BREAKING NEWS
OCTOBER 4 2011
Security Officer Dies in Fall
Orland Park IL Last week's death of a security guard at an Andrew Corp. facility in Orland Park has been ruled an accident, the Cook County medical examiner's office said Monday.
The death was caused by a blow to the head when the man fell, officials said.
Thomas Fitzpatrick, 47, of the 25000 block of Maxwell Street, Manhattan, was found dead Wednesday morning in the parking lot of Andrew Corp., 10500 W. 153rd St., Orland Park Police Cmdr. John Keating said Monday.
Foul play was not a factor in the death, Keating said.
"There's nothing that indicates any type of foul play. No theft or burglary, nothing of a criminal nature," Keating said.
A co-worker reporting for his shift as a security guard at the shuttered plant found Fitzpatrick's body beside his car at 7 a.m. Wednesday, Keating said.
Andrew Corp. closed the plant in 2007, but a private firm handles security there.
Four Nightclub Security Officers Shot
Four security officers were shot during the past 48 hours and all were employed by nightclubs.
A security officer was shot at a Philadelphia nightclub after a patron assaulted a dancer. The security officer was found shot in the back, while the dancer was shot in the face. Both are in critical condiiton. No names have been released and the shooter is still at large.
A shooting at a St. Louis nightclub wounded a security officer after he confronted a man for being disorderly.
Police say that the security officer was shot several times and that the suspect fled.
A Dayton Oh security officer was shot by a bar patron after the unruly man grabbed the security officer's gun. Police are
seeking the man and the security officer is recovering at a hospital.
A security officer at a Greensboro NC nightclub was shot multiple times after escorting a disorderly man out of the club.
The man entered his vehicle, pulled a gun and shot the security officer multiple times and fled. Police are still seeking the suspect.
St.Louis Police at Odds Over License Fees
ST. LOUIS MO Police officials in St. Louis and St. Louis County are trying to reach a compromise over how security guards are licensed and how fees are split. Hanging in the balance, some businesses warn, are dramatic changes in the industry and security at some city venues.
Since 1995, security guards have been able to get licensed in either the city or county but work in both jurisdictions.
But now, because of a disagreement over licensing fees, city police officials have proposed returning to a system in which security officers have to get separate licenses. St. Louis Police Chief Dan Isom pitched the idea during a recent meeting of the Police Board, which oversees the licensing process in the city.
The change would force security guards who want to work in St. Louis and St. Louis County to pay twice for training, drug tests, firearms certifications and other requirements. That could lead many to choose to only work in one jurisdiction - and many in the industry believe most would drift to the county.
Private security companies and the businesses who use them fear a shortage of guards at, for example, grocery stores, banks, casinos and hospitals in the city.
The 1995 agreement called for the city and county to share their fees. But a sunset clause on the fee sharing expired in 1999. In 2008, county police leaders discovered that clause, but by then had sent about $1.5 million in fees to the city- despite conducting the larger share of licensing, said St. Louis County Lt. Chris Stocker. So the county stopped splitting fees at that point.
The city and county each charge between $115 and $126 in fees, depending on the kind of security license, and between $69 and $85 for annual renewals. Security officers must pay additional fees depending on the license, such as one for firearms qualifications.
It can take six to eight weeks to complete the training and for background checks by the Missouri Highway Patrol and the FBI.
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