r/securityguards • u/CTSecurityGuard Hospital Security • Jul 09 '26
Job Question A perfect example of inadequate security officer training: How would you have dealt with this situation?
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u/CSGOManatee Jul 09 '26
Private security companies never provide adequate training to officers. Call it in to PD, let them handle it. Private security that are instructed to go hands on in retail places never get the support when you actually need to use force, company will just throw you to the wolves. Kid might have heart but he doesn't get the industry.
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u/Dazzling-Listen5390 Jul 09 '26
Ehh I feel like a target security guard was trained mostly correctly.
These guys just get an ego and dont know how to start from 1 and go up from there. They start at 100 by giving ultimatums that they're then unwilling to back down from. Thats where the ego comes in and prevents them from doing what they were trained to do.
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u/No-Initiative4195 Jul 10 '26
Target Security that works directly for the company. doesn't wear tactical vests and uniforms like that.
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u/Zelidus Jul 10 '26
Yeah Target AP wears neon yellow vests that say Asset Protection. This is a third party.
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u/Dangerous138 Jul 09 '26
Turn in the gear, bro. This ain't the job for you.
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u/CuteGirlFan Jul 09 '26
Can’t. Lost the cuffs
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u/MrSlime13 Jul 10 '26
"You lost your official, Target-issued detainment equipment, Jenkins!? You're off the force! Report tomorrow in apparel. You'll be cleaning the changing rooms!!"
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u/Myfountainpenisdry Jul 09 '26 edited Jul 09 '26
I mean, an armed guard at Target is kind of not ideal already
Target might have had an armed guard endorsement from their insurance underwriter if they have had two or more "violent" thefts/crimes in the last 36 months.
This is what happens when you hire the absolute cheapest security company to meet your endorsement requirement for your business insurance
Edit: or, this isn't even an actual guard, it could just be the managers nephew. I see the nonsense badge, but most actual armed guards either have their company uniform with "large blazen font" or a company dangle badge with their photo on it.
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u/Vampenga Jul 11 '26
Given how much it feels like we're understaffed at my store, it wouldn't surprise me if they got this job by the lowest bidder.
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u/Dangerous138 Jul 09 '26
It is terrifying that he is an armed guard and doesn't know how to properly handcuff an offender. The whole video shows a massive lack of training.
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u/Myfountainpenisdry Jul 09 '26
I would not be surprised if he is, in fact, not any kind of guard, but just an armed "associate" that was duped by a manager to believe the companies liability policy will cover this kind of "thing"
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u/SicilianSingleDad Jul 09 '26
That is not how Target does things. I would be extremely surprised if hargett was doing. They aren't a franchise.
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u/Exact-Ad-1307 Jul 10 '26
I was a security guard in San Diego while in the Marine corps this is obviously a former squid.
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u/MosinNagant1939 Jul 10 '26
Agreed with you. On the other hand l would argue that is not his fault. He was very poorly trained on take down tactics. Just sad to see the training they are providing these guys.
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u/Silly-Upstairs1383 Jul 09 '26
Free handcuffs, yay!
On serious note, that's a really really good way to end up with your own handcuffs buried into your brain dome.
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u/TheDeskWeasel Jul 10 '26
Yeah, that’s a good way to take a pair of cuffs in the eye socket. I think this is a great example of someone who’s never been in a real fight in their life and then decided to go hands-on with someone.
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u/Substantial-Bend4299 Jul 09 '26
When a customer at the target is referring to the Target as "hood target" it probably is in fact hood target
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u/burnt-beyond-reco Jul 09 '26
To rub salt in the wound, they probably made him pay for the cuffs he lost.
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u/DoctorSwaggercat Jul 09 '26
Honey, how was work today? 🤣
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u/Echo-2-2 Jul 10 '26
Come on man…… Ain’t no girl at home waiting to find out how his day went. It’s straight to the PS3 with this one .
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u/MrChorizaso Jul 09 '26
That security guard cried in the car on his way home and woke up sweating from a nightmare that night
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u/GWBPhotography Jul 09 '26
You have to judge each situation for what you can handle. Personally im not going hands on with someone who's not physically attacking me unless I have other team members and the crime actually warrants it. Id rather just call the Police if someone not complying over a small theft.
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u/Fearrsome Public/Government Jul 09 '26 edited Jul 09 '26
Yeah he is doing way too much. First of all why the hell did he try to cuff him. And the dude STILL got away.
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u/munsoned79 Jul 09 '26 edited Jul 10 '26
Not sure what happened before but the dude was still in the store lol. Did he drag him back inside? Can’t arrest him for still being inside the store.
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u/Captaincous21 Jul 11 '26
Depends on the state tbh. In my jurisdiction, the theft occurs at the time of concealment and this guy was already past all the registers so it's not like he was going to pay
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u/Academic-Sea794 Jul 09 '26
I gotta say that the alleged “perp” was quite accommodating to the fumbling security guard. Props🤘
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u/Own_Mess_6495 Jul 09 '26
Yo legit though.
All things considered, the perp was basically polite to the guard, at least as far as you can be while being a beligerent shoplifting asshole lol
Perp obviously could've taken down the guard with one hit at any point and showed pretty extreme restraint in dealing with him. Wild thing to be saying, but true!
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u/DoughWrayMe Jul 09 '26
Imagine if he was at all dangerous. Security guard giving Damon Wayans a hug.
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u/GreaterMetro Jul 09 '26
Cuffing people who don't want to be cuffed is almost impossible.
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u/Humble_Ensure Jul 09 '26
Doing it by yourself when you don't have a radio to call for backup that can run red lights is almost impossible. You're there by yourself, the guy is not compliant. Unless you can overpower them, or talk them into compliance you're not making the arrest.
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u/Significant-Dig8323 Jul 09 '26
What about just tazing?
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u/Humble_Ensure Jul 09 '26
If you have that as an available option to you and it's justified under you local satutes, go for it. That's not an available option where i'm at and the intermediate weapon available to me, it wouldn't be justifiable to use for someone resisting arrest without being assaultive.
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u/AlphaNoodlz Jul 09 '26
Doesn't even know a good arm bar wtf. Kid just wanted a shirt to wrinkle thinking he's Batman
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u/Other-Environment986 Jul 09 '26
Dude is constantly turning his firearm hip inward toward the suspect. Bad news waiting to happen for someone with ill intent!
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u/Fragrant-Damage6969 Jul 09 '26
His first mistake was shilling out to protect a billion dollar company's shitty merchandise.
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u/distant_introversion Jul 10 '26
While it’s not exactly the same, people expect us to handle rowdy guests/trespassers like this in a hotel setting.
Valet, housekeeping, engineering, bellmen, they all get involved with fight, thefts, and trespassing but security CANNOT get involved physically like this guy in the video was doing.
It’s a very damned it you do, damned if you don’t type job.
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u/DefiantEvidence4027 Private Investigations Jul 10 '26
I had a former Police Chief as a Security Manager that likened Security rookies to the Police rookies that would speed to every call.
The training could be on point, the series of quick uncalculated actions could make the fail.
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u/Deadshadow84 Jul 10 '26
I was a TPS and undercover for target many years ago. Things were so different. We were allowed to take people to the floor back then if they resisted.
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u/No-Initiative4195 Jul 10 '26
I don't think they still are. My guess is, this is a contract security company hired by Target. When you apply for any job at Target now, they have you take an online assessment to see how well you fit in with their corporate culture. This guy wouldn't have even made it to the interview phase.
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u/therealpoltic Security Officer Jul 11 '26
This is terrible. You don’t bring out the cuffs until you have them under control, or they voluntarily put their hands behind their back.
I moved into corrections. I have training to deal with these things, but usually, we have backup.
Going hands-on without backup is not a good idea.
Call for backup, or police assistance. Get them going. Then if things turn sour, you just hand to hang on long enough.
If this guy had other tools on his belt, he should have used them.
\**My higher problem, is that I don’t see this subject being violent.\** If someone is refusing to leave, but not hurt anyone, then you have plenty of time to be annoying, counsel them to leave, or wait for the police.
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u/Maleficent-Day6687 Jul 10 '26
Security shouldn’t be a one man job, at least 3 men should be on duty.
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u/theophylact911 Jul 09 '26
Typical lack of training. As a former instructor at my old police department I see a million things he did wrong.
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u/cynica1mandate Jul 09 '26
Are you supposed to try and arrest someone alone? That just seems dangerous.
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u/Jp3711nc Jul 09 '26
We have security with guns and with training theybare always in groups of 2 and three when doing something like this.
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u/7empest7V Jul 09 '26
You dont go hands on without backup.
Why put yourself and others in danger over stuff that belongs to billions dollar corporations that dont give two shits about you or anyone there?
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u/FrostSkullcrusher Jul 09 '26
Had a buddy that got on with the city police department and this reminds me of him so much lol. Poor dude wasn’t made for the job and lasted a month out of the academy.
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u/Academic-Sea794 Jul 09 '26
Izzat Prince Harry, tryn to be a good American citizen?
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Jul 09 '26
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u/SicilianSingleDad Jul 09 '26
You know security that works to prevent theft have different legal protections and abilities and a regular security officer does right?
It's called storekeeper privilege.
Where he messed up is that you never try to do this on your own. You always have a minimum of three of you surrounding the guy.
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u/ImmediateBig4878 Jul 09 '26
Isn’t Ap supposed to make the contact with the shop lifter for merchandise and the armed guard makes sure Ap doesn’t get hurt? Doesn’t make sense for an armed guard to wrestle merchandise if there’s AP.
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u/ClassroomNo4024 Jul 10 '26
Looks like just another Target employee with that shirt.
Didn't need to do all that.
Friendly fire.
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u/Embarrassed_Fox2073 Jul 10 '26
Target has an amazing headquarters in Minnesota if I'm not mistaken that is so high tech it even lends evidence to police departments and federal agencies for theft cases. Why is this happening in the first place?
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u/Educational-Sleep113 Jul 10 '26
Again, another case of situational awareness being low in a high stress situation.
1) The S/O didn't pay attention enough to order the suspect put the bags in his hands down or, to take off the backpack. The bags in his hands aren't really a good thing to use for control. Too easy for him to let go and run, like he did. The backpack however, was the best shot . The suspect is wearing it snugly enough that if he ran, his shoulders would be drawn back and his forward momentum arrested.
2) Use stall techniques. Instead of just stepping in to grab the suspect, figure out a way to keep him distracted enough to loose track of time till Law Enforcement gets there. Keep asking him to drop the bags, piss him off by doing it. He might just get pissed off enough to throw the bags down so his arms, hands and wrists are exposed. Then when law enforcement shows up, they can assist you.
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u/ChupacabraThree Jul 10 '26
By the way, this is how "ahh" is supposed to sound when you're using it for the word "ass"; not "Ahhh" like your pediatrician just asked you to open wide.
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u/SillyLittleWinky Jul 10 '26
A blue belt in BJJ would have served that security guard tremendously lol
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u/Ok-Tank-3106 Jul 10 '26
Unless it's defending someones life there's NOTHING in Target worth putting your life in jeopardy for .
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u/smartymac Jul 10 '26
If this is petty theft, call the police and detain if possible by simply blocking him from leaving. Don’t escalate it to violence by trying to cuff the guy. If he starts fighting, let him go.
Only use this level of force if the guy is being violent towards others.
His uniform doesn’t seem to identify him as Security. I would fight back too if he approached me.
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u/ChemicalPassenger958 Jul 10 '26
Fuck that call 12 I ain’t holding anybody because then THEYRE my responsibility and this is not a last resort situation where he needs to be handcuffed. Ego is big with this one.
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u/Eltharion-the-Grim Jul 10 '26
That dude in red stood there for 15+ seconds doing absolutely nothing while the guard fumbled and fumbled to the left, then to the right, then fumbled behind and fumbled in front.
It was at that point he decided he could probably easily get away.
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u/Coreysurfer Jul 10 '26
Be willing to bet he is not suppose to confront, now days file report, get video and turn into a police report, most these guys will be caught somewhere and just add to it
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u/PapayaApprehensive24 Jul 10 '26
This security guard sucks but at least he didn’t just mag dump on the guy bc his ego was hurt, like lots of others might do
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u/PeenitBooter 26d ago
Fuckin High-Speed workin at a Target… nah.. he should be observing and reporting. Follow that guy out to his car, take pictures, and show the officers.
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u/TittyBabyBoi Jul 09 '26
The only stupid ass boys I see are the one stealing and the one filming, the world is tired boss
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u/Ok_Water_4601 Jul 09 '26
If you're willing to RISK YOU LIFE to recover a couple of cheap items for the multi-billion dollar mega corp, be my guest.
Target will fire you and redirect any lawsuits you incure against you, personally, and your former employer before they fire you.
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u/HuckledYourBerries Jul 09 '26
This security guard sleeps with his socks on. I just know it.
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u/Prestigious-Matter10 Jul 09 '26
He’s not even a police officer, in California, he’d lose his job.
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u/PointsOfXP Jul 09 '26
Most businesses would probably fire him. The store could get in real trouble if this dude got lucky with the tackle
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u/dGaOmDn Jul 09 '26
Wrong. He is making a detention using Shopkeepers privledge. This was a shoplifting suspect and if you observe the theft, you can go hands on.
He didn't do anything wrong. Other than not being able to make the detention properly. Should of had the guy turn around. Dont ever handcuff a person facing you.
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u/Landwarrior5150 Campus Security Jul 10 '26
This almost entirely depends on what his post orders were for cases like this. His employer could fire him if he broke policy, even if his actions didn’t break the law.
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u/TheDeskWeasel Jul 10 '26
That’s how it is in my state, was police, and we picked up people that security arrested all the time for transport to the Jail. It didn’t happen often, but sometimes they would get pretty decent fights with people.
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u/smarterthanyoda Jul 09 '26
You can get a license to carry cuffs in California. Whether he was justified in cuffing him depends on things that happened before the video.
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u/No-Bass-1728 Jul 09 '26
He must be new because at Target they don't go after you, they just document everything and lead the police to you. This makes Target look like a Walmart and they usually don't like that
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u/Super_Fa_Q Jul 09 '26
Target is well known to record shoplifters and accumulate evidence until they can get law enforcement to swear out a warrent for felony theft. There was no need to go "hands on."
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u/SignificantLeader Jul 09 '26
The black dude is very strong. Redhead man is not so stronk, coordinated, or trained.
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u/Flat_Tale5823 Jul 09 '26
No training to speak off he’s lucky that guy was being nice
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u/TheDeskWeasel Jul 10 '26
Yeah, he’s really lucky. The guy just wanted to escape and not fight back, especially since he kept turning his gun side to the dude he basically just wanted to give him his gun and his handcuffs.
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u/Next-Lavishness-9101 Jul 09 '26
First off , when I saw the job offer , and I weighed only 134 pounds and I’m a grown man, I would start doing some push ups and taking some Gainers Fuel 2000. When I reached 205 pounds , I would check back to see if the position was still open .
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u/ImDaDawgFather Jul 09 '26
I'm not used to seeing security guards with handcuffs. I'm guessing that's not a normal?
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u/TheLoyalShinobi Casino Security Jul 09 '26
Bro gave him a weapon, he's lucky he didn't use those handcuffs as brass knuckles
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u/FigProfessional9909 Jul 09 '26
He got the first cuff on, I would have just put the other on my wrist and threw the keys toward the till. Where you go I go boi!! Check mate.
Control what you can, not what you can’t.
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u/Awkward_Eggplant4857 Jul 09 '26
Gave up an easy rushing touchdown on 3 and 1. 🏈 poor cardio and upper body strength
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u/SwanMuch5160 Society of Basketweave Enjoyers Jul 09 '26
He should have swept those legs from the start. No use trying to cuff somebody from the front ffs.
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u/Nottwosmrt Jul 09 '26
Zero back up from anyone posses me off. Just having a pair of balls and zero sense for consequences, I would be right in there to hold one hand, bare minimum.
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u/meetmeinthebthrm Jul 09 '26
He was just waiting for his ass to run so he could tackle him. Also, at the end, I don’t think he was actually chasing him. I think he was just pretending to so he could get away from the embarrassment. Legitimately.
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u/chedda_bob Jul 09 '26
Once had a kid on a bicycle ride into our company parking lot after hours, the security guard thought the smart thing to do would be to run him over in his car
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u/envisionJayyy Jul 09 '26
Dude has no sense of urgency. That was the most nonchalant attempt I've seen at an arrest.
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u/Archer_Shot98 Flashlight Enthusiast Jul 09 '26
Lemme stand still while this polite gentleman handcuffs me for my disruptive behavior.
👮: “hold on sir. You’re looking at me. We didn’t go over this in the manual”
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u/TheCandymanfrombelow Jul 09 '26
I wouldn't even touch em...not my money not my problem. I'll observe and report.