Violence & Protests
'Wall of Moms' - Feds Deployed to Chicago - NYPD Takes Back City Hall

Fed's Deploying More Resources
Federal Agents Deploy to Chicago as Big-City Mayors Decry Involvement

Surge of resources coincides with DHS confrontations with demonstrators in Portland

The Trump administration plans to send federal law enforcement to Chicago as part of an effort to crack down on gun crime, as leaders in several Democratic-controlled cities worried about the presence of federal agents on their streets following confrontations with demonstrators in Portland, Ore.

Law-enforcement officials familiar with the plan said more than 100 federal agents will focus on illegal gun sales, arrests of fugitives and bringing federal gun prosecutions in the city that has seen 385 murders this year as of mid-July, a 48% increase from the same time last year.

But its timing coincides with President Trump’s threats to deploy federal agents to Chicago and other cities run by Democrats and experiencing civil unrest.

Mr. Trump said he would be taking similar action in Detroit, Philadelphia and other cities where he has clashed with Democratic leaders on a number of policy issues.

Earlier this month, the Justice Department sent more than 200 agents to help officials in Kansas City, Mo., fight violence after that city clocked more than 100 homicides so far this year. Leaders in that city, whose mayor, Quinton Lucas, is a Democrat, have welcomed the additional manpower, saying it didn’t constitute a takeover of the city.

The department has launched similar efforts on a comparable scale before, including in Chicago, sending hundreds of agents to focus on gun crime. Last year, for example, it sent agents to seven cities experiencing rising violence, including Albuquerque, Cleveland, Detroit, Kansas City and Milwaukee.

Officials said they choose cities with crime rates higher than the national average, not whether their leaders are political adversaries of the president.

Mayor Lori Lightfoot said she got assurances from the federal government that agents would be focused on efforts to help the city with its pressing need to deal with gun violence, not with protesters. After responding with a pointed letter to the president Monday, Lightfoot softened her tone a bit, appearing cautiously ready to welcome the agents after getting clarification on their role.

"We welcome actual partnership, but we do not welcome dictatorship," Mayor Lightfoot said. "We do not welcome authoritarianism." wsj.com abc7chicago.com

Portland’s ‘Wall of Moms’ faces off with federal officers at tense protests

Moms forming groups in other big U.S. cities in anticipation of further federal troop deployments

A thick wall of tear gas crept closer to the wall of moms in yellow shirts chanting, “Don’t shoot your mother,” as they faced off with federal agents during another night of nonstop protests.

In front of the federal courthouse, federal agents in tactical gear used batons late Tuesday to push back the moms in bike helmets. Dozens were tear-gassed. Some were hit with less-lethal bullets fired into the crowd.

The fledgling collective, formed less than a week ago, has dubbed itself the Wall of Moms — and new chapters have already formed in cities around the country from St. Louis to New York, Chicago to Philadelphia and even in the nation’s capital. The groups have organized in anticipation of a national deployment of federal law enforcement personnel to Democratic-led cities — a nascent plan President Trump announced he was putting into action earlier this week.

Trump has defended his administration’s use of force in Portland, where officers from various federal agencies have clashed nightly with protesters, made arrests and pulled demonstrators in for questioning in unmarked cars. The president called the protests in Portland, a liberal Pacific Northwest city, “worse than Afghanistan.” washingtonpost.com

Federal officials say agents in Portland are legally targeting ‘violent criminals’
The Trump administration pushed back Tuesday against allegations that unidentified federal agents have been roaming the streets here in unmarked cars and illegally detaining peaceful protesters.

“We are not patrolling the streets of Portland, as has been falsely reported multiple times in the last few days,” Chad Wolf, the acting secretary of the Department of Homeland Security, told reporters.

Rather, he said, the agents were operating within the law and targeting “violent criminals” intent on destroying federal property that local officials refused to protect. He said 43 people had been arrested since July 4 but did not specify the charges against them. latimes.com

NYPD Cops With Riot Shields Clear Out City Hall Protest Encampment Overnight
Nearly a month after protesters started camping out outside New York City Hall to call for defunding of the police department, uniformed officers with riot shields moved in to clear out tents and people early Wednesday in a planned operation. Seven people were arrested during the encampment clearing, which happened some time before 4 a.m., an NYPD spokesperson said. The area is expected to be on lockdown for "several weeks" while graffiti and such is cleaned up.

Organizers called the encampment “Occupy City Hall," a nod to the 2011 Occupy Wall Street movement a few blocks away in Zuccotti Park, and they have been out on the grassy area outside City Hall since June 24. They said they would be there until Mayor Bill de Blasio committed to slash at least $1 billion from the NYPD's $6 billion budget and redistribute the funds to other social services like education, healthcare and homeless services before the budget's deadline on June 30.

Weeks after the $88.1 billion city budget passed with some cuts to police funding, the protesters remained because they say the cuts didn't meet their demands. nbcnewyork.com

Responses to Minnesota's police reforms range from lukewarm to 'slap in the face'
The bill, passed early Tuesday as a compromise product of a divided state Legislature, includes restrictions on chokeholds and neck restraints, training reform, and a prohibition on warrior-style training for officers.

Minnesota’s historic police reforms drew varied reactions Tuesday, from mild enthusiasm to disgust, with a common refrain: The state still has a long way to go.

It enhances data collection around deadly force encounters, requires officers to intervene and creates a new state unit to investigate such cases. The bill boosts funding for crisis intervention training, creates a panel of expert arbitrators to handle police misconduct cases and establishes incentives for officers to live in the communities they police. startribune.com

LAPD promised to curb violence on protesters for two decades, but has yet to deliver
After Los Angeles police officers stormed through a protest in MacArthur Park in 2007, beating protesters and journalists with batons and shooting them with tactical weapons, the department issued an unusual mea culpa as part of a report filled with reforms. Numerous instances of officers using similar weapons and force during protests over the police killing of George Floyd have sparked new criticism, as well as questions about why earlier efforts at reform did not seem to take. Protesters contend that the latest offenses were not simply the actions of rogue officers, but of top officials who had been put on notice that the tactics they deployed were unacceptable. latimes.com

U.S. Homeland Security confirms three units sent paramilitary officers to Portland

Like in Portland, federal agents were in Seattle

Seattle police release bodycam footage of protesters throwing projectiles at them

‘Mass exodus’ of Seattle officers, as city council considers 50% budget cut

Oakland, CA: Mayor Casts Deciding ‘No’ Vote On Police Defunding, Breaking Late Night Deadlock
 

US: Over 4M Cases - 145K Dead - 1.9M Recovered
Worldwide: Over 15.1M Cases - 621K Dead - 9.1M Recovered

Private Industry Security Guard Deaths: 154+   Law Enforcement Officer Deaths: 65
*Red indicates change in total deaths

OSHA COVID Safety Observation Audits
3 Walmart Stores - 1 Home Depot - 1 Winco Foods among Nevada businesses penalized in OSHA COVID-19 compliance report
The Division of Industrial Relations (DIR) released their latest report of businesses that have been cited and fined by Nevada OSHA for not meeting state COVID-19 health and safety requirements.

The report further detailed that citations and penalties were issued to businesses when one or more violations to guidelines and directives were found in initial and follow up visits.

Businesses were notified of noncompliance on first visits. After officials observed “ongoing noncompliance” during follow up visits, formal investigations were opened.

DIR also revealed in the report that state OSHA officials conducted follow up visits to 192 businesses, and of these, 93% were found to be noncompliant.

Businesses were also warned if there was continued noncompliance, they faced being shut down until they could meet and establish operating procedures that are in line with the state safety requirements.

Read Full Report

Mayor Warns of 2nd Shut-Down
L.A. may become the biggest U.S. city with a second stay-home order
Now, L.A. may soon have the dubious distinction of being the biggest U.S. city to receive a second stay-at-home order, amid a surge of coronavirus cases and hospitalizations that so far shows few signs of slowing.

On Sunday, Mayor Garcetti said a decision will probably come in the next week or two as officials determine whether restrictions imposed in late June and July — such as closing bars, indoor restaurant dining and shopping malls — slowed the rapid community spread of COVID-19.

Some health experts said the situation makes another stay-at-home order for Los Angeles County a real possibility if the conditions don’t improve soon.

Few, if any, big cities in the U.S. have reimposed a second stay at home order after reopening. But Leicester, England — which is known for its garment industry — was forced to do so after a severe outbreak among heavily nonwhite areas of the city, according to the medical journal Lancet.

More than 4,100 people in the county have died. Among California’s most populated counties, L.A. County has one of the worst per-capita rates of coronavirus-related deaths in the last two weeks, reporting 6 deaths per 100,000 residents. latimes.com

NY Gov Cuomo Threatens Roll-Back on Partiers at Outdoor Bars & Restaurants
“It has to stop,” Gov. Andrew Cuomo said Monday of the crowds partying outdoors at bars and restaurants sans masks and flagrantly violating social-distancing rules, and if it doesn’t, well, “we’re going to have to roll back the reopening plan and close all bars and restaurants.” nypost.com

Labor Department Issues More Coronavirus-Related Workplace Guidance
On July 20, the DOL added new questions and answers to pandemic-related issues under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) and the Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA). shrm.org

List of Mask Requirements
Dollar Tree & Family Dollar - Voluntary Mask Policies

Gov to Mandate Masks in Minnesota indoors and in stores
 

America's Back Door
Chinese CCTV's Saturate U.S. Market - What to do?

Gov't Bans Tik Tok From All Devices

With the administration drawing the line on Chinese manufacturers and saying they've been spying on us for years, how does that translate to the security industry as a whole?

Does even the possibility of them having back doors in systems throughout North America even bother the retailers, at least at the store level. After all, watching American Tom and Jane shop with the kids for hours time and time again has got to be as boring to them as it is for most investigators watching the monitors. And what's at stake?

Now in the corporate board room, or executives' offices, is obviously a little more concerning. Especially if its the pharmaceutical industry, financial industry, defense industry, to name just a few.

It's really a question for the cybersecurity executives and how they feel about the enterprise risk management program and how far reaching and how deep is the risk. Obviously a question that has to be top of mind now. Regardless of your beliefs, this now becomes a major enterprise risk management question that has to be answered given the warning.

As one must admit, it does make sense that back doors would be manufactured in the process of thousands of cameras being installed in your adversary's businesses. It's not like we haven't heard of it being done before. And we did invite them in. Just a thought -Gus Downing

19 Organized Crime Gangs Busted in Massive $32M Food Fraud
Europol Takes 320 Tons of Counterfeit & Dangerous Food & Beverages
Off the Market
This year’s operation OPSON led to the dismantling of 19 organized crime groups involved in food fraud and the arrests of 406 suspects.

More than 26 000 checks were performed. As a result, about 12 000 tonnes of illegal and potentially harmful products worth about 28 million euros ($32M U.S.) were seized. With more than 5 000 tonnes seized, animal food was the most seized product, followed by alcoholic beverages (more than 2 000 tonnes), cereals, grains and derived products, coffee and tea and condiments. Large amounts of saffron were seized: 90kg in Spain and 7kg in Belgium with an estimated value of more than 306 000 euros. The US authorities seized 147kg of raw apricot kernel seeds sold as a cure for cancer.

Counterfeit and substandard food and beverages can be found on the shelves in shops around the world. The increasing online sale of such potentially dangerous products poses a significant threat to public health. Operation OPSON was created to combat organized crime involved in this area. This year’s operational activities have found a new disturbing trend to address: the infiltration of low-quality products into the supply chain, a development possibly linked to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Europol and INTERPOL coordinated operation OPSON 2020 which targeted trafficking of counterfeit and substandard food and beverages. The ninth operation of its kind, it ran from December 2019 to June 2020 and involved law enforcement authorities from 83* countries. europa.eu

Retail Carnage Deepens as Pandemic’s Impact Exceeds Forecasts
Two dozen public and large private retailers in the U.S. have filed for bankruptcy this year, according to BankruptcyData.com. The total for all of 2019 was 20 retailers.

“Most of the businesses filing for bankruptcy were deemed nonessential retailers, so they were shut,” said Matthew Katz, managing partner at SSA & Co., an advisory firm. “While the pandemic may have accelerated these filings, these businesses were likely on this path anyhow.”

“You’re going to see, as time goes on, how the dominoes fall,” said Michael Appel of Appel Associates LLC. “The big question for any retailer is if they close tomorrow, would anyone care?”

Retailers will likely decide to close as many as 25,000 U.S. stores in 2020, which would be a record, and more than double the 9,832 stores that closed last year, according to global market-research firm Coresight Research. So far this year, major U.S. chains have announced more than 5,400 permanent closures.

With little or no customer traffic, some retailers have conserved cash by holding back on months of rent payments. As of July 15, about 69% of tenants had paid their rent for the month, down from 88% paying March rent by the middle of that month.

For the “walking wounded,” Covid-19 may have been the final blow, said Datex Chief Executive Mark Sigal. “But critically, it very well might still be for many more,” he said. wsj.com

Retailers ask senators to support Healthy Workplace Tax Credit
The National Retail Federation today urged the Senate to approve legislation introduced in the chamber this week that would create a new tax credit intended to ease the cost of steps taken to make stores and other workplaces safe during the coronavirus pandemic.

The measure is similar to legislation introduced in the House last week by Representative Tom Rice, R-S.C., and NRF has asked that the tax credit be included in a comprehensive coronavirus relief bill currently being drafted by House and Senate leadership. Some mid-size retailers have told NRF the cost of safety measures can be as high as $1 million a week, with face masks alone costing $30,000 a day for a 30,000-employee retailer. nrf.com

It's a Ghost Town
NYC is now the worst place to do business, retailers say
The problem, sources say, is Manhattan, which used to be teeming with tourists and commuters — who have largely stayed away since the coronavirus pandemic hit in March. Wealthy Manhattanites also have more resources and flexibility to escape, indefinitely, to greener pastures, like the Hamptons, experts say.

The city’s ghost-town vibe has Shake Shack, which runs 162 restaurants in 20 states, reporting that its Big Apple stores will “take a longer period of time to fully recover than other parts of the country.”

Foot traffic at Lids Manhattan stores has been down 85 percent from a year ago — compared with a 20 percent average decline at Lids’ 900 other stores that have reopened across the country, said Berger, a partner of Ames Watson. Customer traffic at Lids stores in neighboring New Jersey and Pennsylvania, meanwhile, has actually increased 30 percent from a year ago, Berger added. And they all reopened at the same time. nypost.com

Best Buy hikes minimum wage to $15,
sales up 15% since reopening & online sales up 185%
The retailer so far has brought back about half of the 51,000 employees who were furloughed.

Ulta Beauty Cuts Back From 70 New Stores to 30 in 2020
 

Senior LP & AP Jobs Market

Director of Loss Prevention and HSE - Operational Excellence N.A. job posted for Circle K in Columbus, IN
This position is targeted to lead a team of subject matter experts involving controlling shrink, processes related to controls, cash handling, store procedures, store supplies economics and sourcing and supporting HSE initiatives from Global HSE Team. While this is the short list of areas of responsibility the scope will likely expand well beyond just these areas as the company grows. This is a position focused on development and growth beyond Director. linkedin.com

 

Saratoga Springs, UT 2 California men arrested under suspicion of Felony Money Laundering; complex International Gift Card fraud ring
Officers with the Saratoga Springs Police Department took two California men into custody Wednesday evening after the pair were allegedly involved in an “intricate and complex” fraud ring, according to the probable cause statement filed in support of the arrest. Detectives were contacted by loss prevention officers from the Saratoga Springs Walmart location on Monday. Authorities were told the employees had witnessed at least one man — later identified as 24-year-old Yong Sun of Temple City, California — enter the store to purchase several gift cards.

Loss prevention employees also told police another man, 31-year-old Lin Lu of Santa Rosa, California, also matched the description of a suspicious man who had been reported at a Walmart location in South Jordan just a few days prior. During the transactions, loss prevention employees at South Jordan reported the two men were using gift card codes off their cellphones to purchase additional gift cards. the store manager confronted the two men before they fled from the store. Amid the confusion, the two men left all of their newly purchased gift cards at the Walmart location.

Police located the black Jeep and obtained a search warrant. During a search of the vehicle, officials found between 1,500 and 2,000 individual gift cards valued between $10 to $50. The rings, officials report, are commonly based in China or India and involved various types of scams, on computers and by phone calls, where the victims are blackmailed or fraudulently pressured into purchasing gift cards and giving the cards’ information to people like Sun and Lu. Then those people launder the gift card money or use it to purchase other gift cards, making it more difficult to trace where the money came from, where it goes or who is committing the fraud. heraldextra.com

Polk County, FL: Woman tries to steal 65-inch television from Florida Walmart; still managed to steal other electronics
Does a 65-inch television actually fit in a shopping cart? No, not really. That was the question and answer that a sheriff's office in Central Florida posed to their audience after they said two women attempted to steal an oversized television. The Polk County Sheriff's Office said the shoplifters entered a Walmart in Mulberry, Florida, on Sunday afternoon and began placing electronics in their shopping cart, including the large television. One of the women left the store first, then the other woman pushed the cart with the television and exited the store without paying for the items, deputies say. Authorities said security confronted the woman about her receipt, but she did not have one. The sheriff's office said the woman who left the store first then grabbed all of the stolen electronics out of the cart, except the 65-inch television, and put them in their car. Store security was able to keep them from stealing the television. Both women then fled the store, and now investigators are trying to identify the shoplifters. wptv.com

Burley, ID: Grocery store employee charged with $10,000 grand theft in Rug Doctor rental scheme
A former Stokes Fresh Food Market employee was charged with grand theft after store officials said she stole nearly $10,000 using a scheme to fictitiously rent out the store’s carpet cleaners and pocketing the return fees. Sarah S. Gonzales, 26, is charged with felony counts of burglary and grand theft. Cassia County Sheriff deputies were called to the store on July 14 to investigate a complaint by store officials against Gonzales, alleging she fictitiously rented out Rug Doctor carpet cleaners from the store and pocketed the $20 return fee usually given to a customer when they return the machine.

A store official said she was renting out 14 machines a day when the store only owned two and said Gonzales would take the till upstairs away from cameras to count the money. Gonzales told officers it was the only method she used to steal money from the store. She told officers another employee showed her how to steal from the store when she first started the job. magicvalley.com

Eugene, OR: Car hit employees as theft suspects fled Coastal Farm and Home Supply store

North Palm Beach, FL: Man busted with 17 bottles of Body Wash and 10 deodorants; total value of over $200