On Q Professional Investigations

“An off-duty security officer driving down a road sprang into action after being flagged down by a woman reporting a kidnapping in progress.
After getting off the light rail, the night turned to chaos after she says a man tried to grab her 7-year-old daughter.
Boone and her husband were able to keep the man away from their daughter, but they needed help and that’s when she flagged down a passing security guard.
“A woman who saw my patrol vehicle was jumping up and down and waving at me. I drove up and asked her if she needed help and she said ‘Yes, someone tried to steal my kid,’” said Security officer Casey Smith.
Smith says he was off-duty but that he wanted to help the Boones.
He confronted the man and tried to him down and keep him in the area until police could arrived but things turned violent, and the man tried to fight him. So Smith, who says he weighs at least 300 pounds, got him on the ground and held him until help got there.
“I just rolled the person over and then sat on them. Literally just jumped on his back and sat there holding his hands behind him until the police arrived,” said Smith.
Officers told him the guy may have gotten away if he hadn’t intervened.
“I would want someone to do the same thing for me. This day and age everything is so volatile. People are getting taken from different states and everything else and it’s just really hard not to help people,” said Smith.
The suspect now faces a charge of misdemeanor assault for pushing the husband. But detectives told Boone he’s not facing attempted kidnapping charges because he didn’t touch their daughter.
The man is not in jail. Phoenix police were not able to provide an update on the case Saturday night.

A local Phoenix news station has reported that the man has been arrested 54 times, mostly for public intoxication, drinking in public and assault.”

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“Police said two shoplifting suspects had an infant in their car while they led officers on a chase that ended in a five-car accident in Henrico County Sunday afternoon.

Henrico police Lt. C.J. Maurice said officers were dispatched for a shoplifting call at the Target in the 9000 block of Staples Mill Road at 4:15 p.m

As officers were about to arrive at the store, they spotted the suspects’ gray car fleeing the parking lot.

Maurice said officers tried to pull over the vehicle, but he said the driver kept going and a brief pursuit began.

Officials said the pursuit ended when the suspect’s car slammed into four other vehicles — while trying to drive in between cars stopped at a traffic light — at the intersection of Staples Mill Road and Hungary Road.

Police said the two suspects were transported to area hospitals with minor injuries. Additionally, five other people in other vehicles were treated for minor injuries. Three of them were transported to area hospitals.

Maurice said the male driver and a female passenger have charges pending for shoplifting. Additionally, the male driver will be charged with eluding police.

Authorities said 32-year-old Jeremy Dodge was charged with grand larceny, conspiracy to commit grand larceny, felony child neglect and felony eluding police.

Twenty-six-year-old Victikia Coker was charged with grand larceny, conspiracy to commit grand larceny and felony child neglect.

Police were seen recovering items from the suspects’ car.”

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“The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey is giving the Transportation Security Administration an ultimatum on dealing with long lines at airports.

CBS2’s Christine Sloan reported the Port Authority is warning the TSA in a letter it will be replaced by a private security force.

“We can no longer tolerate the continuing inadequacy of the TSA passenger services,” the letter reads.

The letter states the long waits at John F. Kennedy, LaGuardia and Newark Liberty International Airports are “prompting angry complaints from passengers, terminal operators, and airlines alike … citing inconvenience, delayed flights and missed flight connections.”

“Passengers have been waiting up to an hour in lines at security checkpoints.

“They’re pretty long,” one traveler said.

Travel expert Peter Trabucco said travelers should not be concerned if airports turn to private security forces.

“Not really, because the processes and the protocols are all set up,” Trabucco said. “They’re going to be doing the same, that’s why the lines are all long because of terrorism.”

Trabucco said the goal of privatization is to cut costs.

“Time would tell if it would work or not. It depends on the company, it depends on how serious they are. Some are good, some are bad,” Trabucco said. “I still feel the TSA itself has a very, very tough job.”

The TSA said it “will directly respond to the Port Authority.”

However, the agency is trying to get more money to hire extra screeners and pushing “pre-check,” a program passengers can sign up for that screens them before they travel.

“I can keep my shoes on. I believe I can keep my computer in my backpack. It’s easier with children,” traveler Denise Suri said.

Private security companies have already taken over 22 airports, including in San Francisco and Kansas City.”

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“TV and movies tell us security guards are bumbling fat idiots. They are the butt of a joke. Falling asleep with their feet up, they never pay attention to those security camera monitors while burglars steal gold or priceless paintings or stacks of cash. They’re easily distracted, easily gagged and tied up and — as in Die Hard or The Matrix or countless other action films — easily killed.

In real life, they work long, boring hours strolling the halls of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, waving metal detectors at Mets games, printing sticky visitor passes at commercial buildings, checking IDs at concerts, standing for hours and hours on end at public landmarks, department stores, colleges, pharmacies.

There are more than two times as many security guards than police officers in New York state and roughly 10 times as many guards as firefighters. While a lot of kids grow up itching to join the NYPD or the fire department, it’s hard to find someone who said they wanted to be a security guard when they grew up.

The guard who patrols a corporate plaza with an H&R Block and Chase Bank in Midtown wants to be a train conductor. The guard scanning IDs at a commercial office building near Grand Central dreams of a career as a stand-up comedian. The guard who works at a Duane Reade in the Upper West Side hopes to be a cop. The older guards who aren’t retired police officers, when asked what they think of a career in security, will shrug, as if to say, “It’s a job. It pays the rent.”

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“Covenant Security Services, the nation’s premier provider of comprehensive security services, was recently named by Forbes Media and Statista as one of America’s Best Midsize Employers in 2016. Covenant is the highest ranked security services company on the list and 66th overall out of 250 companies with over 1,000 employees.

As one of 250 companies receiving this recognition, Covenant Security Services was selected based on the attitude of its employees towards Covenant as well as the public perception of Covenant by industry employees. According to Forbes, the selection process is “based on an independent survey conducted by statistics portal Statista from a sample of 30,000 American employees working for large or midsize firms or institutions.”

“This is a great source of pride for Covenant Security Services,” Covenant President Greg Iannuzzi said. “Covenant does not exist without the efforts and hard work of our security professionals, and this is a true testament to our employee-focused culture.”

Covenant provides security services to over 150 client locations with nearly 4,000 security professionals throughout the country. Covenant is known within the security industry for its strong employee retention program, offering full medical, dental, and vision insurance along with free life insurance, a matching 401(k) program, flexible paid time off, transportation and commuter benefits, and career advancement opportunities.

In the survey conducted by Forbes and Statista, the most important metric of the assessment was the employees’ willingness to recommend their employer.”

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” A gold watch chain, necklaces and six tooth fillings are among the more than $25,000-worth of jewelry and personal items police say Howard J. Carey stole from residents of the Albemarle County assisted living facility where he used to work.

Carey, 24, turned himself in to county police Wednesday evening on 20 felony charges related to a 14-week string of thefts from residents of Westminster Canterbury of the Blue Ridge, authorities said.
Authorities charged Carey, of Charlottesville, with 10 felony counts of breaking and entering and 10 felony counts of grand larceny, according to court records. A Westminster spokeswoman on Thursday could not say how long Carey worked at the facility on Pantops Mountain Road or whether his position allowed him access to residents’ rooms.
The facility is licensed through the state department of social services and prospective employees submit to background checks as part of the application process, she said. About 380 seniors live in apartments and cottages on Westminster’s 56-acre campus.
“We are deeply disappointed that an associate would commit such acts, but are relieved that this case is nearing closure,” stated Gary Selmeczi, president and CEO of Westminster Canterbury of the Blue Ridge. “We regret that our community has suffered both the criminal and emotional impacts of these thefts and appreciate the dedication and close working relationship with the Albemarle County Police department in resolving this matter.”
Investigators have recovered some of the stolen items, said police spokeswoman Carter Johnson. Police are asking anyone who may have been a victim of theft at the facility to call 972-4038.
Carey declined to comment when reached by phone Thursday. Carey’s family posted his $15,000 bond, according to his attorney, Scott Goodman.”

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“Alabama Power security officer Greg Coleman had a 23-year career with the Birmingham Police Department, and always wondered why the Fire Department guys got all the love.
Now he knows.
Coleman awoke around 3 a.m. Feb. 5 to the cries of a neighbor on Blocker Drive in Bessemer shouting that a house two doors down was on fire and people were still inside.
“By the time I put my jeans on and got down there, an officer (Bessemer Police) was bringing out the woman who lived there, asking if anyone else was in the house,” Coleman recalled. “All she could say was she couldn’t get the door open. She was frantic.”
Coleman knew a young man with autism lived with the elderly woman, and he was nowhere to be found outside the house. So Coleman and a second Bessemer police officer went inside as the flames and smoke intensified.
“The fire was in the upstairs bedroom but smoke was pouring down the staircase,” Coleman said. “And there he was; just standing there at the bottom of the stairs.”
The 22-year-old man has autism and does not speak, according to Bessemer Fire Department Capt. Robert Washington. The woman is his caretaker, Janice Wallace.
Coleman didn’t know the two well, but had noticed a special needs bus taking the young man to and from school daily.
As the smoke billows enlarged and breathing became difficult, the Bessemer officer quickly shouted for the boy to come to them at the front door. He wouldn’t budge.
Coleman rescued the young man minutes before the Bessemer Fire Department arrived at this home.
“I just went over there and picked him up in my arms and carried him out,” Coleman said. “I don’t know if I threw him over my shoulder or what. We were just trying to get out of there.”
And get out they did. Within minutes the Bessemer Fire Department was on the scene extinguishing the blaze confined to an upstairs bedroom. Washington said the cause is still under investigation.
Coleman shuns the hero moniker, saying it was a team effort, starting with the neighbor, Lawrence Blocker, whose family gave the street its name, going from house to house crying for help, and the two Bessemer officers who arrived early on the scene and bravely went into the smoking house.
Coleman, who has been with the power company a year and a half, has seen his share of close calls and tragic events as a long-time member of the Birmingham Police Department’s Tactical Unit. He has been a canine and motorcycle instructor; a bomb-squad member; a SWAT team member; a hazardous materials specialist; and rode mounted patrol, among other things.

“I would always kid with the guys at the Fire Department I’d rather be in a gun battle any day than a burning house,” Coleman chuckled. “But when I saw that boy standing in that burning house, I don’t think I’ll ever forget it. I know now why everyone loves firemen.”

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In the past decade, the number of shoplifting cases in Greene County has increased dramatically.

“The number of cases that we had in 2013 was just a little above 300 cases,” Judge Stidham said. “Ten years earlier, we had three on the docket the entire year.”

Greene County District Judge Dan Stidham said people were rarely shoplifting out of necessity either.

“For the most part, it seems to be people who don’t really need to shoplift. They do it for the thrill,” he explained.

That’s why in late 2014, the county started working do modify that behavior.

Now if an offender is convicted for shoplifting, they’re given two options; do the time or wear the sign.

“But the word got out very quickly that you can’t go steal something now and just get slapped on the hand,” Stidham said.

The program started in October 2014 but because of court process, the first offenders didn’t wear the signs until February 2015.

Six people wore a sign in February 2015.

“Then in March, we had every available court date full of people wearing the signs,” Stidham said. “We actually didn’t have enough signs to accommodate people.”

Over the course of 2015, those numbers started to dwindle.

“We’ve had a 2/3 decrease in the number of cases just in the first year. I think this time next year, I think we’ll have it down to the point we had it before where we’re just seeing a few cases a year,” Stidham said.

So far, Stidham said no one has chosen three days jail time over wearing the sign in public for three hours.

“I keep waiting for someone to say ‘No, I want to go to jail,’ but no one has,” he said.

Because of that, the consequences of shoplifting have been seen by a lot of people.

“I really thought we might decrease it by a third, maybe a fourth. Maybe if we were fortunate, 40 percent or 50 percent but I did not expect to see a two-thirds drop that fast.”

Stidham said the program is similar to a hot check program he started in 2000 to combat that problem.

However, if something else starts becoming a big problem like shoplifting, the judge said they’ll look at ways to expand the program to modify other criminal behavior.”

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A petition has been posted online to improve security at Dallas’ NorthPark Center.

The petition, filed on change.org, is addressed to NorthPark Center General Manager Billy Hines and asks to “confirm all Northpark Center security cameras are operational & increase security escorts.”

The call for change comes after recent crimes at the popular shopping destination on US-75 in northern Dallas. Most recently, a woman was attacked in the NorthPark parking garage in broad daylight on Jan. 27.

Three suspects attacked Brittany Arterberry with pepper spray and tried to steal her purse, she said.

Late last year, an off-duty Dallas Police officer fired his weapon at two shoplifting suspects leaving the garage in their vehicle. Those suspects had a brush with a mall security officer, who jumped on the hood of the suspects’ vehicle to “avoid being run over” after failing to stop them.

The suspects were arrested five days later.

The change.org petition, posted Sunday, states that the center needs a more reliable way to contact security officers for assistance, and that fully functional security cameras would “deter future incidents.”

It had over 150 online signatures by 9 p.m.

Several commenters backed the petition, saying they want to feel safe at NorthPark. Some commented that they go to the mall with young children and aren’t comfortable with recent acts of violence there.

“There needs to be more security measures to stop these attacks from happening,” said one comment from a woman in Colleyville. “I’m too scared to go with my children to the mall until I see security measures increased.”

News 8 has reached out to NorthPark Center for a statement regarding the petition, but has not yet heard back.

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Editor’s note: In 300 words or fewer, this series spotlights people in our community whose stories typically go untold.

It’s still dark outside as Michael Fallon walks up the stairs to work, passing a saber-toothed tiger on his left. He unlocks the front door and flicks on the lights, illuminating the 40-foot wingspan of a Texas Pterosaur hovering above him.

Fallon is the first one at work every day and the last one out. Until the next employee arrives around 9 a.m., the Texas Memorial Museum’s 66 million-year-old Monasaur skeleton keeps him company.

“A lot of people kid me about that movie ‘Night At The Museum,’” he said. “If the animals were to come alive, it would be spooky, but in reality, it’s just very quiet.”

Most of his workday is spent in his security nook inside the museum’s Great Hall. Two computer screens stare back at him with live surveillance footage of the museum grounds.

At all times, he is ready to respond to a crisis. After nine years in the U.S. Air Force and 23 with UTPD, he is well versed in emergency protocol, although at the museum he rarely has to use it.

“If I can keep people happy and safe, that makes me happy,” he said.

In 2010, Fallon retired from UTPD because it was time for a new chapter in his life. He said being a cop is a young man’s game, and as he moved deeper into his 50s, he wanted a change of pace.

The museum provided just that. Michael gets to see every patron who comes through the museum, from retirement home groups to pre-K classes. He watches each of them experience the same wonder and awe he feels every day from his security nook.

“I think people should appreciate natural history so they know what was here long before we were and appreciate what we have now,” he said. “It humbles you.”

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