Well a few guesses.
To actually put handcuffs on him and take him in for interrogation makes me think they had solid proof that he was stealing.
Apparently just having him not show up for work anymore because he was arrested for stealing wasn’t deterrent enough so Target seems to have opted for an arrest without charges for the sake of deterrence.
I say this because it seems patently illegal to use the police to bully your employees in case they are stealing.
So the wording “suspected” of stealing is used instead of “caught stealing” because Target let the matter drop in exchange for humiliation.
Can you rewrite your post? It’s hard to understand but perhaps you are on to something. I’m really confused by this story.
The police put the cuffs on that kid not Target employee’s.