A body cam video of three Indians caught stealing from a Walmart in Florida on October 17, 2024, has been released by a YouTube channel as such incidents have become more common and are being reported more. Body Cam Watch, the YouTube channel, said that the three Indians were charged with petit theft and the charges were later dismissed as each of them completed a pre-trail diversion program. But the video drew sharp reactions. “They heard America was land of the free and took it literally,” one wrote. “So they have money for plane tickets from Australia, but don’t want to pay for their groceries at Walmart? Disgusting,” another wrote as the man in the video said he was originally from India but came to the US from Australia. One male and two females were seen on a Walmart surveillance camera, concealing things. The man took a bag full of stolen things and kept it in their car and they continued doing this several times after they were flagged as shoplifters. The body cam video revealed their interaction with the officer who asked them whether shoplifting is allowed in their country. One of the females said they were not stealing for themselves but for gifting purposes and they stole only some chocolates. The officer explained to them that if they were gifting something, it needed to be bought and not stolen from Walmart. They were informed what would happen to them next and that they would need the money that they did not spend in Walmart to get bail. As one officer comforted them that it was a ‘lapse of judgment’, another officer interjected and said it was not a lapse of judgment as it was a matter of $397.They apologized and said they understood that they committed a crime. One of the women said she had been living in the US for 2.5 years, and the other two were her brother and sister-in-law, who came to the US for vacation.
