Home Depot Takes Drastic Action to Deter Criminals

(WatchDogReport.org) – A Home Depot store in New Rochelle, New York, has resorted to drastic measures to help protect shoppers from “aggressive” migrants and shoplifters. The store has hired two guards equipped with bulletproof vests and MSA security hats to patrol the parking lot. The guards are accompanied by a German Shepherd. One of the guards told The New York Post that they do not let the dog bite anyone and that they were not just hired because of migrants but to deal with multiple issues as well, such as people breaking into vehicles.

Reporters from The New York Post also counted roughly 30 male migrants loitering at the doors of a Home Depot store in Throggs Neck, the Bronx. Members of the group were aggressively confronting shoppers, attempting to sell them fake Apple Airpods and soliciting tips for stealing items from shopping carts. A female supervisor saw one of the men washing his private parts with a water bottle in the parking lot.

One of the guards at the New Rochelle store stated that the use of the German Shepherd was about “omnipresence,” dismissing worries about it possibly attacking shoppers.

Shoplifting in New York City rose by 64% between June 2019 and June 2023. Thieves and their middlemen were reportedly selling lifted items online using platforms such as Facebook Marketplace and eBay, further fueling the rise in shoplifting incidents. At a New York City Council hearing, according to Republican councilwoman Vickie Paladino, an illegal immigrant argued that the city spent too much on its police department. Paladino claimed that the chairwoman cut her off when she pointed out the migrant’s legal status.

A woman described being intimidated by a migrant in the parking lot of the Throggs Neck store, who grabbed items in the shopping cart when she was approaching her vehicle with her husband. She claimed that Home Depot’s headquarters in Atlanta gave her the “brushoff” when she contacted them about the incident. She added that a regional manager assured her they were working on bringing security dogs into both of the Bronx stores.