Security firm involved in St Louis shooting has history of lawsuits

[Judi Lynn]

Source: Guardian

Security firm involved in St Louis shooting has history of lawsuits

Company that employed off-duty police officer who shot Vonderrit Myers Jr has paid out settlements over other incidents

theguardian.com, Friday 10 October 2014 20.17 EDT

The security company for which a St Louis police officer was working when he shot dead a black 18-year-old this week paid out tens of thousands of dollars to settle lawsuits over incidents involving other off-duty police officers working for it, according to the plaintiffs in those suits.

Vonderrit Myers Jr was killed on Wednesday evening by a 32-year-old city police officer who was working a shift as a security guard for GCI Security. St Louis police said that Myers shot three times at the officer, who has not been named, and that the officer fired repeatedly in response.

The shooting has drawn attention to the widespread practice of St Louis police officers working second jobs as private security guards. The officer who shot Myers was wearing his police uniform at the time, something permitted by the department. GCI alone was reported in 2012 to employ 168 police officers.

Jeff Smith, a former Missouri state senator, said on Twitter on Friday that he had previously lived on Flora Place, the residential street in south St Louis that the officer involved was guarding. “Fee was $500/yr per house,” he wrote.



Read more: http://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2014/oct/11/security-firm-involved-in-st-louis-shooting-has-history-of-lawsuits

[bravenak]

1. I am very interested in the officer's history as well.

It seem like they always clam up whenever a cop shoots somebody if they think it might nit go so well for them. I am starting to think they get bonus pay for shooting black people. But, I guess the paid vacation comes in handy for them.

[Cali_Democrat]

10. Shoot a black kid, get a paid vacation. nt

[edgineered]

2. There must be a clubhouse somewhere for them to hang out.

Something like Mole's Hole Social Club in the basement of the Salvation Army. A few card tables, gaming tables, sports book, street girls, and of course a fully stocked bar. The protection money ($500 / house) pays for the club. These places exist, except now the police are the extortionists instead of Moe and his dons.

[sheshe2]

3. Sadly that does not surprise me in the least.

[George II]

4. This is REALLY stretching, just looking for something amiss, and doubtful that anyone will find any.

[branford]

5. I'm interested to the extent any of these suits involved the officer in the Myers shooting.

Companies are sued all the time for a variety of reasons, and settlement is often much cheaper than litigation, particularly for the relevant insurer who handles the case, and is not indicative (or admissible) of much, good or bad.

If the officer has not been involved in these cases or anything similar in his department, and unless the lawsuits have very particular and readily supportable allegations that the company directed those under its employ to engage in racist or impermissible violent activities, the lawsuits are little more than an interesting footnote in the story and simply filling space while the investigation is ongoing.

[logosoco]

6. ok, so this answers some of the questions i had, but then brings up others.

If this security firm was hired by residents in the area (as per the article, on Flora Place they pay $500 per home), how exactly does that work if it is a public street? How can the security cops who are not in the role of a city cop enforce the law on a public street?

This then gets me wondering more about WHY did the cop decide on a pedestrian check? Did the group of young men, including the victim, live in the area? If so, it sure doesn't seem like this security cop had any business with them at all.

Up to now, I assumed these private security firms were hired for special events, so what do they do in a public neighborhood when no events are going on? How do they know who belongs in the neighborhood?

Shouldn't the city police be investigating this company and the events of the night in a more open manner than they do when it is one of their "cases" even though the cop was an off duty cop?

I feel like I need a lawyer because I don't get how these things work.

[Lars39]

7. Besides uniforms, are these off-duty cops

using police radios to contact the police department? Lotsa questions needing answers.

[branford]

9. Special duty officers usually have the same equipment and access as they do on-duty.

There is usually even an additional charge if a car or special equipment is required.

How do you think the presence of a police radio would change the analysis of the shooting?

[branford]

8. Special duty officers almost always retain all police powers,

particularly while in uniform, as is usually the case and as it was the Myers shooting.

An officially "off-duty" officer working an approved (most of these positions require prior departmental approval) security job has all the same powers, duties and obligations as when he's on the clock. That and their training is what make these officers so sought after for security. In fact, in many departments, the arrangements for special duty officer assignments is requested and coordinated through the department itself, and payment is made to them, rather than directly to the officer.

Think of a special duty officer as just another police officer working a particular overtime assignment that happens not to be paid from the regular operating budget.

The fact that something or someone was on a public street is immaterial. Moreover, if the officer would have had proper cause for a "pedestrian check" while on-duty, he may do so while acting as a special duty officer. In fact, if he had reason to suspect criminality, he might have been duty bound and obligated to investigate, despite the fact that he had other security obligations.

[RazzleCat]

11. I know why they were hired

I used to live in that area, Flora Place is a very nice street in an area that has been tipping on the "iffy" line. Many four family flats (thats what I lived in) in the area. The public schools are not in good shape so the majority of persons left the area, so the flats went downhill (you can read white flight here). With the changing demographic of the area those in the big homes (Flora Place) became afraid of those in the flats (white fear) so they hired private security to "police" their street out of fear of their neighbors. I will go out on a limb and say the pedestrian stops were encouraged to keep persons who live in the area from walking in Flora Place to their nearby flat, in other words white fear of a changing area, its a public street not a private subdivision so they can't gate it so they went to as close as you can to a gate and hired off duty police.

[logosoco]

12. Yeah I pretty much was thinking along this line. I guess I was waiting to hear

it "officially". The whole private security thing in a public place sounds like a rich people thing to do to protect themselves from the "riff raff".

If this is the case, the police need to investigate it, but they will look the other way. No leader in the community seems to be saying anything much. They or the private security firm really should be explaining what these guys were actually doing to create suspicion from the rent a cop.

If they think they need to protect themselves from their neighbors, they should just make it a private street and then they can hire all the security they want. Sending someone like that onto a public street, well, leads to what happened.

I am somewhat familiar with the area, have lived in the St. Louis area my whole life, moved away to where there is less people and more open spaces and cheaper. I would imagine if we continue to live in a country with low wages and crap jobs, we are going to see many more neighborhoods fail. There have been abandoned houses in my own neighborhood. One thing I think that keeps our community going despite the economy is we always vote to give the schools money. When people aren't pitching in on those community things, there goes the community.

[ncjustice80]

13. Another unarmed black child murdered by the police.

So sad

[GGJohn]

14. Unarmed?

So the fact that a 9mm handgun, shell casings and bullets were recoverd makes no difference?

[branford]

15. There's more.

Myers was also supposed to be under house arrest. He was wearing an anklet as part of his bail conditions in anticipation of an November trial on illegal gun possession and resisting arrest charges.

Of course, while I still await a far more detailed investigation into the events of that evening, particularly the identities of the two other youth with Myers and what they allegedly were doing at the time that raised the officer's suspicion, this appears nothing like the Brown shooting, and may have been entirely justified.

Police have no doubt illegally shot black youth in the past, and this issue badly needs to be addressed. However, that does not mean every time there is an incident between a white officer and a black teen, that the officer is in the wrong, regardless of the result.

[ncjustice80]

16. Witnesses said there was no gun only a sandwhich.

Gun and shell casings were planted by the police.

[branford]

17. It will be relatively easy to ascertain whether Myers possessed and fired the gun,

and well as the timing, location and distance of the shots, with forensic evidence and the autopsy, and such tests can confirmed with independent experts. It would also be a terrible story to provide for the officer's defense if not true. The issue is going to be what instigated the officer's suspicions, and that might only prove to be partially relevant.

However, even with a high definition video of him firing on the officer, pictures of him with the gun on his cell phone, and signed confessions from his two compatriots, many here will still say the evidence was planted. For far too many, it's not really about waiting to learn the facts, but rather confirming preconceived notions.

[ncjustice80]

19. You put too much faith in "experts" that work for the police.

[branford]

21. The type of forensic evidence collected will be available to experts for the decedent,

and the authorities will use labs that have impeccable reputations. That is why, if untrue, it's a terrible story for the officer. If I were to hazard a guess, it would be that mainstream Myers supporters and attorneys will eventually concede he had a gun, and will focus on more subjective issues such as the reason for the officer's initial suspicion, or more emotive, yet largely immaterial, concerns such the number of shots fired by the officer or the fact that he was technically "off-duty."

You also prove my other point. You've appear to have pretty much decided that no matter if current facts are indisputably proven, or new ones are discovered, including from independent third parties, your mind is set, and opinion immutable.

I'm certainly not rooting for (or against) the officer, but as a trial attorney with years of prior experience study criminal justice matters, I acknowledge that some indicators are almost always true, and I will change my opinion, and adapt my arguments, as facts develop and change.

[GGJohn]

18. And of course you believe that.

[ncjustice80]

20. Why wouldnt I? Police can categorically not be trusted.

[branford]

22. Then you haven't met sufficient numbers of law enforcement officers,

are dogmatic, refuse to believe in forensic science, or have a displaced faith in the nobility and veracity of all criminal defendants, and the families that will support them no matter the undisputed evidence.

Some individual officers, as with all humans, do lie. That much is certain. However, to attribute such a trait universally is ridiculous, and no better that generalizing on similarly offensive and unproven matters a few fools believe like "all African-American youth are dangerous."