Cali Gard Gets Probation for Impersonating, Weapons Charge

[N. A. Corbier]

http://www.officer.com/article/artic...ion=5&id=28052

A security guard who prosecutors said passed himself off as a police officer to stop a motorist on the freeway and also brought a gun into a courthouse has been placed on three years' probation
Timothy Higley, 30, of Skyline also was ordered to complete 35 days of public work service. Higley pleaded guilty Nov. 11 to false imprisonment and the gun charge. He faced a maximum sentence of more than three years in prison.

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This guy brought a loaded 9mm to court, in his company uniform. The OTHER security guards at the court house, and baliffs, failed to realize he shouldn't be carrying that AFTERWARDS. They blamed it on a smiliar uniform to a Deputy Sheriff.

Anyone know how this guy got California Exempt Plates on his CVPI?

[Mr. Security]

If this gun incident were the only problem, I could see giving the guy a break with just a misdemeanor conviction. Unfortunately though, there seems to be a pattern of misconduct based on the 2003 traffic stop incident and the wannabe behavior with the Crown Vic. If the facts are as they have been reported, I can understand the felony conviction. Too bad he just didn't go ahead and qualify as a police officer since he is academy trained.

[Bill Warnock]

I am dumbfounded by the ability of an armed uniformed person able to enter a courthouse, without presenting valid law enforcement credentials and then being required to place his weapon in a lock box.
The light sentence indicates "egg on the faces" of the good guys.
Enjoy the day,
Bill

[N. A. Corbier]

How this person got past court security and bailiffs, I would love to know. Or why he had exempt plates on his CVPI.

[Echos13]

This has happend many times here in Florida (central county area) in both county and federal buildings. Mostly because some of these WB companies gobble up the contracts with low bids. As they say, you get what you pay for I guess. As far as the impersonating an LEO. Thats pretty messed up. If he was certified I wonder why he never (or has) became one? Under what he's facing now there is a good chance it will never happen. If his standards are not taken away from him the state will surely yank his security license. OH, yea.. if he is lucky and is not imprsioned.

[EMTGuard]

What a whacker.

He said that when he brought the gun to court, he didn't know he wasn't allowed to do so.
"I was under the impression that I had the authority . . . to come in like I did," Higley said.

He was OFF DUTY. He had NO business showing up in uniform with his gun on. If he was running late he should have had a spare civvie shirt in his car to change into after work. His security assignment was not at the courthouse so he had NO business walking in with the gun on his hip. The duty belt and gun should have been taken off and stored in the trunk of his car as soon as he got off duty or when he got to the parking lot at the courthouse.
Doesn't everyone carry a small bag in their POV with a spare uniform in case they take a tumble in the mud in the middle of the shift? A spare pair of socks and a nice pull over golf/polo shirt means that your feet can stay warm and dry and you have something besides your uniform to wear when you get off shift.
And the excuse by the courthouse security force that the uniform resembled those worn by deputies was BS. You work in a courthouse around the deputies all day and you can't tell the difference between them and a security officer with different patches and badges? Time to find another job, Jethro because those metal detectors have given you brain damage.

[1stWatch]

What baffles me about this case is if this person was law enforcement certified, as he claimed, he would be knowledgable about the appropriate statutes here. Performing those violations after gaining such education makes him more culpable, not less. The place where he got his security certification and the company he worked for also seem negligent for not emphasizing where he was and was not authorized to carry his weapon, if they indeed did not emphasize those things. However, something tells me he was aware of those things and decided to pull a car over for speeding on a public highway and then later wear his weapon into a courtroom. If he was not aware of those seemingly basic laws and this is the standard security meets in California, I certainly will never do that job there.

[Mr. Security]

What a whacker.
He was OFF DUTY. He had NO business showing up in uniform with his gun on. If he was running late he should have had a spare civvie shirt in his car to change into after work. His security assignment was not at the courthouse so he had NO business walking in with the gun on his hip.

Excellent point. Most security companies do not allow you to wear their uniform while off duty. Generally, you are permitted to wear it when traveling directly to and from work, while on duty, and when testifying in court as a witness for a case involving the company. Even if he was at court to testify in the aforementioned capacity, he NEVER should have had his duty belt on, let alone carry a firearm.

[N. A. Corbier]

This is how I do court apperances:

- Full company uniform
- 2 1/2" Leather Duty Belt, w/ keepers
- Company Radio / Nextel

If the D.A. / S.A. isn't comfortable with one of their witnesses who is not a LEO on the stand in uniform, I wear a suit. Normally, I simply ask the ASA handling the case, "uniform or suit?" Most will say uniform after seeing me in it, as it gives a "competent" look that the judge/jury may like.

It also scares the defendant's counsel, quite frankly, to see a squared away security officer sitting in the ASA's office reviewing his notes - or worse, conversing with the police officers called to depo and reviewing notes TOGETHER.

[1stWatch]

Competency + Respect = Results
"I wasn't aware I couldn't do that" = Incompetency

[Lawson]

I want to know which company he worked for.

Sadly... it sounds like it could be mine... Our Custom Protection Officers wear a uniform that really does look like a Deputy Sheriff and I wouldnt be too suprised seeing them getting site cars for some of the power plants they work on with XMT plates.

[Guest]

Or why he had exempt plates on his CVPI.

He probably had a friend or some connection in the DMV that gave him cold plates.

[Guest]

And the excuse by the courthouse security force that the uniform resembled those worn by deputies was BS. You work in a courthouse around the deputies all day and you can't tell the difference between them and a security officer with different patches and badges? Time to find another job, Jethro because those metal detectors have given you brain damage.

Funny thing is.. the security industry gets the reputation of those Deputies (good for nothing, sloth, being unattentive etc).

[1stWatch]

In the title of the thread, this person is referred to as a "Cali Gard". Is the word "gard" a typo or is that actually how they spell it over there? "Gard Card"? Sounds like a setup from the beginning for humiliation.

[N. A. Corbier]

The guy falsified his DMV records to get exempt tags, according to several folks on Officer.com.