More recently, this February, a female shopper was bashed over the head by a nightstick-wielding lady guard at a drug store, suffering a head wound that took eight staples to close. Whether the shoplifter is male or female, black, white or other, is of little concern. They are always self-defining, after the fact. No one should lose his life, the demonstrators said, over a mere piece of property. Thus, arguments were raised for better training of security guards.
Security guards serve essentially two purposes in stores.
First, if uniformed, they are a deterrent to potential miscreants, a visible symbol that the premises are protected. Second, if they witness criminal behavior, they are empowered to detain or apprehend the suspects until the police arrive. In both the Detroit incidents, the suspects vigorously attempted to resist apprehension, resulting in violent altercations and assaults on the guards, which led to their untimely deaths in the attempt to subdue them. There are a lot of risks to go around. Storeowners, who benefit local citizens by bringing enterprise into the community, assume the risk that patrons will not steal their merchandise, a serious situation that might cause them to leave the community.