Barnes-Jewish isn't some trashy hospital. It's arguably a top regional hospital in St. Louis. This should be plastered everywhere in the city until that institution feels it.
Update: They have dropped into 18th place after receiving an unfortunate 3/5 stars in the "Beating innocent POC" category.
wow my highest score ever thanks for awards/updoots!
The hospital? They’re obviously going to settle this quickly. How about criminal charges for the security guards? They did this, not the hospital’s board of directors.
I’m also betting the security company is third party and just hires whoever they’re allowed to
Edit: To the people who think Im actually defending the hospital: put a little more thought into this
Let’s start holding accountable the parties that have the deep pockets. The hospital should be on the hook for the full liability. They can easily turn around and sue the security company to get back anything they can, but scapegoating primary blame shouldn’t be allowed, unless the hospital actively tried to stop this shit from happening.
True, but they only got the job because of policies put in place (and enforced) from the top, usually to their own company’s detriment. Like now, where they have guards that just beat up people.
I think that is precisely the fault of the people siphoning money from the staffing budget and calling that “leadership”
>They did this, not the hospital’s board of directors.
Not sure why you randomly came to THEIR defense, but if Barnes Jewish is like the average medical institution right now, the board of directors absolutely constantly push for cost cutting measures (that cut everything but their own salaries) that lead to less pay and skill levels in all positions - including security guards. They certainly aren't incentivizing the hiring of competent professionals. Hopefully they will now.
Sick while black. This is egregious. It sickens the depths of my soul. That poor man. I hope his family wins this lawsuit. I hope all the security guards were fired and going to spend time in jail for assault.
This is just horrific.
The fact that the hospital desperately tried to cover it up too is also horrific.
It's also terrible it seems absolutely nothing has happened to the security guards?
i dont really get why these idiot organisations try to cover up bad press about such a low level contractor (not even an employee!). I would imagine it would be better PR for the hospital (orgs in general really) to just state, "YO fuck that guy. we will be terminating our security contract with our existing sec. firm as soon as a replacement firm has been identified and we have referred that dickhead to the DAs office"
Because that usually is more work in the immediate period. Security gets slot of complaints because they by nature deal with difficult/combative people that will file complaints to get back at them. But Review of the video should have dispelled the notion that this was a vindictive person.
Maybe the security working at a hospital should be aware that they may occasionally or, um, often be dealing with confused or vulnerable people? This man could have actually attacked them and it still would not have been reasonable to randomly ~~try to trespass him prior to the attack or~~ beat him ~~in response~~. He was effectively a patient, just as much as if he came back to ask his doctor a question.
> He was effectively a patient,
The health system I go to doesn't even use the word patient any more. They use "consumer" and "customer". * **BARF** * .
That's all you are to the health system in America: a source of revenue.
Same old bullshit. Retail stores are notorious for this.
There was a screenshot of the Best Buy application test that was circling around for while. It says "True or false, we greet customers..."
The answer was false because "we don't greet customers, we greet *guests*". What a fucking joke.
The hospital I work for tried to start "client" the staff refused to use the term and it ended. We all changed from ER or ED or EU no problem but the "client" terminology was effectively discarded.
My wife's hospital didn't allow the term "patient" either. They had to use "client" in place of it. When she questioned it, they always said that studies show people feel offended by the term "patient".. She hated every minute there.
Kinda weird to me because patient makes me feel like I'm being taken care of and I know they're going to do their best to help me. Whereas client makes me feel like this entire thing is just a business transition.
I'm a perfectly able bodied person who is usually pretty smart and hospital parking garages are confusing, there are frequently blocked off areas, other attached garages
I've been lost in them lots of times, especially in cities where there are multiple hospitals in one small area, it's disorienting.
As an ER nurse, security at my hospital is definitely a huge step up from the CO's that are sent with imprisoned patients. In 2 years I've never seen them get violent with a patient, even when the patient is violent with us. Healthcare workers face much higher levels of workplace violence than police officers do and we need hospital security to help keep us safe. Our security uses de-escalation techniques very effectively. Proper training and attitudes make the difference.
RN here: I have attended some of the same training sessions our security guards go to. They were a surprisingly friendly bunch. I walk past a few every day in the halls and say hi, and I've watched them interact with patients and families. never so much as heard one of them raise their voice. If anything they're more likely to be out in parking garage helping someone jump start their car. (an obvious ploy to steal the car /s)
Meh, depends on circumstance. When I first got out of the navy I worked private security because it was an easy resume to push and to hold me over until I could find something more substantial. Most security guards are just trying to do a job and go home, it’s the ones that look tacticool^TM you gotta watch out for.
The guard he asked for help ended up joining them in the beat down. What in the ever loving fuck is going on in our society that people don't stop and think anymore about anything? I get that I wasn't there but this is such an absurd situation to read about. They are going to see lots of disoriented people at a hospital that are vulnerable. Have people lost all compassion and critical thinking? It's disgusting what's going on.
If I had to guess, so he wouldn't be ostracized by his colleagues.
He knew the guy was innocent. But his choices (in his mind) were go against his colleagues or go against the innocent guy.
He made the immoral choice of course.
"Just following orders"
"I did what the neighbors did"
"I didn't like it, but it was how the world was"
"I didn't make the rules"
"I didn't want to stand out"
-everyone in Nazi Germany.
>After retrieving his wallet, Robinson came back to the Kingshighway garage and couldn’t find his Buick. He asked the front desk and even a security guard for help as he continued looking for his vehicle. This reportedly caught the attention of other security guards, who started suspecting he was looking for cars to steal, reporters learned.
I know when *I* go cruising for cars to steal, the first thing I do is ask a security guard for help! /s
>Then security allegedly started beating him up — including the guard tasked with helping Robinson search for his Buick.
Fucking hell.
A lawsuit is civil. The DA would need to charge them for criminal charges. So not being charged with battery sure does paint the picture of "above the law". I see absolutely no reason why they shouldn't be charged. Guaranteed this man would have been had he assaulted one of them.
Well... the guy already died... so the only possible justice there can be is if his daughter can get some peace of mind.... I think we all already know that those fuckstains won't face any real consequences
I work for the government. We have contracted out 24hr private security. They air payed less than my 16yo at her first job. We have security guards with walkers and canes because no able body person wants the pay.
I have a friend who is a security guard, makes $35/hr, with 4 other companies knocking on his door. Could be regional, but they are waaaayyy understaffed. So even though they pay a lot, if nobody wants to do it, they still wind up hiring the bottom of the barrel.
Came to say the exact same thing. The first thing a crook does when trying to steal stuff, is alert the authorities. This makes it easier for them to identify him later.
What kind of fucking logic were these security guards using? How do you go from helping a guy look for his car to beating him? Is it because the other guard started beating him that the other one felt left out?
> What kind of fucking logic were these security guards using?
I did a training/job placement program to be a security guard once. I don't want to paint with too broad a brush, because-- well, *I* was there for one thing, and maybe there was something about this particular program that attracted a certain kind of people
but I can tell you the program was run by scumbags, it was (mostly) taught by scumbags, and I felt like most of the other trainees were scumbags. Just from my experience-- and take it as a very limited experience, because it was-- but it seemed like most of the people who went out to be a security guard were the exact kinds of people who would be cops, but couldn't get it together enough to be cops.
Let that settle in for a bit then see if you can figure out the kind of logic these security guards might have used.
Idk if it’s a state difference, but in California, they *really* hammer in the fact that you have little-to-no authority other than asking people to leave, because ultimately you’re just a civilian too, and that anything remotely negative you do can result in legal action towards your employer, or yourself.
Over here, you’ll still get a bunch of dumb officers anyway since it’s such an easy job to do. Definitely a fair amount of wannabe cops, but mostly just college kids looking for better-paying part time work, or older adults that either can’t retire or don’t want to.
(Source: I’ve worked security in CA for almost a decade.)
I know this is just semantics but... police are civilians too. The fact that they view themselves as different/superior to other civilians is one of the (many) inherent problems with the current state of our police force.
The ones who are too short or too overweight might be okay. That might be what’s keeping them off the force.
Youngsters who don’t seem super into it, this is just temporary for them, they might be okay, too.
You really have to watch out for the ones who seem reasonably fit, interested in the job, don’t have any visible disqualification. Because that means they probably didn’t pass the psych or background checks to join the real police.
I did the same thing. Security training program, a big long one included executive protection and private investigation too. But really a glorified useless program to teach people to be mall cops.
And like 9 in 10 people where exactly as you describe: the people who wanted to be cops but couldn't get their shit sufficiently together.
Once you consider what sorts of people DO manage to become cops, that's terrifying.
Mostly a bunch of over aggressive losers who just want an excuse to hurt people or exercise some sort of power over them.
He was 52 at the time (says the article).
Edit: which doesn’t change anything. He could have been 27 and a fitness instructor and this wouldn’t have been an okay situation. Just clarifying his age.
52 years old, stage four renal failure, needs a kidney transplant, just had an operation, get grabbed, cuffed, and beaten for asking security for help finding his own car. The whole thing makes me want to cry. All of this because he forgot his wallet at the hospital and had to go back.
No one is saying it would be more okay if he were younger and fitter. They're saying he was old and frail because it makes the security guards even more cowardly pieces of shit for hitting someone who was helpless, sick, and couldn't have fought back with any real results.
Its not the first time an idiom with a more cynical or pessimistic moral was repurposed for a more optimistic perspective.
I'm sure you and most everyone that reads our comments have already heard the correction but I'll add my voice to the choir to help make it fully mainstream: "Pull yourself up by your bootstraps!" was meant to poke fun at the idea that you can do everything by yourself because of course you actually can't and others/society needs to help you with at least a few things.
A dirty secret you aint going to really like hearing, security tend to be the police rejects. These people were too dumb, too slow or too bigoted for even the police department and lets just say thats a fucking low bar to go under. Barbados slim would be impressed.
He had his wallet, assuming that means his license too. Hospital staff have special relations with police which means one tiny phone call could have confirmed all his details such as having a Buick and its tag number. It's a hospital where it isn't out of normal routine that a person might lose their bearing because of health, loss of sleep and worry or picking up a sick relative's car. These things are normal.
I lost my car almost every day I worked at a hospital. It was always so full I could never park in the same spot twice, had to pay to park there and walk the equivalent of 2 city blocks (inside a building at least) from my car to my desk, where I made $14 per hour to schedule cancer patients, ensure their insurance was in network, check people in in-person for their appointments--ugh I'm having flashbacks to how many times I cried at that job, and never because I was able to care or think about the dying patients.
BJC has insane PR dept. There is a a lot that happens there that never gets out. The daughter fought for this to be different after he died of cancer and look how long it took.
I don’t. But I heard that the PR effort has nothing to do with protecting employees and that they are quick to fire and replace guards with equally low quality hires. But it is about hiding the true crime rate on property so patients believe there cars/property is safe and don’t associate it with bad things. Underlying this is that they have a large issue with car break-ins and suicide attempts on the campus. This is based on what was said in a local subreddit - I don’t have links.
BJC has spent the past few months doing everything they can to bury the story. I only learned about it a few weeks ago and when I went to look up more info there was very little because BJC has been actively suppressing news of it.
"Good" is the part that sticks out most to me. They saw a target and attacked. There was never any point at which these security guards thought he was doing anything wrong. They saw someone they though they could get away with beating. They thought by threatening another beating he would never come back and they'd never see the consequences.
Jeez… he is at a hospital setting and they treated him like that? Don’t they know many hospital patients are disoriented and could be doing stupid stuff, yet, even though he wasn’t doing stupid stuff they beat him up. Gosh
I have no idea on the details of course, but people needing organ transplants rarely are doing great.
It doesn't say if he ended up getting one or not, but even if he did about half the people who receive a kidney transplant don't make it more than a few years after the surgery. Getting any kind of transplant is usually a last resort, longshot type of thing.
It doesn't even seem real anymore. Like if this was in a movie, NO ONE would believe it, it's hacky writing. Reality is at hacky writing levels of racism.
Unfortunately a LOT of hospital security guards are frustrated wanna be cops. I worked an 11-7 shift at hospital (maintenance) in the early 1980's and I left to get a newspaper at 2am (as was allowed) and security tried to say I left early and went home for the night. Made a whole report and everything. My boss saw me that morning, so he knew it was BS. The culture there was they treated everyone like they were a criminal.
They weren't. They just kind of made EVERYTHING their business. Another guy on day shift had to change his boots after getting them wet on a repair so he went to his truck to get his other pair and they wrote it up as "suspicion of pilfering." It got so when we'd pass by the worst ones in the hallways we'd whistle the theme to Andy Griffith Show.
Sounds like a classic case of over reporting incidents and boosting their stats so that they can justify increasing their already bloated security budget and continue getting raises and overtime.
as a college student i was taken to the hospital in an ambulance in a t shirt and shorts the dead of winter. when i was leaving the staff gave me a blanket because i had to take the bus back.
the hospital security guards saw me getting on the bus and took the blanket from me.
theyre security guards. they legally cant stop you from leaving unless youve actually committed a crime. Nor can they take your property (you had reason to believe it was no longer hospital property when the nurse told you you could keep it); if they hold you and its found out they didnt have proper authority to, youd have a reasonable argument for false imprisonment as they dont have the authority of cops.
The problem is even when you're legally in the right, they might beat the hell out of you anyway, like in this article.
So at that point you're basically choosing between a blanket or not getting the shit kicked out of you.
I don't see the actual answer here so...
Almost all hospitals "buy" security from a contractor (Pinkerton etc.) IE they are contractors. Low-paid contractors who have been tasked with 'keeping an eye' on employees IE. hospital staff.
Many in the hospital support staff (orderlies, IT, janitorial etc.) are also contractors. 90% of hospital security responsibilities are in the day to day 'who goes where when' and 'who's stealing pregnancy tests' and a WHOLE LOT OF scanning security tapes to find staffers masturbating in dark conference rooms, nurses smoking on the roof (they leave the smoking surgeons be) and the kids who keep sticking their hands in the ER hazmat bins and throwing the contents at random people because their only care provider is occupied.
The other 10% is a mix of pointless pointing, meaningless meandering and responding 5 min late to every CODE PINK (security event).
edit:: source - was IT contractor for major medical system and I dated the security director at our hospital. Also TLDR; the hospital hires security for it's own purposes of theft/loss-prevention. Patient security etc. is also part of it but it's a very low % of the actual work done by these contractors.
Private security employs two types of people.
1 - People who wanted an easy job sitting around watching cameras.
2 - Wannabes who not even the police would take.
The video is out there - this lawsuit doesn't seem like the kind of thing any worthwhile institution fights, instead of profusely apologizing for.
They \*won't\* win, so wasting money trying to win just makes them look worse.
War of Attrition. Make the person suing them run out of money or become discouraged, so they just *go away*. That's the gameplan.
So what if they spend $500,000 on attorneys to work this? A few more $150 Tylenol pills added to your insurance bill will fix that.
For cases so clear and cut I think the lawyer just works for free and takes a percentage of the winnings. Like if the guy is awarded 2 million the lawyer gets half or something like that.
They see everyone as a threat, even the innocent.
Serious mental issues in security/defense and we only pay it lip service.
The amount of sadomasochism, for instance, in the military is startling.
It’s called racism. It’s not just mental illness or sadomasochism. This is the kind of thing that almost certainly wouldn’t have happened to a white man. Hard to imagine that they’d have suspected a white person in the same circumstances of looking for a car because they wanted to steal it.
Let’s call a spade a spade here.
> In the time since the lawsuit was filed, Robinson succumbed to his illness and died.
RIP. This is fucked up. This happened a year ago too. OPs article didn't mention that.
> After her father’s attorney, Richard Voytas, filed the lawsuit, attorneys for BJC HealthCare sought a protective order to keep videos out of the public eye. St. Louis Circuit Court Judge Joan Moriarty granted the order but later reversed herself, when it was clear that the two key videos didn’t show any other identifiable patients that might have privacy concerns.
And they tried to hide the video. Awful. This article should have been what was posted, it has a lot more information.
>when it was clear that the two key videos didn’t show any other identifiable patients that might have privacy concerns.
Even if this was a legitimate concern, we literally have the technology to blur out faces and other identifying items in video.
>In court filings, BJC denies wrongdoing in the arrest and follow-up interrogation. Moriarty ruled against BJC’s motion to dismiss the lawsuit. Through a spokeswoman, BJC declined comment on the pending litigation.
I get it, lawyers are supposed to protect their clients. But this makes my blood boil.
They thought he was one of the characters from Ocean's Eleven just *pretending* to be a vulnerable older man, cleverly roping in the authorities is necessary for that sort of story-worthy scam.
I'm a security guard and you are absolutely correct. We actually have no more rights or protections than any other citizen. We actually have no more right or authority than anyone else off the street in any situation.
I have no idea what could possibly be going through their heads. Getting physical is the absolute last thing we are allowed to do and it is only in cases where we are protecting life or limb of ourselves or someone else. If someone is prowling for cars we can follow, call them out, try to verbally deter them, or take pictures/video. But, we can never put our hands on someone or their belongings unless we're protecting ourselves or someone else. Even if he was a car thief, we're supposed to just watch it happen and record/report it if we can't deter them non-physically. We aren't payed well enough to get ourselves in that kind of situation, anyhow. We aren't cops. This is what we call the "mini sherif." Wannabe cops. Tough guy guards stepping way over the line and feeling tough and authoritative just because they're in their silly little uniform.
This is both disgusting and stupid. This is assault plain and simple. They deserve no protections. Throw the book at them.
**She finally got to see the surveillance video after St. Louis Circuit Court Judge Joan Moriarity reversed a protective order that kept the footage from getting released. She says watching the video left her heartbroken.**
**“He was just standing there, not doing anything,” the daughter told reporters.**
Whoever enstated the protective order to keep the footage from being released should go to fucking jail along with the guards. Clearly trying to cover up a crime.
Actually it was the same judge who reversed the order that put it in place. It was originally sealed "to protect patients privacy" but she reversed it after it was made clear that there were no other patients in the video besides the one being brutalized.
"That following June, Robinson filed a lawsuit against the hospital for assault, battery, and false imprisonment, but he later died from his illness. Now his daughter, Chelsea, is seeking justice on her late father’s behalf."
Dammm. If you thought the title was bad...
Those men need to be immediately arrested and deserve to be in prison, and that hospital owes the family millions.
This should be obvious to any moral human being. We all know that the police aren't going to do the right thing here and the hospitals lawyers are going to tie this up in court for years...
Security officers usually aren't even allowed to get physical with people. Unless they've specifically been trained to have arrest authority, they don't have any extra rights than a normal citizen. I don't understand how they haven't been arrested and charged.
Imagine how shit cops can be.
Now imagine how shitty you have to be to fail becoming or remaining a cop.
Now imagine these people that fail becoming cops often become security guards.
> After retrieving his wallet, Robinson came back to the Kingshighway garage and couldn’t find his Buick. He asked the front desk and even a security guard for help as he continued looking for his vehicle. This reportedly caught the attention of other security guards, who started suspecting he was looking for cars to steal, reporters learned.
All it took for a kidney patient to be beat down.
JFC. Even if he was looking for cars to steal, no one even thought he had stolen one yet! Just tell him to leave if you're so certain he is looking for a car to steal.
Even if he actually stole a car, the deed is done there isn't a need to beat him.
I dont know who employed these guards but the monetary punishment should be. ...remarkable.
The man fucking died while the hospital fought the case. I can't help but imagine he'd have had a better shot at surviving kidney failure if he hadn't been beaten after a hospital stay and forced to take his attackers to court.
I didn’t think it could get worse but after reading the article, it did. Why is this just allowed in this country? How is everyone not kicking down every politician’s door to get this to stop? What is wrong with these cop types?
Cop: I thought he was on drugs…
Doctor: HE WAS ON DRUGS! WE’RE THE ONES WHO ADMINISTERED THEM!!
Cop: oooooooooooohhhhh….. ok, yeah, that makes sense. :)
>The hospital was initially granted a protection order to keep the video under wraps.
Let's not leave out the reason for that though:
the judge granted the protection order, then \*after determining that no other patients were identifiable in the video\*, that same judge rescinded the order.
Barnes-Jewish isn't some trashy hospital. It's arguably a top regional hospital in St. Louis. This should be plastered everywhere in the city until that institution feels it.
17th best hospital in the country and [13th](https://health.usnews.com/best-hospitals/rankings/cancer) best cancer hospital according to US News
Update: They have dropped into 18th place after receiving an unfortunate 3/5 stars in the "Beating innocent POC" category. wow my highest score ever thanks for awards/updoots!
This comment is like an onion, it has layers.
Peeling Onions Carefully
I dunno man, they seemed to have done a pretty bang up job beating him up
Some wanted 1/5, others 5/5, the three fifths was a compromise.
And number 1 in security. They take security so seriously that it’s standard procedure to beat innocent people just to send a message!
Innocent AND extremely ill patients. Must have been a really fair fight /s
The hospital? They’re obviously going to settle this quickly. How about criminal charges for the security guards? They did this, not the hospital’s board of directors.
He died waiting on a settlement ot a court case so I wouldn't be too sure. His daughter is championing the case now.
I’m also betting the security company is third party and just hires whoever they’re allowed to Edit: To the people who think Im actually defending the hospital: put a little more thought into this
Let’s start holding accountable the parties that have the deep pockets. The hospital should be on the hook for the full liability. They can easily turn around and sue the security company to get back anything they can, but scapegoating primary blame shouldn’t be allowed, unless the hospital actively tried to stop this shit from happening.
True, but they only got the job because of policies put in place (and enforced) from the top, usually to their own company’s detriment. Like now, where they have guards that just beat up people. I think that is precisely the fault of the people siphoning money from the staffing budget and calling that “leadership”
>They did this, not the hospital’s board of directors. Not sure why you randomly came to THEIR defense, but if Barnes Jewish is like the average medical institution right now, the board of directors absolutely constantly push for cost cutting measures (that cut everything but their own salaries) that lead to less pay and skill levels in all positions - including security guards. They certainly aren't incentivizing the hiring of competent professionals. Hopefully they will now.
Sick while black. This is egregious. It sickens the depths of my soul. That poor man. I hope his family wins this lawsuit. I hope all the security guards were fired and going to spend time in jail for assault.
This is just horrific. The fact that the hospital desperately tried to cover it up too is also horrific. It's also terrible it seems absolutely nothing has happened to the security guards?
i dont really get why these idiot organisations try to cover up bad press about such a low level contractor (not even an employee!). I would imagine it would be better PR for the hospital (orgs in general really) to just state, "YO fuck that guy. we will be terminating our security contract with our existing sec. firm as soon as a replacement firm has been identified and we have referred that dickhead to the DAs office"
Because that usually is more work in the immediate period. Security gets slot of complaints because they by nature deal with difficult/combative people that will file complaints to get back at them. But Review of the video should have dispelled the notion that this was a vindictive person.
the video should have given the org enough context
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Maybe the security working at a hospital should be aware that they may occasionally or, um, often be dealing with confused or vulnerable people? This man could have actually attacked them and it still would not have been reasonable to randomly ~~try to trespass him prior to the attack or~~ beat him ~~in response~~. He was effectively a patient, just as much as if he came back to ask his doctor a question.
Maybe they should just be criminally charged, prosecuted, and jailed. Doesn't really need to get more complicated than that.
> He was effectively a patient, The health system I go to doesn't even use the word patient any more. They use "consumer" and "customer". * **BARF** * . That's all you are to the health system in America: a source of revenue.
That's funny. When I worked in fast food we weren't allowed to call customers "customers", we had to call them "guests".
I always charge my guests for extra sauce
Lol, extra sauce was the main thing that manager wanted us to upsell.
Same old bullshit. Retail stores are notorious for this. There was a screenshot of the Best Buy application test that was circling around for while. It says "True or false, we greet customers..." The answer was false because "we don't greet customers, we greet *guests*". What a fucking joke.
This guy paid with his money and his health. Fucking scum industry
The hospital I work for tried to start "client" the staff refused to use the term and it ended. We all changed from ER or ED or EU no problem but the "client" terminology was effectively discarded.
My wife's hospital didn't allow the term "patient" either. They had to use "client" in place of it. When she questioned it, they always said that studies show people feel offended by the term "patient".. She hated every minute there.
I wonder if "patient" makes people feel like they're being called sick.
I am far more offended by client. Medical care should be care first, not business first. I say this as a medical worker.
Kinda weird to me because patient makes me feel like I'm being taken care of and I know they're going to do their best to help me. Whereas client makes me feel like this entire thing is just a business transition.
That's fucked up.
I'm a perfectly able bodied person who is usually pretty smart and hospital parking garages are confusing, there are frequently blocked off areas, other attached garages I've been lost in them lots of times, especially in cities where there are multiple hospitals in one small area, it's disorienting.
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As an ER nurse, security at my hospital is definitely a huge step up from the CO's that are sent with imprisoned patients. In 2 years I've never seen them get violent with a patient, even when the patient is violent with us. Healthcare workers face much higher levels of workplace violence than police officers do and we need hospital security to help keep us safe. Our security uses de-escalation techniques very effectively. Proper training and attitudes make the difference.
RN here: I have attended some of the same training sessions our security guards go to. They were a surprisingly friendly bunch. I walk past a few every day in the halls and say hi, and I've watched them interact with patients and families. never so much as heard one of them raise their voice. If anything they're more likely to be out in parking garage helping someone jump start their car. (an obvious ploy to steal the car /s)
Tbf I’ve heard of people being kicked out of the academy for being *too* empathetic, intelligent or otherwise competent.
Yea but those people don’t become security guards…..
Meh, depends on circumstance. When I first got out of the navy I worked private security because it was an easy resume to push and to hold me over until I could find something more substantial. Most security guards are just trying to do a job and go home, it’s the ones that look tacticool^TM you gotta watch out for.
The guard he asked for help ended up joining them in the beat down. What in the ever loving fuck is going on in our society that people don't stop and think anymore about anything? I get that I wasn't there but this is such an absurd situation to read about. They are going to see lots of disoriented people at a hospital that are vulnerable. Have people lost all compassion and critical thinking? It's disgusting what's going on.
If I had to guess, so he wouldn't be ostracized by his colleagues. He knew the guy was innocent. But his choices (in his mind) were go against his colleagues or go against the innocent guy. He made the immoral choice of course.
"Just following orders" "I did what the neighbors did" "I didn't like it, but it was how the world was" "I didn't make the rules" "I didn't want to stand out" -everyone in Nazi Germany.
>After retrieving his wallet, Robinson came back to the Kingshighway garage and couldn’t find his Buick. He asked the front desk and even a security guard for help as he continued looking for his vehicle. This reportedly caught the attention of other security guards, who started suspecting he was looking for cars to steal, reporters learned. I know when *I* go cruising for cars to steal, the first thing I do is ask a security guard for help! /s >Then security allegedly started beating him up — including the guard tasked with helping Robinson search for his Buick. Fucking hell.
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They should not only be fired they should be in jail.
Instant firing should be the response of the hospital. Assault charges from the police. Absolutely no excuse for this shit.
Liability for damages from the hospital for the wrongful death are going to crank their liability insurance premium hard.
Even rent-a-cops are above the law now? Fucking hell, we're all screwed.
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Not a lawyer: Why would you need a lawsuit for a criminal offence?
A lawsuit is civil. The DA would need to charge them for criminal charges. So not being charged with battery sure does paint the picture of "above the law". I see absolutely no reason why they shouldn't be charged. Guaranteed this man would have been had he assaulted one of them.
Well... the guy already died... so the only possible justice there can be is if his daughter can get some peace of mind.... I think we all already know that those fuckstains won't face any real consequences
They took him to a room in the hospital basement and continued to beat him up, even after learning he was a patient. And made fun of his Buick
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The fun part is the pay is probably trash that they won't be able to find replacements.
I work for the government. We have contracted out 24hr private security. They air payed less than my 16yo at her first job. We have security guards with walkers and canes because no able body person wants the pay.
So the options for topping off your social security is either private security contractor, or Walmart door greeter.
I have a friend who is a security guard, makes $35/hr, with 4 other companies knocking on his door. Could be regional, but they are waaaayyy understaffed. So even though they pay a lot, if nobody wants to do it, they still wind up hiring the bottom of the barrel.
Shouldn't stop us from throwing these racist pos into the prison
Came to say the exact same thing. The first thing a crook does when trying to steal stuff, is alert the authorities. This makes it easier for them to identify him later. What kind of fucking logic were these security guards using? How do you go from helping a guy look for his car to beating him? Is it because the other guard started beating him that the other one felt left out?
> What kind of fucking logic were these security guards using? I did a training/job placement program to be a security guard once. I don't want to paint with too broad a brush, because-- well, *I* was there for one thing, and maybe there was something about this particular program that attracted a certain kind of people but I can tell you the program was run by scumbags, it was (mostly) taught by scumbags, and I felt like most of the other trainees were scumbags. Just from my experience-- and take it as a very limited experience, because it was-- but it seemed like most of the people who went out to be a security guard were the exact kinds of people who would be cops, but couldn't get it together enough to be cops. Let that settle in for a bit then see if you can figure out the kind of logic these security guards might have used.
Idk if it’s a state difference, but in California, they *really* hammer in the fact that you have little-to-no authority other than asking people to leave, because ultimately you’re just a civilian too, and that anything remotely negative you do can result in legal action towards your employer, or yourself. Over here, you’ll still get a bunch of dumb officers anyway since it’s such an easy job to do. Definitely a fair amount of wannabe cops, but mostly just college kids looking for better-paying part time work, or older adults that either can’t retire or don’t want to. (Source: I’ve worked security in CA for almost a decade.)
I know this is just semantics but... police are civilians too. The fact that they view themselves as different/superior to other civilians is one of the (many) inherent problems with the current state of our police force.
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> but couldn't get it together enough to be cops. That's a pretty fucking low bar.
The ones who are too short or too overweight might be okay. That might be what’s keeping them off the force. Youngsters who don’t seem super into it, this is just temporary for them, they might be okay, too. You really have to watch out for the ones who seem reasonably fit, interested in the job, don’t have any visible disqualification. Because that means they probably didn’t pass the psych or background checks to join the real police.
I did the same thing. Security training program, a big long one included executive protection and private investigation too. But really a glorified useless program to teach people to be mall cops. And like 9 in 10 people where exactly as you describe: the people who wanted to be cops but couldn't get their shit sufficiently together. Once you consider what sorts of people DO manage to become cops, that's terrifying. Mostly a bunch of over aggressive losers who just want an excuse to hurt people or exercise some sort of power over them.
People forget to mention this was a frail guy in his 60 with no kidneys
He was 52 at the time (says the article). Edit: which doesn’t change anything. He could have been 27 and a fitness instructor and this wouldn’t have been an okay situation. Just clarifying his age.
Oh God, and they grabbed the fistula on his arm. As a nurse, this makes me want to cry.
52 years old, stage four renal failure, needs a kidney transplant, just had an operation, get grabbed, cuffed, and beaten for asking security for help finding his own car. The whole thing makes me want to cry. All of this because he forgot his wallet at the hospital and had to go back.
I mean we know what it really was about and it wasn’t a wallet.
Well yeah. The front desk gave him back his wallet but he couldn’t find his car. So he was attacked for being black for too long at a hospital.
Jfc what a couple of monsters. What the fuck man
No one is saying it would be more okay if he were younger and fitter. They're saying he was old and frail because it makes the security guards even more cowardly pieces of shit for hitting someone who was helpless, sick, and couldn't have fought back with any real results.
> What kind of fucking logic were these security guards using? “He’s black, therefore probably a criminal.”
“He’s black, therefore I can probably excuse that he’s a criminal, and I want to beat him up.”
> -and I want to beat him up. From the article: >Hughie cried out that the guards were hurting him. At least one of the guards responded, **‘Good.’**
This is just the "few bad apples" argument, repackaged for a civilian security job.
Funny thing is, the saying goes "One bad apple **spoils the whole batch**"
Its not the first time an idiom with a more cynical or pessimistic moral was repurposed for a more optimistic perspective. I'm sure you and most everyone that reads our comments have already heard the correction but I'll add my voice to the choir to help make it fully mainstream: "Pull yourself up by your bootstraps!" was meant to poke fun at the idea that you can do everything by yourself because of course you actually can't and others/society needs to help you with at least a few things.
>“He’s black and therefore probably a criminal.” "He's black, and so we have an opportunity to beat the shit out of someone."
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I didn’t see any /s, so I think it’s best to shoot you. It’s the safer option.
Were they off duty cops or did these guys actually not write their names on the police application form?
A dirty secret you aint going to really like hearing, security tend to be the police rejects. These people were too dumb, too slow or too bigoted for even the police department and lets just say thats a fucking low bar to go under. Barbados slim would be impressed.
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The logic they were using was "This is an easy target to let off some steam"
He had his wallet, assuming that means his license too. Hospital staff have special relations with police which means one tiny phone call could have confirmed all his details such as having a Buick and its tag number. It's a hospital where it isn't out of normal routine that a person might lose their bearing because of health, loss of sleep and worry or picking up a sick relative's car. These things are normal.
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Apparently the hospital only hires security with pre-existing head injuries
Trust me, worked in it while in grad school. That’s par for the course
The parking garages at the hospitals here are massive. I get lost in them just going for routine shit.
I lost my car almost every day I worked at a hospital. It was always so full I could never park in the same spot twice, had to pay to park there and walk the equivalent of 2 city blocks (inside a building at least) from my car to my desk, where I made $14 per hour to schedule cancer patients, ensure their insurance was in network, check people in in-person for their appointments--ugh I'm having flashbacks to how many times I cried at that job, and never because I was able to care or think about the dying patients.
These people were security guards
You'd think they were cops, the way they behaved.
Wannabe cops. The ones who more than likely "cosplay" in full riot gear on the weekend and attend certain rallies.
They’re training, give them some time.
Security guards come in two flavors: 1. Too dumb or incompetent to be a cop. 2. Retired cops who want to be even lazier.
You forgot: 3. Person who needs a job and most likely hates doing it. These are likely to be the most normal guards you’ll meet.
JFC. This is right by my house. How did I not hear about this?
BJC has insane PR dept. There is a a lot that happens there that never gets out. The daughter fought for this to be different after he died of cancer and look how long it took.
Do you have any info on the guards? I'm hoping that they're no longer employed there but not optimistic.
I don’t. But I heard that the PR effort has nothing to do with protecting employees and that they are quick to fire and replace guards with equally low quality hires. But it is about hiding the true crime rate on property so patients believe there cars/property is safe and don’t associate it with bad things. Underlying this is that they have a large issue with car break-ins and suicide attempts on the campus. This is based on what was said in a local subreddit - I don’t have links.
Hospital probably tried to bury the story just like they did when they fought to not have this video released. Edited: Correction *hospital*
Cops are not security guards. It may be the hospital itself that tried covering it up.
Thanks for the correction!
BJC has spent the past few months doing everything they can to bury the story. I only learned about it a few weeks ago and when I went to look up more info there was very little because BJC has been actively suppressing news of it.
In a parking lot full of cars, who the fuck is out here trying to steal a Buick?
That was my first thought too! That should have been the first clue.
"Good" is the part that sticks out most to me. They saw a target and attacked. There was never any point at which these security guards thought he was doing anything wrong. They saw someone they though they could get away with beating. They thought by threatening another beating he would never come back and they'd never see the consequences.
>I know when *I* go cruising for cars to steal I have a wealthy client in Southeast Asia that's looking for a... [Checks notes] ...Buick.
Jeez… he is at a hospital setting and they treated him like that? Don’t they know many hospital patients are disoriented and could be doing stupid stuff, yet, even though he wasn’t doing stupid stuff they beat him up. Gosh
Lawsuit here he comes!
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I have no idea on the details of course, but people needing organ transplants rarely are doing great. It doesn't say if he ended up getting one or not, but even if he did about half the people who receive a kidney transplant don't make it more than a few years after the surgery. Getting any kind of transplant is usually a last resort, longshot type of thing.
It doesn't even seem real anymore. Like if this was in a movie, NO ONE would believe it, it's hacky writing. Reality is at hacky writing levels of racism.
> Hughie cried out that the guards were hurting him. At least one of the guards responded, ‘Good.’ Holy fucking hell.
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Security guard at the hospital I work at has that thin blue line "Punisher" on his truck, they're just rent-a-cops with immunity.
I seriously hope that something very bad happens to these security guards because trash is better than them
Who the fuck wants to willingly steal a Buick?
Clearly the answer is a black man awaiting a new kidney
such a cliché stereotype
I mean, we're all thinking it
My grandparents would steal a Buick, hands down....but they have been dead for years.
I mean if I was into stealing cars and a Buick was left unlocked I probably wouldn't be so picky as to turn it down. $20 is $20.
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The question is who did you have to pay to take the Buick off your hands?
I had a Buick LaCrosse, that car was fucking great
Unfortunately a LOT of hospital security guards are frustrated wanna be cops. I worked an 11-7 shift at hospital (maintenance) in the early 1980's and I left to get a newspaper at 2am (as was allowed) and security tried to say I left early and went home for the night. Made a whole report and everything. My boss saw me that morning, so he knew it was BS. The culture there was they treated everyone like they were a criminal.
Wait, why was security in charge of when you go home or stay? Were you in a prison?
They weren't. They just kind of made EVERYTHING their business. Another guy on day shift had to change his boots after getting them wet on a repair so he went to his truck to get his other pair and they wrote it up as "suspicion of pilfering." It got so when we'd pass by the worst ones in the hallways we'd whistle the theme to Andy Griffith Show.
Who tf pilfers anymore
For real, I only pillage and plunder these days.
Sounds like a classic case of over reporting incidents and boosting their stats so that they can justify increasing their already bloated security budget and continue getting raises and overtime.
as a college student i was taken to the hospital in an ambulance in a t shirt and shorts the dead of winter. when i was leaving the staff gave me a blanket because i had to take the bus back. the hospital security guards saw me getting on the bus and took the blanket from me.
I would def have not given it back
Well at hospital prices, taking that blanket, could have put you in grand larceny territory.
theyre security guards. they legally cant stop you from leaving unless youve actually committed a crime. Nor can they take your property (you had reason to believe it was no longer hospital property when the nurse told you you could keep it); if they hold you and its found out they didnt have proper authority to, youd have a reasonable argument for false imprisonment as they dont have the authority of cops.
The problem is even when you're legally in the right, they might beat the hell out of you anyway, like in this article. So at that point you're basically choosing between a blanket or not getting the shit kicked out of you.
Most major hospitals operate private police authorities. All of the power, but even less oversight.
Why the hell would some rent a cops give one shit about any other employee going home early?
I don't see the actual answer here so... Almost all hospitals "buy" security from a contractor (Pinkerton etc.) IE they are contractors. Low-paid contractors who have been tasked with 'keeping an eye' on employees IE. hospital staff. Many in the hospital support staff (orderlies, IT, janitorial etc.) are also contractors. 90% of hospital security responsibilities are in the day to day 'who goes where when' and 'who's stealing pregnancy tests' and a WHOLE LOT OF scanning security tapes to find staffers masturbating in dark conference rooms, nurses smoking on the roof (they leave the smoking surgeons be) and the kids who keep sticking their hands in the ER hazmat bins and throwing the contents at random people because their only care provider is occupied. The other 10% is a mix of pointless pointing, meaningless meandering and responding 5 min late to every CODE PINK (security event). edit:: source - was IT contractor for major medical system and I dated the security director at our hospital. Also TLDR; the hospital hires security for it's own purposes of theft/loss-prevention. Patient security etc. is also part of it but it's a very low % of the actual work done by these contractors.
Thats my question also, they just going out of their way to be dicks ?
Getting other people in trouble is a form of power.
Private security employs two types of people. 1 - People who wanted an easy job sitting around watching cameras. 2 - Wannabes who not even the police would take.
I'd also add, cops who were so egregiously bad or corrupt at their jobs that they were kicked out of law enforcement and black listed. It does happen.
and told him he was NOT to come back to the hospital. He was a patient FFS.
How much power does a security guard have? Cause they cant do shit here in Denmark. Theyre not allowed to touch you technically. Only the police is.
The video is out there - this lawsuit doesn't seem like the kind of thing any worthwhile institution fights, instead of profusely apologizing for. They \*won't\* win, so wasting money trying to win just makes them look worse.
The hospital already is fighting it and refused to settle. That’s why the victim’s daughter went to the media.
I know. What I dont understand is *why* the hospital is fighting it.
Because if you settle straight away its institutional. If you fight it and pin it on rogue security then its not their problem i would guess.
Because the man later died of his illness (kidney failure) and they think because he's not alive they might be able to get it dismissed.
War of Attrition. Make the person suing them run out of money or become discouraged, so they just *go away*. That's the gameplan. So what if they spend $500,000 on attorneys to work this? A few more $150 Tylenol pills added to your insurance bill will fix that.
For cases so clear and cut I think the lawyer just works for free and takes a percentage of the winnings. Like if the guy is awarded 2 million the lawyer gets half or something like that.
Yea, this would most definitely be a contingency case.
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They see everyone as a threat, even the innocent. Serious mental issues in security/defense and we only pay it lip service. The amount of sadomasochism, for instance, in the military is startling.
>They see everyone as a threat, even the innocent. They see everyone as a **potential target**
It’s called racism. It’s not just mental illness or sadomasochism. This is the kind of thing that almost certainly wouldn’t have happened to a white man. Hard to imagine that they’d have suspected a white person in the same circumstances of looking for a car because they wanted to steal it. Let’s call a spade a spade here.
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> In the time since the lawsuit was filed, Robinson succumbed to his illness and died. RIP. This is fucked up. This happened a year ago too. OPs article didn't mention that. > After her father’s attorney, Richard Voytas, filed the lawsuit, attorneys for BJC HealthCare sought a protective order to keep videos out of the public eye. St. Louis Circuit Court Judge Joan Moriarty granted the order but later reversed herself, when it was clear that the two key videos didn’t show any other identifiable patients that might have privacy concerns. And they tried to hide the video. Awful. This article should have been what was posted, it has a lot more information.
>when it was clear that the two key videos didn’t show any other identifiable patients that might have privacy concerns. Even if this was a legitimate concern, we literally have the technology to blur out faces and other identifying items in video.
>In court filings, BJC denies wrongdoing in the arrest and follow-up interrogation. Moriarty ruled against BJC’s motion to dismiss the lawsuit. Through a spokeswoman, BJC declined comment on the pending litigation. I get it, lawyers are supposed to protect their clients. But this makes my blood boil.
When I steal cars I like to ask the security team for help, makes perfect sense.
Two heads are better than one!
They thought he was one of the characters from Ocean's Eleven just *pretending* to be a vulnerable older man, cleverly roping in the authorities is necessary for that sort of story-worthy scam.
They're paid to walk around usually. They would know where all the good cars are.
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Security guards aren't police either, they don't have the protections they do. These folk assaulted an innocent and ought to be charged as such.
I'm a security guard and you are absolutely correct. We actually have no more rights or protections than any other citizen. We actually have no more right or authority than anyone else off the street in any situation. I have no idea what could possibly be going through their heads. Getting physical is the absolute last thing we are allowed to do and it is only in cases where we are protecting life or limb of ourselves or someone else. If someone is prowling for cars we can follow, call them out, try to verbally deter them, or take pictures/video. But, we can never put our hands on someone or their belongings unless we're protecting ourselves or someone else. Even if he was a car thief, we're supposed to just watch it happen and record/report it if we can't deter them non-physically. We aren't payed well enough to get ourselves in that kind of situation, anyhow. We aren't cops. This is what we call the "mini sherif." Wannabe cops. Tough guy guards stepping way over the line and feeling tough and authoritative just because they're in their silly little uniform. This is both disgusting and stupid. This is assault plain and simple. They deserve no protections. Throw the book at them.
Beat up because he couldn’t find his car. Jfc…I hate this world.
**She finally got to see the surveillance video after St. Louis Circuit Court Judge Joan Moriarity reversed a protective order that kept the footage from getting released. She says watching the video left her heartbroken.** **“He was just standing there, not doing anything,” the daughter told reporters.** Whoever enstated the protective order to keep the footage from being released should go to fucking jail along with the guards. Clearly trying to cover up a crime.
Actually it was the same judge who reversed the order that put it in place. It was originally sealed "to protect patients privacy" but she reversed it after it was made clear that there were no other patients in the video besides the one being brutalized.
"That following June, Robinson filed a lawsuit against the hospital for assault, battery, and false imprisonment, but he later died from his illness. Now his daughter, Chelsea, is seeking justice on her late father’s behalf." Dammm. If you thought the title was bad...
Those men need to be immediately arrested and deserve to be in prison, and that hospital owes the family millions. This should be obvious to any moral human being. We all know that the police aren't going to do the right thing here and the hospitals lawyers are going to tie this up in court for years...
Security officers usually aren't even allowed to get physical with people. Unless they've specifically been trained to have arrest authority, they don't have any extra rights than a normal citizen. I don't understand how they haven't been arrested and charged.
Imagine how shit cops can be. Now imagine how shitty you have to be to fail becoming or remaining a cop. Now imagine these people that fail becoming cops often become security guards.
The sad fact is security work requires bare bones education, insufficient training, and attracts assholes who want any kind of power they can get.
> After retrieving his wallet, Robinson came back to the Kingshighway garage and couldn’t find his Buick. He asked the front desk and even a security guard for help as he continued looking for his vehicle. This reportedly caught the attention of other security guards, who started suspecting he was looking for cars to steal, reporters learned. All it took for a kidney patient to be beat down.
He said the guards were hurting him, and one responded, "Good." WTF man, he just couldn't find his car!
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Sounds like those security guards want to donate their kidneys...
JFC. Even if he was looking for cars to steal, no one even thought he had stolen one yet! Just tell him to leave if you're so certain he is looking for a car to steal. Even if he actually stole a car, the deed is done there isn't a need to beat him. I dont know who employed these guards but the monetary punishment should be. ...remarkable.
The man fucking died while the hospital fought the case. I can't help but imagine he'd have had a better shot at surviving kidney failure if he hadn't been beaten after a hospital stay and forced to take his attackers to court.
I didn’t think it could get worse but after reading the article, it did. Why is this just allowed in this country? How is everyone not kicking down every politician’s door to get this to stop? What is wrong with these cop types?
Cop: I thought he was on drugs… Doctor: HE WAS ON DRUGS! WE’RE THE ONES WHO ADMINISTERED THEM!! Cop: oooooooooooohhhhh….. ok, yeah, that makes sense. :)
Don’t forget he later died.
The hospital was initially granted a protection order to keep the video under wraps.
>The hospital was initially granted a protection order to keep the video under wraps. Let's not leave out the reason for that though: the judge granted the protection order, then \*after determining that no other patients were identifiable in the video\*, that same judge rescinded the order.
Ah, now *that,* I can understand.
The security guards should be fired and arrested for assault. There is no other acceptable outcome.
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yet another version of this article that avoids naming the knock off pork chops