Video of Three Black Teens Wrongly Detained At Target Goes Viral

A video of three Black teenagers being detained by police while shopping for food has been shared thousands of times on social media.

The three boys, aged 16 and 17, were detained by Los Angeles County Sheriff's deputy officers inside a Target in Westlake Village.

In the clip, shot on a mobile phone by a friend of the teenagers, deputies can be seen pushing them up against the counter of a checkout and forcing their arms behind their backs.

One of the boys, 17-year-old Malik Aaron, told CBS he and four friends went to the store to buy snacks after attending church on January 17. Inside, they saw a group of Black men steal iPhones from a display case and run away, after which a member of staff started to follow them.

The worker asked the group if they needed help, which the teens declined. According to Aaron, he then said he couldn't have them walking around the store.

Feeling uncomfortable, the teenagers decided to leave and were making their way towards the exit when they were stopped by Target employees, who had blocked the way with shopping carts.

"They wouldn't let us leave at all, but they were letting other people leave," Aaron said.

Police arrived shortly afterwards and one teenager began to film the incident on his phone, which was allegedly knocked out of his hand by an officer. The boys were then led out of the store in handcuffs, but no arrests were made.

"And he threw me in the cop car and told me to shut the eff up and slammed the door on my feet," Aaron said.

"I already had that mindset that they were either going to kill me or one of my friends," he added.

The footage captured by one of the teens was posted to Facebook by Aaron's mother, La Shaun. The attorney for the families told CBS she would be filing a lawsuit alleging civil rights violations.

The Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department has confirmed it is aware of the incident and will be reviewing it.

Target has terminated the employee involved and apologized for the incident: "We want all Target guests to feel welcome and respected whenever they shop in our stores, we're deeply sorry for what happened and we've terminated the security team member who was involved.

"What happened to these guests is in direct opposition to the inclusive experience we want all our guests to have. Our security team member took action and stopped these guests in violation of Target's security procedures.

"We expect our team members to follow Target's security processes and treat all guests with respect. Additionally, all leaders at the store will retake mandatory security and racial bias training. Finally, and most importantly, we're reaching out to all of the guests who were involved to offer a personal apology."

Majorities of both Black and white Americans say Black people are treated less fairly than whites in dealing with the police and by the criminal justice system as a whole, a 2019 Pew Research Center survey found.

Analysis by the Los Angeles Times in 2019 revealed Black and Latino adults in L.A. are more than three times more likely to be stopped and searched while driving in comparison to their white counterparts, yet white people are more likely to be found carrying illicit goods.