A YouTube channel released body camera video of three Indians caught shoplifting at a Florida Walmart on October 17, 2024, as such incidents become more common and reported. YouTube channel Body Cam Watch said the three Indians were charged with petty theft, but the charges were later dismissed because they had all completed a pre-cross-country diversion program. But the video sparked a backlash. “They hear America is the land of the free and take it literally,” one wrote. Another netizen wrote: “So they have the money to buy a plane ticket from Australia but don’t want to buy groceries at Walmart? That’s disgusting.” The man in the video said he is from India but came to the United States from Australia. Walmart surveillance cameras show a man and two women concealing items. The man took a bag full of stolen goods and placed it in their car, which they continued to do several times after they were flagged as shoplifters. Body camera video shows their interaction with police, who asked them if shoplifting was allowed in their country. One of the women said they were not stealing for themselves but to give gifts and they only stole some chocolates. The officer explained to them that if they were giving a gift, it would need to be purchased and not stolen from Walmart. They were told what would happen next and that they would need the money they didn’t spend at Walmart to get bail. When one officer reassured them it was a “lapse in judgment,” another interjected and said it wasn’t a mistake because it was a $397 issue.They apologized and said they understood they had committed a crime. One of the women said that she had been living in the United States for 2.5 years, and the other two were her brother and sister-in-law who came to the United States for vacation.
