Before I get criticized, I'm not someone who is looking for trouble or who gets excited at the thought of getting physical while on the job. I'm just posting this to share my experience and to reflect on, contrary to many peoples' perceptions, just how dangerous my job can be at times.
This past Saturday, 1 March 2008 at approximately 20:45, a young woman in a van pulled into the parking lot of the check cashing store where I work and was being closely followed by another car. At first, it appeared as if the van was broken down and was being pushed by the car, but when the occupant of the car exited his vehicle and began arguing with the woman in the van, I saw that that clearly was not the case and I went outside in hopes that I could peacefully resolve the situation.
The woman in the van explained to me that the man in the second vehicle had been following her since she left the hospital located in the neighboring city. The man with whom she was arguing told me that this was a personal matter between himself and the young woman and that I should just stay out of it. I explained that if it is going on on this company's property, it does concern me and it is my job to make sure that it does not escalate.
I continued trying to talk to this man for the next five minutes, during which he returned to his vehicle at least two more times and struck the woman's van both times. I finally told him that if he did not leave immediately, I would call the police and he would go to jail. As he returned to his vehicle for a final time, the young woman called the police on her cell phone and when he heard that, he exited his vehicle again, went up to her van, and began physically assaulting her.
I hit the man once in the small of his back with my expandable baton, breaking it. At the same time, another male, who was a passenger in the vehicle in which the woman was driving, exited her vehicle and began fighting with the first man. While they were struggling, I sprayed the first man with pepper spray. Because that only seemed to agitate him more, I took out my 600,000 volt stun gun and was able to stun him in his lower torso area, which had become exposed during the struggle. This worked in subduing him, and I was easily able to get him to the ground to handcuff him and I held him there until the police arrived a minute later.
Remember, this is in house security, and I'm the only guard working there, meaning I don't have backup to call whenever something happens. I guess it was just a stroke of luck that the guy with whom he was struggling held him in a headlock so that I could subdue him. Otherwise, the situation could have escalated further, possibly involving me using my firearm. Fortunately, it didn't and the guy was taken to jail and his car was towed.
Do you guys think I handled this properly? The officer I spoke to thought so, and even told me to get better pepper spray, because the guy was able to see again after 15 minutes.
This past Saturday, 1 March 2008 at approximately 20:45, a young woman in a van pulled into the parking lot of the check cashing store where I work and was being closely followed by another car. At first, it appeared as if the van was broken down and was being pushed by the car, but when the occupant of the car exited his vehicle and began arguing with the woman in the van, I saw that that clearly was not the case and I went outside in hopes that I could peacefully resolve the situation.
The woman in the van explained to me that the man in the second vehicle had been following her since she left the hospital located in the neighboring city. The man with whom she was arguing told me that this was a personal matter between himself and the young woman and that I should just stay out of it. I explained that if it is going on on this company's property, it does concern me and it is my job to make sure that it does not escalate.
I continued trying to talk to this man for the next five minutes, during which he returned to his vehicle at least two more times and struck the woman's van both times. I finally told him that if he did not leave immediately, I would call the police and he would go to jail. As he returned to his vehicle for a final time, the young woman called the police on her cell phone and when he heard that, he exited his vehicle again, went up to her van, and began physically assaulting her.
I hit the man once in the small of his back with my expandable baton, breaking it. At the same time, another male, who was a passenger in the vehicle in which the woman was driving, exited her vehicle and began fighting with the first man. While they were struggling, I sprayed the first man with pepper spray. Because that only seemed to agitate him more, I took out my 600,000 volt stun gun and was able to stun him in his lower torso area, which had become exposed during the struggle. This worked in subduing him, and I was easily able to get him to the ground to handcuff him and I held him there until the police arrived a minute later.
Remember, this is in house security, and I'm the only guard working there, meaning I don't have backup to call whenever something happens. I guess it was just a stroke of luck that the guy with whom he was struggling held him in a headlock so that I could subdue him. Otherwise, the situation could have escalated further, possibly involving me using my firearm. Fortunately, it didn't and the guy was taken to jail and his car was towed.
Do you guys think I handled this properly? The officer I spoke to thought so, and even told me to get better pepper spray, because the guy was able to see again after 15 minutes.
Comment