Read the following introduction to the Shoplifter Incident. Conduct research in the sources mentioned and on the Internet. Then compose and submit a 1-2 paragraph summary of what happened in the incident in your own words. Finally, write one sentence each on what you imagine Sergeant Marcus Young, Cadet Julian Covella, and Security Guard Brett Schott must have gone through emotionally during the incident.
Be sure to record bibliographical details on any of your sources in order to use them later in your research reports.
The Shoplifter Incident – Introduction
Just before 10:00 PM on March 7, 2003, five lives were going to change forever.
Sergeant Marcus Young of the Ukiah, California Police Department was on patrol with a 17-year old ride-along cadet named Julian Covella. They got a call of a “shoplifter in custody” at the local Wal-Mart Superstore. It seemed that an 18-year-old female named Monica Winnie had been caught shoplifting by Wal-Mart security guard Brett Schott. A few minutes later, when they moved outside, the shoplifter’s boyfriend, Neal Beckman, appeared in the parking lot wearing two horns tattooed on his forehead and a goatee on his face shaped to make him look like the devil. He approached the security guard and the two officers who had arrived on the scene. The incident hit headlines.
The United States Department of Justice made formal recognition of the incident in 2003. The National Rifle Association, too, highlighted the events. Larry Smith’s October 2004 PARADE Magazine article was titled “Officer Down…But Not Out.” That same month, America’s Most Wanted did a story on the incident, titled “Just An Average Ride Along?” and posted video clips on their website. “One Gun, No Hands: The Marcus Young Incident” was the title of the story as it appeared in a Fall 2004 issue of American Handgunner. Law OfficerMagazine has featured the story – twice – with the latest article, a June 2008 story titled “Officer Down: The Marcus Young Incident,” featuring pictures of the “horned” Beckman and sketches of the scene itself.
As Sgt. Young walked with the shoplifter to the patrol car in the parking lot, boyfriend Neal Beckman drew nearer. Covella, Sgt. Young’s cadet partner, and Schott, the unarmed security guard, looked on. What happened next would be written about and analyzed in law enforcement circles and beyond, and it provides the “police incident” for your course project.
Use the sources mentioned in the incident above to locate and read the full story of what happened. You will need to find the complete story to help you complete this assignment.
The found the story about the shoplifting incident that happened in California to be very interesting and a bit scary considering this is the profession I am going into. The story is about a girl who gets caught shoplifting in a Walmart in California by the security guard that works in the Walmart. The security guard calls the cops and there are two officers that show up to the scene. The one officer is a sergeant and the other is just a cadet and they, along with the security guard escort the shoplifter out to the parking lot where they are met by the shoplifter’s boyfriend who confronts them and draws a knife. The sergeant twists his arm and the boyfriend then pulls a pistol and shoots the sergeant. The security guard jumps on the boyfriend and he then stabs the security guard with the knife. The cadet officer un-holsters the sergeant’s pistol and hands it to him which he then proceeds to use on the boyfriend shooting him multiple times.
The sergeant, I imagine, had very little time to really think from how the story is told and I believe that he just essentially reacted instinctively as the situation called for it. I imagine that the sergeant did not really experience a rush of emotions until after the situation subsided.
The cadet officer probably experienced more emotions during the incident than her sergeant because she was probably less trained and prepared for an incident like this. I imagine that she stood by with a helpless feeling as she watched the scene unfold.
I believe that the security guard experienced something in between what the two officers experienced. While I’m sure he watched partly in shock and with disbelief that this was happening he also reacted and acted with great courage and without fear when he jumped on the assailant.
“”””””””””””””””Your project assignment this week is to offer suggestions to Officers Marcus Young, Julien Covella, and Brett Schott on some best practices for coping with the emotional stress they have just experienced – or could experience when they return to work. Include in your report some specific resources in your local area that could help on a group or individual basis as if this had happened in your home town. Remember to include 2-3 quotations from research sources in addition to any course materials. Include both in-text citations and a References page in APA format. ””””””””””””””””
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