Security guard fired for roughing up disabled man
No charges have been laid yet against a security guard working undercover in a Vancouver mall who allegedly assaulted a man in a wheelchair, while legal advocates are searching for the victim.
The incident happened Oct. 6 outside a store at downtown Pacific Centre mall, where the victim was believed to have been shoplifting.
A cellphone video taken by a member of the public who witnessed the attack shows the man being yelled at and thrown out of his electric wheelchair to the ground by a guard, in the presence of two other guards.
The guard in question — an employee of Genesis Security — has already been fired and two of his colleagues suspended pending the outcome of the investigation.
In the interim, Pivot Legal Society has been trying to contact the man to offer him help, as they believe he has a case as the video clearly shows that he was subject to improper, abusive behaviour.
“From our perspective, even if you consider it an arrest and not an assault, there is a very likely use of excessive force,” Pivot lawyer Doug King said Friday, noting that so far, their search for the man has been unsuccessful.
King said the Society, which has also been troubled by another recent caught-on-cellphone video of a teen boy being roughed up by a Metrotown Mall security guard, is preparing a report recommending reform to the Security Service Act.
One of his suggestions is to make it mandatory to report to the ministry of justice any instances where guards use force or injure members of the public, similar to the reporting required of police.
“It’s actually more of a deterrent than anything: if they do something like this then someone from outside their organization is going to do something about it,” King said.
VPD Const. Brian Montague said Friday that police were “following up with the incident and no charges have been laid against either the individual in the wheelchair or the security guard.”
VPD were initially called to the scene after the reporting of an alleged theft at the busy underground shopping centre, he said. They are now reviewing the cellphone and security camera footage.
Genesis CEO Camil Dubuc said in a statement that he was “disturbed and shocked” when he saw the video and he called the situation “regrettable.”
“The actions of the employees are contrary to our company’s policies and not consistent with the community-oriented company that I have built over the past 15 years,” Dubuc said.
The ministry of justice is also involved in the investigation.