Franklin Police Respond To Social Media Posts About Human Trafficking

From the City of Franklin:

Post Date:01/11/2020 2:00 PM

Recent citizen social media posts regarding two different incidents at the Cool Springs Target have prompted several residents to reach out to the FPD with understandable concern. In the posts, the authors share information about things they witnessed and make references to human trafficking.

The Franklin Police Department wants to share information about the incidents:

1. After reviewing surveillance video with Target security, Franklin Police confirmed that the concerning person referenced in the post was an undercover Target Loss Prevention Officer.

2. The arrests described in the second post, made by plainclothes Franklin Police Officers in the parking lot, were of four suspects who were attempting to fraudulently purchase cellular phones at the store.

The Department has never had a case of human trafficking or suspected trafficking at either Franklin Target.

Citizen vigilance and people utilizing social media to raise awareness is commendable. In these recent cases, however, what was shared in these citizen posts was an unintended misunderstanding of the facts. Because those posts created undue public concern, the Franklin Police Department felt obligated to share this additional information with our citizens.

This press release was produced by the City of Franklin. The views expressed here are the author’s own.