- Target apologized for the wrongful detainment of three Black teenagers, AP News reported.
- In a video first shared by the Ventura County Star, officers detained the teens amid outcry from shoppers.
- The security guard involved in the incident has been fired, Target said.
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Target apologized after a security team member in its Westlake Village store detained three Black teenagers. The store said they had terminated a security team member involved in the incident on January 17, when three Black teenagers were prohibited from leaving the store.
The store said the incident was precipitated by a grand theft incident in which suspects stole smartphones from the electronics section, according to the Associated Press.
As seen in a widely shared video, one teen was handcuffed and the other two were detained near the checkout aisles. AP also reported that one of the teens spent up to 20 minutes in a police vehicle before officers released him. The two 16-year-olds and a 17-year-old stopped at Target for snacks on January 17, as first reported by the Ventura County Star.
In a statement emailed to Insider, a Target spokesperson wrote, “We’re deeply sorry for what happened and we’ve terminated the security team member who was involved.”
In a similar incident in 2018, Target fired a security guard who wrongfully accused a Black shopper of stealing a bikini, according to NBC News.
The Lost Hills Sheriff's Station, which responded to the call on January 17, wrote in a statement shared to Facebook on January 22 that that an investigation was conducted that did not "support any allegations of wrong doing, use of force, violation of our department policies, or violation of any laws on behalf of the deputies."
The LA Times reported that an attorney for the family said she would file a civil rights suit against Target. The attorney also expressed skepticism about the sheriff's investigation, saying that her client and his family had not been contacted.
In a press release, La Shaun Aaron, the mother of one of the teenagers, recounted "the trauma and humiliation" of the incident. She said that she has received apologies from Target's branch and corporate representatives, but that these statements are not sufficient. Aaron said that she filed a report with the sheriff's watch commander, but as of the publication of the press release on January 20, has not heard anything in response.
A Target spokesperson said that all employees at the Westlake Village store will be required to "retake mandatory security and racial bias training" in an effort to prevent future issues.
In November, Target reopened a Minneapolis store that was looted during the summer's police brutality protests. The store was redesigned, both in its layout and in its product offerings, to appeal to Black shoppers, after the company met with Black community leaders about how the store could better serve them, Bloomberg reported.