Sensormatic Solutions by Johnson Controls offers protection for high value displayed products through partnership with MTI

 ● MTI partnership complements Sensormatic Solutions loss prevention and liability portfolio of in-store merchandise protection solutions

 ● MTI's unique category of protection facilitates interactive customer experiences for mobile devices, tablets, smartphones, and other electronics

Johnson Controls, the global leader for smart, healthy and sustainable buildings, today announced that Sensormatic Solutions, its leading global retail solutions portfolio, is extending its partnership with MTI (Mobile Technologies, Inc.), a global leader in smart retail security, tablet mobility, and global services.

The partnership adds to Sensormatic Solutions loss prevention and liability offerings for high-value electronics, helping retailers protect displayed electronics, including smartphones, tablets, and cameras, broadening its total categories of protection. Now more than ever, retailers need technology in place to safeguard their most valuable merchandise as retail shrink is on the rise. sensormatic.com


TalkLP Announces APEX Grocery Event LIVE in Nashville

The Asset Protection Executive Xchange is a new, LIVE, in-person event focused on the challenges grocery asset protection professionals face now and in the future

TalkLP, a division of the Calibration Group, announces the Asset Protection Executive Xchange (APEX) Grocery LIVE in-person event September 15 - 17, 2021 in Nashville, Tennessee. APEX Grocery is an invitation-only event dedicated to bringing grocery asset protection executives together for education, best practice workshops, and building their professional network.

The APEX event series, powered by TalkLP, is designed to bring together industry executives for a valuable exchange of ideas, learnings, and to strengthen the relationships within the grocery community. Admission fees and hotel costs are waived for qualifying top loss prevention executives to attend.

Learn more here

More LAPD Misconduct?
'It stood out to me as egregious': Protesters, others allege LAPD violence
at Echo Park homeless camp sweep
Despite months of criticism and a growing number of lawsuits over the LAPD's use of such force during last summer's George Floyd protests (reported in the Daily on March 12) and last fall's unruly Lakers and Dodgers championship celebrations - which left protesters and revelers bloodied, with ruptured testicles and an "exploded" eye - officers are again being criticized for their use of those weapons last week, this time as they responded to protests over the removal of a homeless encampment around Echo Park Lake.

Officers were again captured on video using the weapons in ways that appeared to violate the department's policies, which bar officers from shooting people who don't represent a physical threat and from shooting into crowds, shooting people at close range and shooting people merely for ignoring verbal commands.

The department has largely defended its actions, alleging that officers had sought to facilitate the protests until they became unruly and decisions were made to issue dispersal orders and arrest those who didn't comply. It said officers fired just a couple of projectile rounds the first night and 10 the second, including three 37-millimeter hard foam rounds, one 40-millimeter hard foam round and six beanbag rounds, all "in response to projectiles thrown at officers."

LAPD Chief Michel Moore also defended the department's response, saying the dispersal orders were issued only after officers faced violence and, on the second night, the use of strobe lights to blind them. He said such actions by protesters should be condemned, including by elected officials.

Moore also said the LAPD is committed to investigating any use of force that caused serious injuries or sparked a complaint, and will hold officers accountable if they broke policy. He said 11 complaints were already under review, including two pertaining to the detention of reporters and one pertaining to protester Isaac Scher's allegation that an officer broke his arm. latimes.com

Federal Arson Charges - Up to 20 Years in Prison
Tampa man pleads guilty to setting Champs store blaze during 2020 riots

The burning of a Champs Sports store occurred during riots last May in Tampa.

The man prosecutors say was responsible for one of the most stunning criminal acts to occur amid a night of rioting last May in Tampa pleaded guilty Tuesday to a federal arson charge. Terrance Lee Hester Jr. appeared Tuesday morning in a Tampa federal courtroom and quietly admitted he started a fire at the Champs Sports store at 2381 E Fowler Ave. Damage from the blaze totaled $1.2 million.

Hester's guilty plea came with no guarantees about sentencing. The charge carries a minimum of five and a maximum of 20 years in prison.

Most memorable were the widespread riots of May 30 and 31. That evening, people hurled objects at police officers and sheriff's deputies, and broke into and stole from businesses. A Mobil station on Busch Boulevard burned. So did the Champs store and its neighboring businesses.

Tampa police obtained video which appeared to show a shirtless man tossing a flaming white cloth through a broken window. The same man was seen about 20 minutes later carrying a burning palm frond toward the store's open back door, according to court records. The building became engulfed in flames. tampabay.com

Derek Chauvin Trial
Off-duty EMT tried to help Floyd but "officers didn't let me into the scene"
An off-duty Minneapolis firefighter and certified EMT testified Tuesday that she was "desperate" to help George Floyd but "the officers didn't let me into the scene." Genevieve Hansen, who witnessed former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin kneel on Floyd's neck last May, was among the first witnesses to testify in the trial of Chauvin, who faces murder and manslaughter charges.

After she identified herself, Hansen said Thao said "something along the lines of, 'If you really are a Minneapolis firefighter, you would know better than to get involved.'"

If the officers had allowed her, Hansen said she would have requested additional medical assistance, asked someone to look for a defibrillator, checked Floyd for a pulse and would have started compressions to restore blood flow if she did not find one. But she said she was not able to do that "because the officers didn't let me in to the scene."

Hansen said she repeatedly begged officers, including Chauvin, to check Floyd's pulse to see if he needed CPR after she noticed that Floyd had "an altered level of consciousness." axios.com

Walmart Must Give Security, Crime Data to Mass Shooting Victims
Walmart Inc. failed to convince a Texas appeals court that a judge exceeded his authority when he ordered the retailer to turn over a a slew of discovery-related documents in a civil action brought against it by victims, or their families, of a mass shooting in El Paso in 2019.

Included among the allegations is that Walmart rates its stores based on their crime potential yet allocates resources disproportionately toward its outlets in more affluent, less crime-prone areas.

As part of that case, the lower court ordered Walmart to disclose numerous documents including those related to an incident in Amarillo where two Walmart employees were taken hostage in 2016, third-party security reports, and store security budgets in El Paso and San Antonio, among other topics.

A civil suit was filed in state court, alleging the retailer should be held liable for negligence including in failing to secure its premises in light of other shootings and crimes. news.bloomberglaw.com

Memorial Service for Officer Killed in Grocery Store Shooting
'His heart was so big:' Boulder Officer Eric Talley honored in memorial service
A public funeral was held Tuesday for Eric Talley, the Boulder Police officer who was killed in the March 22 mass shooting at a King Soopers. A miles-long procession involving hundreds of law enforcement vehicles honored Talley ahead of the memorial service.

Talley was one of the 10 people killed in the shooting at the King Soopers off South Table Mesa Drive. The ones closest to Talley remembered him as a loving husband, father, friend and officer who was full of compassion and kindness.

Herold credited Talley's bravery and quick action with saving dozens of innocent lives inside the King Soopers store.  9news.com

No convictions for St Louis officers who beat Black undercover colleague at protest
Officer Luther Hall, who was recording criminal activity during protests, required multiple surgeries after the attack

Anti-Asian Attacks Continue in NYC as Protesters Rally Against the Violence

1,200 people marched in Berkeley to protest anti-Asian hate

COVID Update

148M Vaccinations Given

Home Depot Fighting ORC with New Technology
Home Depot testing technology to combat organized retail theft as state, federal lawmakers propose laws

The National Retail Federation reports 31 percent of retailers surveyed spotted a significant increase of organized retail crime in 2020.

To combat such organized retail theft some power tools at Home Depot are kept on locked shelves, some are wrapped with security devices around the boxes, and security cameras keep watch on the aisles.

Those tactics, though, haven't stopped organized theft.

"We are working on a very strong strategy to, what we like to refer to as harden the target against these types of folks," explained Scott Glenn, The Home Depot's vice president of asset protection.

An evolving anti-theft strategy the company is now using, Glenn described, is a chip being inserted into power tools from DeWalt and Milwaukee brand tools.  Similar to how gift cards need to be scanned and paid for at a store to activate, the power tools need to be paid for, and then - using Bluetooth technology - the tool is activated.

Tools that haven't been activated won't turn on, according to The Home Depot.

Staff recently showed 11Alive the process of activation, and it only added a few seconds to a typical transaction. The technology is currently part of a pilot program in select Atlanta area stores and in other Home Depot markets.

Glenn added that often power tools stolen from The Home Depot end up in a few different places. One such place is pawn shops. Another place the power tools can end up is online marketplaces - from eBay to Craigslist, Facebook Marketplace, and a growing list of others.

Currently, lawmakers in Washington D.C. and at the Georgia State Capitol are considering legislation to target high-volume sellers of stolen retail items.

The INFORM Consumers Act introduced this month in the U.S. Senate aims to "prevent organized retail crime rings from stealing items from stores to resell those items in bulk online," according to a release from Republican U.S. Senator Bill Cassidy of Louisiana. 11alive.com

The Fifth Avenue Battleground
Manhattan's Fifth Avenue Mired in $200 Million Retail Rent Fight
Not long ago, major fashion brands were willing to pay ballooning rents just to have a store on Manhattan's Fifth Avenue. Now the world-famous shopping strip has transformed into a battleground between landlords and tenants seeking a way out of pricey leases.

It's a side effect of the pandemic that's plagued New York for more than a year. The foreign tourists who were Fifth Avenue's lifeblood before the lockdown are gone. So, for the most part, are the office workers who might have stopped at a store while hustling by. Boarded-up spaces and "For Rent" signs are multiplying.

The few merchants looking to sign new leases are demanding deep discounts. Some that have been there all along -- such as the National Basketball Association, Valentino and Marc Fisher -- are embroiled in legal battles with their landlords over unpaid rent.

Along a roughly 20-block stretch of Fifth Avenue, the handful of landlords involved in legal disputes are owed about $200 million. If those tenants walk away, it would mean more vacancies on a corridor that was starting to struggle even before the pandemic.

"The numbers are big," said Tom Mullaney, a managing director at brokerage Jones Lang LaSalle Inc. "If some of the tenants are financially stressed and they lose, it'll be very painful. Conversely, if some of the landlords are overleveraged and have cash flow issues, it can be traumatic for them too."

The outcome of these dragged out disputes may have a lingering impact on Fifth Avenue. The corridor is typically a prized and pricey spot to locate a shop alongside the longtime homes of famed luxury department store Bergdorf Goodman, jeweler Tiffany & Co. and the Plaza Hotel. The economic fallout from the pandemic has made that arithmetic more complicated. bloomberg.com

H&M Wiped Off the Map in China - Literally
H&M was wiped from the internet in China, sending a chilling warning
to other retailers
H&M's online presence has all but disappeared in China amid a widespread boycott of the Swedish retailer after the recirculation of comments about forced labor made by the company last year.

The company's items were scrubbed from Alibaba, the e-commerce behemoth founded by Jack Ma, and JD.com, one of China's largest online retailers, according to The Associated Press. China's Google Maps-like Baidu Maps platform, as well as Alibaba's map service, also removed the locations of H&M's 500 Chinese stores. Those stores weren't appearing in the Chinese ride-hailing app Didi Chuxing either, according to the report, and the H&M app was also absent from app stores.

The disappearance of H&M's online presence represents the power that China can wield over foreign retailers as Chinese companies and consumers boycott the brand and others that are criticizing the government. H&M counts China as its fourth-largest market, according to Reuters, and many in China have taken issue the retailer's comments.

H&M isn't the only international brand to receive backlash for taking such a public stance against Xinjiang-sourced cotton. At least 11 US and European brands, including Burberry, Nike, and Adidas, are also facing fallout. Tencent said it was scrubbing costumes designed by Burberry that were worn by characters in a popular online game, according to the AP. businessinsider.com

Activists pressure Atlanta-based companies like Coca-Cola and Delta to take action against Georgia voting law
Georgia just passed a law with new voting restrictions, and activists opposing the new measures are not satisfied by the broad statements made by companies based in the state.

Activists have criticized the companies for not doing enough to speak out against the bill. "#BoycottDelta" and "#BoycottCocaCola" were each used in tens of thousands of tweets since March 23, The Atlanta-Journal-Constitution reported. "Do not fly Delta. Do not spend money with Delta. Boycott Delta. Ruin Delta," commentator Keith Olbermann tweeted. businessinsider.com

Target to close two stores in the Bay Area

Millions More to Get Stimulus Payments Next Week, I.R.S. Says

End of a Covid era: Delta to stop blocking middle seats on May 1