> Their conference badges had been confiscated by security. The security team had tried to force them to throw them in the garbage, and for a while it appeared that security had thrown them away after they had confiscated them.
I'd consider calling the police in a situation like this. "Officer, these men stole my conference pass, which I paid ($$) for, and they won't give it back."
Police in large American cities are not likely to be of much assistance in this situation. Assuming they attend at all, I would expect them to not understand the nature of the issue and probably proceed to make it much worse.
I'd consider calling the police in a situation like this. "Officer, these men stole my conference pass, which I paid ($$) for, and they won't give it back."