
Answered
  • Sacramento, CA
  • Licensed in California

A: This behavior seems above and beyond what they legally have a right to do. Did the police ultimately show up? Did they issue a report? I had a similar case and we did quite well with an early settlement. Depending on the facts you can prove you might need to take it through litigation and get a jury to decide. A lot of questions to be answered first. You should immediately go to see a local attorney for a free consultation. You don't want the evidence to be destroyed such as videos, etc.. good luck to you.

William John Light agrees with this answer

Dale S. Gribow
Dale S. Gribow
Answered
  • Palm Desert, CA
  • Licensed in California

A: To properly evaluate any legal question a lawyer needs a thorough summary of the facts. What you have shared is not much. If you are not clear then the lawyer will no doubt be challenged to give an accurate answer.

It is the same as using the adage for using a computer... “JUNK IN, JUNK OUT”.

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obviously they are saying you did not cooperate with a lawful order...even if they were wrong.

If you did not take anything did they let you go or arrest you?.........you may want to contact a lawyer asap....and file in small claims for up to $10k if they did not arrest you and charge you.

William John Light agrees with this answer

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