About
Kickass Mall Cop is the nickname of Darien Long, a former mall manager who rose to internet fame in early 2013 after GoPro video footage of several altercations at his job were uploaded online.
Online History
On January 24th, 2013, a Facebook[3] page titled “Atlanta’s Downtown Criminal Culture” was launched, which claims to be the “official Facebook page endorsed by Darien Long.” In the following two months, the page gained more than 2,600 likes. On January 28th, Redditor gentimmy submitted a LiveLeak video of Long tasing a mother in front of her children in self-defense (shown below) to the /r/videos[1] subreddit. Within two months, the post received over 8,800 up votes and 5,600 comments.
On January 31st, Long created the KickAssMallCop YouTube channel,[2] receiving upwards of 1.3 million video views and 15,000 subscribers within the next two months. On February 2nd, the single topic blogs KickAssMallCop.net[18] and KickAssMallCop.org[19] were launched, highlighting notable videos recorded by Long.
Reddit Fundraiser
On January 31st, 2013, Redditor RyuKenya submitted a photograph of Long holding a “Hi Reddit” sign (shown below) to the /r/JusticePorn subreddit.[4] Within two months, the post received over 15,500 up votes and 2,900 comments.
In the comment section[6] of the post, RyuKenya posted a link to a CrowdTilt[5] page where his fans could donate money to Long. The same day, the comment was featured in a post on the /r/bestof subreddit,[7] gaining more than 5,100 up votes and 590 comments within the next six weeks. The CrowdTilt page was closed a week later after raising over $23,000 in contributions.
On February 7th, YouTuber hiko1586 uploaded a video of Long thanking Redditors and the company Taser International for sending him donations and new self defense equipment (shown below). On March 5th, The Daily Dot[10] published an article about Long, reporting that he had used the donations to purchase a new X3 Taser,[11] binoculars, a GoPro camera for his back, hard drives and a pepper gas gun.
Termination and Arrest
On March 20th, 2013, the viral video news site Right This Minute[15] reported that Long had been fired from his position as property manager of the Atlanta Metro Mall and featured an interview with Long who speculated that he may have been let go as a result of declining revenues (shown below). The same day, Redditor hookknife submitted the interview to the /r/videos[16] subreddit, receiving over 2,600 up votes and 760 comments in the next 48 hours. On the following day, My Fox Atlanta[14] reported that Long had been arrested after allegedly tackling a customer at the Metro Mall and was being charged with battery.
Reputation
Many have hailed Long as a local hero for attempting to clean up downtown Atlanta, while others have criticized him for escalating situations by being overly aggressive and using unnecessary force. Long has many fans on the /r/JusticePorn[17] subreddit, including Redditor pablostanley who illustrated a superhero version of the mall security guard (shown below).[8]
Notable Videos
Search Interest
External References
[1]Reddit – Trashy Mom Gets Tased
[2]YouTuber – KickAssMallCop
[3]Facebook – Atlantas Downtown Criminal Culture
[4]Reddit – So I found KickAss mall cop in Atlanta
[5]CrowdTilt – This fund is for Darien Long
[7]Reddit – Redditor RyuKenya goes to see reddit hero Darien Long
[8]Reddit – pablostanley
[9]YouTube – securityofone
[10]The Daily Dot – On patrol with the Internets Favorite Mall Cop
[12]Reddit – Kick ass mall cop did an AMA with us
[13]Business Insider – Reddit Users Raise
[14]My Fox Atlanta – Taser brandishing mall cop Darien Long arrested-
[15]Right This Minute – Atlanta Security Guard Let Go
[16]Reddit – Kick Ass Mall Cop was Fired
[17]Reddit – /r/justiceporn
[18]KickAssMallCop.net – Kick Ass Mall Cop
[19]KickAssMallCop.org Kick Ass Mall Cop