Can a member of a bar’s staff legally force a person to submit to a search of their person? In Texas?
A friend was at a bar yesterday, and the manager decided that he believed my friend was selling drugs. The manager forced my friend to empty all pockets and submit to being patted down. My friend attempted to leave rather than submit, and they did not allow him to leave without being searched. I just want to know if this is legal. We are in Texas. For the record, they found no drugs on him in the search, and to the best of my knowledge, he is not a drug user or dealer. It was bar staff that detained him, no actual members of law enforcement.
No, you have the RIGHT to leave. If you were detained it’s almost certainly false imprisonment.
If you want to stay at the bar then you have to deal with the bar’s rules and procedures.
There’s nothing to sue for because there are no damages. You have to prove that you’ve been damaged or suffered a loss to file a successful law suit.
The only option is to report it to the police and file a report. The DA may take some action, but unless you were detained for a prolonged period of time against your will I doubt anything will happen.