Girl beaten in Seattle bus terminal as guards watch

[FireDancer]

How often do bank robberies include vicious beatings? (I really don't know the statistics). If someone came in and started kicking a teller in the head, the guards would stand there and just watch and not do a single thing to stop it? They don't need to take out their weapon to intervene to stop a beating, just like these guards (as in plural ) could have done. Its just so sickening.

I have no idea of the statistics either. The problem with intervening is that at that point your weapon can be pulled by the attacker because of your proximity to them.

What I would do, not sure, I would find out once I was in the situation. Of course it is easy to armchair quarterback but in the heat of the moment when you are worried about losing your job, getting your weapon pulled on you, or if you are alone getting beaten yourself it is hard to say what one would do. I still think the fault is with the attacker and no one else.

 

[DarthKTrava]

I think it's sad that the guards stood by and did nothing. If they're not allowed to do anything, might as well not have them there at all.

Good to hear that they're getting armed security (cops, maybe?) who might can actually do something...

 

[happygirl]

I'm sorry job be darned, If I see someone killing someone I'm going to jump in and to try to save the person

 

[OceanAnnie]

That was so sickening. Savage beating. I couldn't stand by and watch that. That poor girl! I hope first she fully recovers, then I hope she sues and wins big.

If the "guards" are monitors only, the title is a misnomer. There is no security.

 

[DawnCt1]

I was just watching a story about this and it stated that most "security guards" are actually instructed to do nothing to intervene. They are told to act as a witness and call the police. This is common for malls, terminals, etc. where the "security officers" are employees of a "security" company.

Shame on anyone that puts their job before the life and safety of an innocent person. They don't deserve to be called "men".

 

[Terry36]

I'm sorry job be darned, If I see someone killing someone I'm going to jump in and to try to save the person

Agreed!!!

 

[surfergirl602]

I was just watching a story about this and it stated that most "security guards" are actually instructed to do nothing to intervene. They are told to act as a witness and call the police. This is common for malls, terminals, etc. where the "security officers" are employees of a "security" company.

Geez, haven't they seen "Mall Cop"?

 

[WebmasterAlex]

The real problem here is that the guards gave the girl a false sense of security. She could certainly make the reasonable assumption that the guards would protect her. If the guards had not been present she may have chosen another course of action. If they are only there to observe and report they should not hold themselves out as any kind of security, they should wear plain clothes so nobody can misunderstand their role

 

[Lisa loves Pooh]

The real problem here is that the guards gave the girl a false sense of security. She could certainly make the reasonable assumption that the guards would protect her. If the guards had not been present she may have chosen another course of action. If they are only there to observe and report they should not hold themselves out as any kind of security, they should wear plain clothes so nobody can misunderstand their role

And what is sad--if the less than kind members of society realize that guards are "faux"--then that can increase the liklihood that more crime will occur.

I mean--who knew that a security guard at a bank was just for show?

 

[Carly_Roach]

I'm the I.T. director of a credit union and some of our branches have armed guards. Unless they are fired upon they are not to remove their weapons from their holsters, period, full stop. They are a deterrent. If they don't deter a robbery they are to be well trained witnesses and nothing else. This is all written out in their contract.

I can't speak for the contract these metro officers have but in the financial industry the set up we have is very common. Blame the litigious society that makes everyone be overly cautious because they are worried about getting sued for doing their jobs.

In the end, as PP stated, my disgust is with the perpetrators. The reality is that while others may have been able to step in and stop it, and probably should have morally, the people who beat the girl are the bad guys and could have prevented the attack by not even starting it.

I absolutely agree. According to the CBS story, this was a fight that started in a mall between the victim and the other girls. Apparently the 15 y/o maced (or tried to mace) someone from their group. The police broke up that fight and sent the two groups in different directions, as was their job.

The group that did the beating wouldn't let the situation go and followed the loner. What started out as a "Jerry Springer Slapping" turned into something much more violent. The police were on the scene (again) within minutes. The guards were following the policy and training given to them and being witnesses to the incident.

Shame on anyone that puts their job before the life and safety of an innocent person. They don't deserve to be called "men".

Spoken like someone who has never had to fear homelessness and believes she will never be in that position, therefore cannot possibly imagine how someone else would feel when faced with that very real possibility. I doubt the wives and children of the men who kept their jobs in order to feed their families and keep them sheltered would agree with you. Nor do I believe the security team involved would really care about your opinion of them.

As for myself, I'm sorry if this sounds racist, but if a group of 15-20 black teenagers converged and started fighting, I don't believe I'd become physically involved. Even if I had three co-workers with me. Yes, the tape only shows three or four, but if you watch the whole thing and listen to the story, you see the rest of the group (including 20 y/o males) running from the scene when the police arrive.

Sorry, but I cannot get on the "hang the guards" bandwagon. They were following what their administration told them to do. Perhaps the administration will change its policy. In the meantime, this is just another case of children/teenagers being violent; something we seem to want to ignore in favor of targeting the soft target: the guards who were supposed to "do something" rather than the parents of those violent teens who obviously did nothing when raising them.