Thread: Walmart is a public nusance in Beech Grove Indiana

From the following article:

http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/n...ares/31814031/

BEECH GROVE, Ind. -- When a man shot himself following an incident at Walmart in Beech Grove, it was the last straw for that town’s mayor. He’s declared the business a public nuisance.

As a public nuisance, Walmart can be assessed fines when officers are needed there.

Look, I'm not some big defender of Walmart, they don't need me defending them. But purely on principle, this feels like a blame the victim mentality. Why is Walmart responsible when your town has this many lunatics running around in it? Are the police simply deciding that they can't be bothered to catch criminals, or it's just too much work?

Man... if this can happen, shouldn't Walmart be given a license for vigilantism or something? Isn't this a message to criminals that Walmart is now the place not only for your shopping needs, but your criminal ones as well? Just post a sign outside that says "Laws not really enforced here".

Sorry, but this sorta sickens me. This is a government agency whose mandate is by the people to protect and serve. If they get to decide when they should do so, and to charge extra for it, we should be able to opt out of it.

Something's up though:

Between February 2014 and mid-June, Beech Grove police made 1,278 runs to the store resulting in 473 arrests.

Over 100 arrests per month, 300+ runs to the store. That's a hell of a lot of activity out there.

Originally Posted by NightTrainLayne

Something's up though:



Over 100 arrests per month, 300+ runs to the store. That's a hell of a lot of activity out there.

Yeah, absolutely, but is that an indictment of Walmart? Or the city? If Walmart goes away, do people suddenly become less insane?

Crazy people and troublemakers flock to where they feel welcome. I live off East Colfax in Denver and see Hotels, shops, and other businesses that do nothing about drug deals and public nuisance type behavior and the cops are fed up. Wal Mart can afford to take steps to curb the activity with stepped up security and other measures. The police are not a private security force and if Wal Mart won't act on their own they should be fined.

Originally Posted by MasterShake

Crazy people and troublemakers flock to where they feel welcome. I live off East Colfax in Denver and see Hotels, shops, and other businesses that do nothing about drug deals and public nuisance type behavior and the cops are fed up. Wal Mart can afford to take steps to curb the activity with stepped up security and other measures. The police are not a private security force and if Wal Mart won't act on their own they should be fined.

But the problem isn't that Walmart isn't acting, the problem is that Walmart is NOT a police force and has no power to arrest individuals. They use their local security to determine if/when crimes are committed, and then call the police. The cops don't want to be called anymore, and have declared Walmart to be the nuisance.

Again, let me be clear. This isn't about Walmart allowing this type of behavior, it's that Walmart is simply the location where too many crimes are being committed. The police aren't fed up because the business is doing nothing to curb the activity, they are fed up because they are called in to deal with said illegal activity. You know, their jobs.


This is from another article:

BEECH GROVE, Ind. (Aug. 13, 2015) – Two men are now at the center of the latest issues at the Beech Grove Walmart. Police say 42-year-old Gillace Monroe Samples and 42-year-old Johnny Maxey attempted to steal from the Beech Grove Walmart Thursday.

They were stopped inside the store. During questioning, Samples pulled out a handgun and then ran from officers. According to witnesses, he sprinted across the Walmart parking lot and entered the nearby Egg Roll No. 1 restaurant through the back door.

That is when police say Samples, who is wanted on two outstanding warrants locked himself in the bathroom and shot himself in the head.

This is the straw the broke the mayors back. Two guys shoplifted, Walmart attempted to detain and question them (which is all they have the power to do). One of them whipped out a gun and ran from police. How is this something Walmart is culpable for? Should there be metal detectors at the entrances? If so, what is the cutoff in size for requiring these? Should Egg Roll No. 1 also be declared a public nuisance?

Again, I get it. Walmart draws a large socio-economic crowd which is more apt to committing crimes like this, but I'm not sure that they are responsible for policing the public, nor do I think the government should have the power to choose when to enforce the laws it is mandated to. I'm not sure I want to live in a world where Walmart gets to "curb" me.

I agree that they aren't a police force, but they do reserve the right to enforce policies to help cut back the issues. They are not powerless. I have a Grocery store by me that employs off duty cops to turn back potential troublemakers and discourage loitering. They had a high shoplifting rate that was cut back big time by that and the store feels much safer. The difference? The off duty cops are being paid to be there instead of responding to petty crimes when they have better things to do. If Kroger can afford to beef up security surely Wal Mart can. I'm not saying Wal Mart needs vigilantes but they can do better, and if they can't they should be fined or they need to shut down.

e colfax isnt even that bad

Walmart is too cheap to care.

Originally Posted by MasterShake

I agree that they aren't a police force, but they do reserve the right to enforce policies to help cut back the issues. They are not powerless. I have a Grocery store by me that employs off duty cops to turn back potential troublemakers and discourage loitering. They had a high shoplifting rate that was cut back big time by that and the store feels much safer. The difference? The off duty cops are being paid to be there instead of responding to petty crimes when they have better things to do. If Kroger can afford to beef up security surely Wal Mart can. I'm not saying Wal Mart needs vigilantes but they can do better, and if they can't they should be fined or they need to shut down.

I'm not buying it. Why is this just an issue in 1 town in the country? Why don't we hear about this everywhere? Or at the very least, more widespread. Hiring "off duty" police is just another way to tax and/or "fine" for being a nuisance. I find it hard to believe that in a town the size of Beech Grove, the cops have better things to do than to respond to a shoplifter who is threatening security with a gun.

Walmart vs Target or many other stores the same is viewed as kind of getto no mater where it's at IMO. And in most people's opinion. Not trying to speak for everyone but I do listen to people.

http://www.city-data.com/crime/crime...e-Indiana.html

Beach Grove, Indiana seems to have common crime rates. They also employ more cops than the average American city. They are much lower than the rest of America in many categories when it comes to crime. This makes it seem like maybe the store is an issue. It seems pretty socialist to put all the burden on the government to provide security when private security could do the trick. One has trillions in debt and the other has billions in surplus.

Originally Posted by turftoad

Walmart vs Target or many other stores the same is viewed as kind of getto no mater where it's at IMO. And in most people's opinion. Not trying to speak for everyone but I do listen to people.

I tell someone I go to X store and people tell me they're pretty expensive. I always say I'll gladly pay more money not to go to Walmart.

Originally Posted by Dapper Dan

http://www.city-data.com/crime/crime...e-Indiana.html

Beach Grove, Indiana seems to have common crime rates. They also employ more cops than the average American city. They are much lower than the rest of America in many categories when it comes to crime. This makes it seem like maybe the store is an issue. It seems pretty socialist to put all the burden on the government to provide security when private security could do the trick. One has trillions in debt and the other has billions in surplus.

Since when is incarcerating shoplifters "providing security"? We aren't talking about Walmart calling out the police to simply hang out.

It's socialist to put the "burden" on the government to provide security? You do realize that this is a constitutional mandate, right?

I'm starting to get the creeping feeling that folks think Walmart was dressed too provocatively.

The numbers cited just reinforce my point. If the crime rate is the same or less than surrounding areas, why does Beech Grove feel like it has the right to ask for protection money from businesses? Can you clarify what you mean when you say the "store is an issue"? What kind of issue can a store be?

Originally Posted by wayninja

Since when is incarcerating shoplifters "providing security"? We aren't talking about Walmart calling out the police to simply hang out.

It's socialist to put the "burden" on the government to provide security? You do realize that this is a constitutional mandate, right?

I'm starting to get the creeping feeling that folks think Walmart was dressed too provocatively.

The numbers cited just reinforce my point. If the crime rate is the same or less than surrounding areas, why does Beech Grove feel like it has the right to ask for protection money from businesses? Can you clarify what you mean when you say the "store is an issue"? What kind of issue can a store be?

How does it reinforce your point if the city is normal while Walmart gets an abnormal number of calls?

WalMart is making a massive profit. They feed enough off of the taxpayers. They can provide their own security.

I have no idea how the store is the problem. You can volunteer to go find out. The city doesn't seem to be the problem.

How can you justify WalMart NOT having private security if things are going on at an abnormal rate in their store? Shitty things are happening in their shitty store and they don't give a damn who is at risk because they still get a profit. Who shall we blame? The gawddamn city for getting tired of WalMarts ******* bullshit. If you have the money, you have a moral obligation to take care of whatever the **** is going on in your store and stop blaming the police. If the police are being forced to go to WalMart an abnormally excessive number of times then WalMart can pay a ******* fee or finally do something about it.

#ImOut

Originally Posted by Dapper Dan

How does it reinforce your point if the city is normal while Walmart gets an abnormal number of calls?

WalMart is making a massive profit. They feed enough off of the taxpayers. They can provide their own security.

I have no idea how the store is the problem. You can volunteer to go find out. The city doesn't seem to be the problem.

How can you justify WalMart NOT having private security if things are going on at an abnormal rate in their store? Shitty things are happening in their shitty store and they don't give a damn who is at risk because they still get a profit. Who shall we blame? The gawddamn city for getting tired of WalMarts ******* bullshit. If you have the money, you have a moral obligation to take care of whatever the **** is going on in your store and stop blaming the police. If the police are being forced to go to WalMart an abnormally excessive number of times then WalMart can pay a ******* fee or finally do something about it.

#ImOut

Walmart also pays a lot of taxes for their profits, so how do they feed off of taxpayers exactly? Are they subsidized somehow?

In this case I do believe Walmart should hire extra security. Every store here hires off duty cops for "detail". Not because anyone tells them they have to, but because customers prefer it and it makes the store a better place. Those off duty cops DO have the power to make arrests. It's a win win scenario.