Shoplifter Dies
And Parent Files Lawsuit
By Daniel Muniz

Stacy Clay Driver was casually shoplifting in a Wal-Mart store in Houston Texas. After employees spotted the theft, they managed to chase Driver into the parking lot for a lengthy 30 minute struggle. Wal-Mart employees managed to firmly tackle the thief to the ground and restrain him with handcuffs.

While the shoplifter was pinned down, he asked for an ambulance to be called since he was in pain from being roughed up. He also asked to be allowed to stand up but after putting up such a struggle in the first place, the employees were not about to ease up on how they were restraining him so the thief remained with his body and face towards the ground while his hands were securely handcuffed behind his back.

Unfortunately, this shoplifter died. Below is an excerpt about the death:

During the restraint, Driver was suffocated but he was also high on meth.

However, his family was outraged at Wal-Mart because they saw Stacy’s death as completely unnecessary regardless of the fact that he was the one doing the stealing and giving chase after he was observed shoplifting. It was also irrelevant that he was high on dangerous drugs. His family felt that it was still Wal-Mart’s fault for his death and they filed a lawsuit. About the lawsuit itself, Stacy’s father insists:

In addition, Stacy’s father has now embarked on a national crusade.

He is demanding that all large retailers, including Wal-Mart, revise their rules in regards to handling shoplifters and thieves when they are caught stealing. H.C. Driver insists that security guards and loss prevention employees of large department stores are not adequately trained to properly handle criminals. Naturally, Wal-Mart feels otherwise.

According to an analysis by the Houston Chronicle Newspaper:

So even though there are tens of thousands of large retailer chains across this country that has already experienced millions of incidents of shoplifting and thievery, only about 30 criminals in the past 15 years have actually died from something like this. Perhaps H.C. Driver ought to take a class in mathematics because those numbers obviously demonstrate that these retailers have a pretty good handle on how to deal with shoplifters caught stealing since the actual number of deaths is so miniscule compared to how prevalent this crime is.

And perhaps the elder Driver ought to take on a different type of crusade.

Maybe he ought to educate the parents of shoplifters and thieves.

Driver obviously failed as a parental role model because he did not properly instruct his own son on the basic rules of shoplifting. That is, do not steal while you are high on drugs and that you also have to be in your best physical condition when shoplifting so that you can outrun those pesky security guards and store employees.

Imagine how much safer shoplifters could be if their parents would have taught them how to steal better.

And what if the elder Driver embarked on a radically different crusade that is very extreme?

Suppose Stacy’s father could teach young kids that it is wrong to steal and shoplift from department stores especially since he never taught his own son about that. And suppose he could also teach other teenagers the universal values of honesty and integrity so that they will know that stealing is wrong?

Perhaps if H.C. Driver could have taught his own child the difference between right and wrong, none of this may have ever have happened.

It is tragic that Stacy died but he passed away while committing a crime and while being high on drugs. Criminals take their chances when they are violating the law and when they are on dope.

Although Stacy’s family members are outraged at what happened, too bad none of them are upset that he was also a druggie and a shoplifter.

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