Mall Cop to Internet Celeb

This week’s social media flavor appears to be The Atlanta Mall Cop. His government name is Darien Long but he has dubbed himself The Mall Cop. He operates under this moniker despite having no police authority but we will get back to that later. He is a security guard at The Metro Mall in downtown Atlanta, GA. This place is only a mall in name only; it is more an organized swap meet. His rise to internet fame is due to that fact that he videos his confrontations with shoppers at the establishment in which he works.

Long got a big spike in attention when a video of him using his taser on a young lady that he had a confrontation with. He was deal with her, a friend and her children all who were yelling and cursing at the man. Now like a lot of people who saw the video I thought he good for him. Some people just think that the can behave anyway in public and disrespect others with no consequence. As a full confession I laughed like a lot you did when those volts hit her. If you didn't laugh you are a better person then me.

The Video That Started It All

Now in watching this video I didn’t know that it was one in a series of his Mall Cop dairies. Apparently this how is building his micro celebrity brand. He profile by local news in Atlanta and he says that his goal is to clean up the mall and attract more business to the area. He wants downtown to prosper. He believes that being that close to the state capital of Georgia things like this shouldn’t happen. Agree with Mr. Long that people should behave better and follow the establishment's rules.

News Interview

After watching a few of these videos for myself this is what I see when I see The Mall Cop. I see man getting high on his own micro celebrity brand. The name Mall Cop already implies that you taking this a little too far. I guess because I have a blog that I can call myself an internet journalist. It doesn’t work that way. Also as someone who has about 4 years of security experience I can tell you that Long breaks a one major rule almost every time. He escalates a situation when his job is to diffuse situations.

Just Way Too Much

He deals with people in an aggressive manner that invites confrontation. He uses his taser and pulls his handgun way too much for my taste also. He automatically draws down one people whether they appear to be resisting him or not. Going after young men and making accusations that he cannot prove with his own video evidence. This will only antagonize people and invite those who want to cause trouble their 3 minutes of internet fame.

I understand that people think that this shouldn’t happen near the capital or in downtown. Here is what they are not taking into account. The type of establishment that we are talking about is not one that most people would frequent when they come to Atlanta. You kind of know what you are getting when you go there. If you buy a pair of Jordan’s or gold at this place then it’s probably not real. As far location, yes it is near the capital but it’s a lot closer to Fulton County jail and not too far from Magic City strip club. If larger more upscale business wanted that location or anywhere near it they would have it. I have never heard of the work of a good security guard for the reason to gentrify an area. They just do so whether it’s the will of the citizens or not.

So if you are visiting Atlanta soon and make a wrong turn at the Underground then know that top flight mall cop is on duty.