This is a perfect example of what can happen when good people do nothing as policing agencies use excessive force on a shoplifter (or someone else engaging in a minor infraction).

(from a blogger on www.retailworker.com/node/16756)

"For anyone interested, the following is from a blog on the net (www.politick.info/blog.html) although I'm not sure if the author was present or where he might be getting his information from:

Saturday, August 13, 2005
Man dies in Wal-Mart parking lot.
It was a 96 degree day in Atascocita, Texas. Stacy Clay Driver, 30, father of a 2-month-old boy, master carpenter and soon-to-be pilot, came flying out of the store. Several Wal-Mart personnel followed him.

They caught him, and Driver twisted and turned until his shirt came off. He broke free, but was soon tackled by five more store personnel. They handcuffed him (!) and held him face-down on the ground. One employee had him in a choke hold. Another had his knee on the man's neck. Another few put pressure on his back.

The asphalt was estimated to be 127 degreees.

Mr. Driver, shirtless and being held on the hot asphalt, begged. "Please, I'm burning, let me up."

They did not.

A store employee brought out a rug for him to lay on. He was told by another employee he was "fine where he was." 30 people gathered, saying "let him up, it's too hot."

They did not.

After about five minutes, Mr. Driver stopped struggling and said "I'm dying, I can't breathe, call an ambulance."

They did not.

One of the customers said "hey, he's not breathing", and was told by an employee that Driver was "just on drugs". He then pointed out that his fingernails were gray. They called an ambulance.

Mr. Driver was dead.

The crime? Did he assault a child? Rob the store? Shoot somebody?

Store employees told investigators Driver entered the store with an item marked with a sticker indicating it had been paid for, then switched the sticker to a more expensive item and tried to leave with it.

The item in question?

Diapers.

Wal-Mart security killed a man for possibly stealing diapers. Does that seem a little fucked up to anyone? And what do you want to bet that all involved get out of it unscathed?

Security cameras prove that nine minutes elapsed from the time Mr. Driver was pinned until the time when the ambulance arrived. The ambulance and 911 records indicate that the ambulance showed up two minutes and nineteen seconds after they received the call. That makes six and half minutes while Wal-Mart held a man on the ground until he literally cooked to death, and 30 people stood around watching.

Unbelievable."