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Owner of security firm involved in two recent shootings speaks out
The owner of a security company spoke out to KTVU on Wednesday, after two of his guards were involved in shootings.
SAN CARLOS, Calif. - The owner of a security company spoke out to KTVU on Wednesday, after two of his guards were involved in shootings.
"They have to be 100 percent focused in what's going on," said Jim Vierra CEO of Kingdom Group Protective Services of Manteca.
In April, one of his security guards shot and killed shoplifting suspect Banko Brown at a Walgreens in downtown San Francisco.
On Monday night, another one of Vierra's guards shot and wounded robbery suspect Jonathan Mackey at the Home Depot in San Carlos.
"It is a huge responsibility when you put a gun in a person's hand to expect them to respond perfect every time," Vierra said.
Vierra says he can't discuss the specifics of the Brown case.
"It was an absolute tragedy for a loss of life," he said.
San Francisco District Attorney Brooke Jenkins has declined to charge the guard who killed him.
But the guard, Michael Earl-Wayne Anthony, has since left the industry. He's also been fined $1,500 by the state's Bureau of Security and Investigative Services - not for killing Brown, but for carrying a concealed weapon without a permit and for not wearing a required badge identifying him as a guard.
Vierra says it was up to the guard to follow the regulations.
But he says the state needs to allow guards to use "less-lethal" weapons other than Tasers, which require you to be close to the suspect.
"A secondary protocol to go to that will be most effective before they reach for their weapon," Vierra said.
In the Home Depot incident, authorities say the guard opened fire after the suspect grabbed the guard's own baton and hit him with it.
"As far as our rules of engagement, our officer acted appropriately," Vierra said.
He says the two incidents are proof that criminals are brazen enough to steal even in the presence of guards.
"It's open season for anyone to walk in and believe that they have the right to take something," he said.
Vierra said his company has lost security contracts with about 25 Walgreens stores in the wake of Brown's shooting.
Henry Lee is a KTVU crime reporter. E-mail Henry at Henry.Lee@fox.com and follow him on Twitter @henrykleeKTVU and www.facebook.com/henrykleefan