Target officials told him he violated procedure by not filling out paperwork before contacting police.

LEESBURG, Va. (AP) — A security officer who worked at a Target store in Leesburg for eight years says he was fired after reporting shoplifting by a man who may have been a sheriff’s deputy.

Security officer Dallas Northington tells The Washington Post (http://wapo.st/1ntObyK ) he responded to the May shoplifting case the way he always did, by filing a report with Leesburg police and providing surveillance video.

But days after this report, the suspect retired from the sheriff’s office and Northington was fired. Northington says Target officials told him he violated procedure by not filling out paperwork before contacting police.

Northington says store supervisors recognized the suspect.

A Target spokeswoman says Target conducted an investigation and doesn’t believe there’s any merit to Northington’s claims.

Leesburg police are still trying to identify the shoplifting suspect.

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Information from: The Washington Post, http://www.washingtonpost.com

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