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A California sheriff launched a scathing tirade against Target, accusing the retailer of preventing cops from cracking down on shoplifting — even as the chain asks authorities for help.

Sheriff Jim Cooper of California’s Sacramento County said he was outraged when the Minneapolis-based discount chain told property crimes detectives that they “could not contact suspects inside the store.”

“We could not handcuff suspects in the store; and if we arrested someone, they wanted us to process them outside behind the store in the rain,” an exasperated Cooper fumed in a lengthy X post

“We were told they didn’t want to create a scene inside the store and have people film it and put it on social media,” Cooper added. “They didn’t want negative press. Unbelievable.”

Cooper detailed one incident at Target where “deputies watched a lady on camera bring in her own shopping bags, go down the body wash isle and grab a bunch of Native body washes. Then she went to customer service and return them!”

“Target chose to do nothing and simply let it happen,” Cooper wrote. “Yet somehow, locking up deodorant and raising prices on everyday items we need to survive is their best answer.”

“We dont tell big retail how to do their jobs, they shouldnt tell us how to do ours.”

The Post has sought comment from Target and the Sacramento County Sheriff’s Office.

Hamstrung by policies that prevent employees from engaging with shoplifters, other big chains including CVS and Walgreens have resorted to locking up everyday items in an attempt to combat rampant shoplifting.

The trend has some shoppers fuming that the days of quick trips to the store are over.

Dr. Emily Long, a plastic surgeon based in Boston, took to social media recently to gripe over having to wait at Target to pick up beauty products that were enclosed behind a glass case.

The era of Target runs is officially over because tell me why it took me over an hour to buy a single bag of items, Long posted in a TikTok video earlier this month that snagged over 3.5 million views before she took it down.

Apparently now my Target locks away essential items, she said, adding that her body wash, deodorant, and razors were bolted up tight.

As her camera panned to the rows of items behind a glass container, Long added: Behold the dystopian nightmare that is my Target.

Reporters from the investigative outlet Inside Edition went shopping at five New York-area Targets to see just how long it takes to get employee assistance to retrieve products locked behind anti-theft cases.

In an aisle stocked with vitamins at a Target store in Manhattan, Inside Edition journalist Lisa Guerrero said she waited 10.5 minutes for an employee to unlock the anti-theft barrier. She had to ask for assistance three times and wait seven minutes before a Target staffer showed up.

And then their key didnt even work, Guerrero said, who had to wait even longer for the staffer to fetch the correct key before she could fetch a tube of toothpaste of the shelf.

Crime-battered Target said earlier this year that expected to suffer as much as a $1.3 billion hit to its bottom line because of theft and organized crime.

The “cheap-chic” discount chain said its profit will be squeezed by $500 million more than what we saw last year when the company lost as much as $800 million from inventory shrink. 

While there are many potential sources of inventory shrink, theft and organized retail crime are increasingly important drivers of the issue, the company said. We are making significant investments in strategies to prevent this from happening in our stores.

Inventory shrink is an industry term that refers to fewer products being on its shelves than whats reported in its inventory catalog.

Theres no nationwide policy on how to deal with shoplifting, though many employers have encouraged staffers to do nothing at all in an effort to keep them out of harms way.

Lululemon made headlines this summer when it fired two staffers for failing to abide by the yoga wear retailer’s “zero-tolerance policy for intervening with a robbery.

One of the axed workers, Jennifer Ferguson, said that once a robbery occurs, employees are instructed to scan a QR code. And thats that. Weve been told not to put it in any notes, because that might scare other people. Were not supposed to call the police, not really supposed to talk about it.

A viral video showed the shoplifting incident that got Ferguson fired, where three masked men blatantly robbed an Atlanta-area Lululemon store.

Wearing sweatshirts with the hoods pulled over their heads, they were recorded swiping Lululemons high-priced athletic wear from tables and displays.

The looters who had allegedly struck the store nearly a dozen times prior momentarily stood in the store doorway and stared at the women before jumping back inside to snatch several more pairs of leggings.

Seriously? Get out, Ferguson is heard frustratingly shouting at the robbers, who make a beeline out of the store.

Thieves also had repeatedly targeted a Lululemon store in upper Manhattan on Broadway across the street from Columbia University in 2021. Between Jan. 2 and Jan. 17 they stole a total of $5,376 in merchandise, police said.

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Canucks, Boeser agree on new seven-year deal

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Canucks, Boeser agree on new seven-year deal

The Vancouver Canucks have come to terms with forward Brock Boeser on a new seven-year contract, carrying a $7.25 million AAV.

Canucks GM Patrik Allvin announced the deal on Tuesday during the first hour of NHL free agency. Boeser, 28, was an unrestricted free agent on a previously expiring contract.

Drafted by Vancouver 23rd overall in the 2015 NHL draft, Boeser has collected 204 goals and 434 points in 554 games with the Canucks to date. A top-six scoring threat, Boeser has elite playmaking skills and the potential to produce big numbers offensively. He had his best year offensively in 2023-24, producing 40 goals and 73 points in 81 games.

Boeser didn’t hit those marks again last season — settling for 25 goals and 50 points in 75 games — but was still second amongst teammates in output. He also plays a prominent role on Vancouver’s power play and when he can generate opportunities at 5-on-5, he is a true difference-maker up front for the Canucks.

The extension is a happy ending for Vancouver and Boeser. When the regular season ended, Boeser admitted “it’s tough to say” whether he’d be back with the Canucks. Boeser reportedly turned down a previous five-year extension offer with the club and Allvin subsequently looked into deals for him at the March trade deadline, with no takers. Boeser looked — and sounded — poised to explore his options on the open market.

Ultimately, Boeser decided to stay put by committing the best years of his career to the Canucks.

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Jake Allen agrees to 5-year deal with the Devils

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Jake Allen agrees to 5-year deal with the Devils

Jake Allen, one of the top goaltenders available entering free agency, is not heading to the market after agreeing to a five-year deal with the New Jersey Devils, sources told ESPN on Tuesday.

Allen’s average annual value on the deal is $1.8 million, sources told ESPN. That AAV allows the Devils to run back the same goaltending tandem for next season.

Jacob Markstrom has one year remaining on his contract for $4.125 million. Nico Daws is also under contract for next season, before becoming a restricted free agent next summer.

Several teams were interested in the 34-year-old veteran, whom sources said could have made more money on the open market. However, the deal with the Devils gives Allen long-term security. Allen has played for the Blues, Canadiens and Devils over his 12-year-career. He has started in 436 career games.

Last season, Allen started 29 games for the Devils, going 13-16-1 with a .906 save percentage, 2.66 GAA and four shutouts.

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Capitals sign Fehervary to 7-year, $42M extension

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Capitals sign Fehervary to 7-year, M extension

Washington Capitals defenseman Martin Fehervary signed a seven-year extension through the 2032-33 season that is worth $6 million annually, the team announced Tuesday.

Fehervary, who had one year of team control remaining, will enter the final season of a three-year bridge deal that will see him make $2.675 million before his new contract begins at the start of the 2026-27 season.

He finished the season with five goals and a career-high 25 points while logging 19 minutes. Fehervary also played a crucial role in the Capitals’ penalty kill by finishing with 245 short-handed minutes for a penalty kill that was fifth in the NHL with an 82% success rate.

Securing the 25-year-old Fehervary to a long-term deal means the Capitals now have seven players who have more than three years remaining on their current contracts.

It also means the Capitals front office has one less decision to make ahead of what is expected to be an active offseason in 2026 that will see the club have what PuckPedia projects to be $39.25 million in cap space.

That’s also the same offseason in which captain and NHL all-time leading goal scorer Alex Ovechkin‘s contract will come off their books along with that of defenseman John Carlson.

But until then, the Capitals have their entire top-six defensive unit under contract as they seek to improve upon a 2024-25 season that saw them finish atop the Metropolitan Division with 111 points before they lost in the Eastern Conference semifinal to the Carolina Hurricanes in five games.

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