Deadly Force To Stop Suspected Shoplifters?,

Shop owner found not guilty of murder in 2023 shooting of Black teen (USA Today, June 2, 2026)

Full disclosure: I'm no fan of shoplifters. They're a bane to merchants and since the pandemic, increasingly violent as a group.

Second full disclosure: That said, I'm also not a fan of summary executions, especially in cases of suspected petty theft. The Rick Chow acquittal, in my estimation, gave an executioner a pat on the back and a high five.

Safety not created...At all.

The alleged shoplifting didn't happen according to that jurisdiction's sheriff. Victim Cyrus Carmack‑Belton put water bottles back in a cooler and was accused of theft by the shop owner and his son, who chased him off property.

Red flag #1: As a merchant, employee or would-be citizen crime buster, once a suspect leaves the property, the issue is over, barring something extreme like assault or a threat, which shop owner alleged.

Even with a threat, of which I've been subjected to my fair share, staying on property helps potential self-defense claims.

Chasing people normally doesn't.

Red flag #2: the worst of all, was when the shop owner shot the fleeing teen in the back, killing him. In no universe was this legal, except according to a jury who felt who he shot was worth summary execution for shoplifting or threat making.

Let the record reflect a firearm was found next to the teen's body. The sheriff said it wasn't brandished during argument. The Shop owner testified the teen threatened his son during store confrontation.

Let the record further reflect aforementioned sheriff is an elected conservative law enforcement executive in a conservative county inside of a conservative state so he's hardly 'soft on crime,' as the saying goes. Meaning he had little reason ideologically to take the dead teen's side.

Despite former defendant being correctly charged with murder, a jury felt chasing a juvenile alleged shoplifter and fatally shooting him on the back was justified.

Let that sink in.

As a 'Gen X' crime watcher, this 21st century case reminded me of a 1991 one where another Asian shop owner fatally shot another Black teen from behind, over a $1.79 bottle of orange juice, this time in South Central Los Angeles.

Her name was Latasha Harlands, and along with Rodney King's brutal videotaped beating by LAPD officers, her death led to the 1992 LA riots.

Using deadly force to stop shoplifters is a proposition fraught with racial and class considerations, to put it mildly. Some folks feel it's permissible to summarily execute certain suspects, never a good thing.

Nadra Enzi aka Cap Black does 'Borrow A Brother' volunteer safety escorts for female friends and worthy causes in New Orleans.