Shoplifter Choked to Death by Security

Shoplifter Choked to Death - News Story

Will be interesting to see how this one plays out

My first impression was - if the guy was able to plead for help, he can't have been unconscious

But clearly, something was wrong and the guard was overly aggressive

There was no mention of him being SIA trained but I guess he must have been in order to be a security guard in that store???

What do you think guys?

Held for 10 minutes - the guy must have passed out at some stage - so why didn't he let go?
Panic, adrenalin, fear, poor training?

Sad story Al.

Observations from me, based on the information at hand:

The victim was already restrained, on the floor, by four security guards. Why the need for the additional force?

The story states that the guard had "a" hand on the victims throat, which suggests to me that he had his windpipe in a Major Chokehold. The difference with this kind of choke, as opposed to a Rear Naked that will deprive the brain of blood thus rendering the person unconscious, is that too much pressure applied to the windpipe will crush it. In that instance, its game over very quickly.

I have trained several Security Guards. No offence to the good ones out there, but in my experience they are poorly trained, poorly paid, and in a job that is painfully dull 99% of the time - they crave the moment to prove their worth. Reading between the lines of how he reacted to the pleas around him, I think this guy had something to prove.

Sadly, he proved it.

I agree Michael

He proved he could strangle someone with 3 or 4 other guards to help him

Al Peasland wrote:Shoplifter Choked to Death - News Story



Held for 10 minutes - the guy must have passed out at some stage - so why didn't he let go?
Panic, adrenalin, fear, poor training?

Probably no training Al... I think it is highly unlikely that the guard had any training in restraint techniques.. The SIA after all seems to think everyone will stop and behave if you ask the nicely

One of them was Sam Bawden who used wholly inappropriate, excessive and unlawful means of restraint. He held him around the throat and continued despite members of the public screaming at him to stop. It was clear that Mr Bishop was in serious distress.

This tells us that the guard was clearly under stress,maybe due to the type of job or maybe due to some personal reasons,but nothing justifies the cost the shoplifter had to pay over a 35pound bottle.