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AjahnAnarchy t1_j1v371b wrote

Reply to comment by JejuneEsculenta in TIFU by chasing a shoplifter by staterho

OP technically commits assault chasing the suspect. 🤷🏻‍♀️

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JejuneEsculenta t1_j1v3vhm wrote

Chasing a criminal is not assault. Threatening them with injury may be.

'Course, that all depends on the locality. Assault and battery laws vary a little.

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galahad423 t1_j1vp89k wrote

Shopkeeper’s privilege allows detention in or near the store using a reasonable degree of force in a reasonable manner/for a reasonable period of time with a reasonable and sincere suspicion someone has stolen or is attempting to steal

Chasing them out of the store and grabbing them is almost certainly unprotected conduct in this instance.

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Termsandconditionsch t1_j1yu3c0 wrote

Not if he hits her with the bottle first it isn’t.

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galahad423 t1_j1zl92j wrote

Then you could potentially argue it was self defense (but only if she wasn’t the escalator and didn’t provoke it, which is murky here since based on the facts she approached him and tried to grab the bottle), but IF she went out and chased him, there are some courts who will find HE was using his right of self defense when she approached him with the intent to put her hands on him or grab the bottle, both of which could be considered an initial assault which he was defending himself against

You generally can’t use self-defense as a defense when you’re the one instigating the fight

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Termsandconditionsch t1_j22ilwv wrote

Depends on jurisdiction. Hitting someone who’s unarmed with a deadly weapon (which a 1.5l glass bottle definitely can be) will void any self defence argument in a lot of places.

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galahad423 t1_j22j851 wrote

Sure, my point was that it’s unlikely the cashier would be unable to successfully claim self-defense here either, since they both pursued the potential thief and made physical contact first based on the doctrine of extended personhood (when she grabbed the bottle), AND the thief could potentially turn the defense around on them and claim self-defense themselves

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