Within the Texas area, there has recently been a spate of instances of violence involving security guards pursuing criminals. The most recent of these involved the very tragic death of licensed security guards, who was shot after pursuing a suspect who was fleeing in his vehicle. It is important to take a few moments to try and understand what went wrong here so that this does not happen again.

First and foremost, security guards are just that – trained security personnel. They do not have the same authority as Police, and therefore cannot be expected to carry out the same duties, as trained law enforcement officers. Their only duty is to observe and report any instances of suspicious activity in their assigned perimeter, should be reported to 911. It is both unethical and illegal for any company to ask otherwise of their guards, and companies who violate this policy should immediately be reported to the proper authorities.

Also, security guards should take great care to not represent themselves as police officers by having blue lights on their cars. As of September 2018, the only colored lights that security personnel will legally be allowed to have on their vehicles are green, amber, or white. This law is being implemented in the hopes that criminals will be less likely to attack a security guard if they do not think they are an actual law enforcement officer.

The other important thing to note in terms of vehicles is that, under no circumstances, should a security consultant ever follow a suspect in the premises they are assigned to secure. This is a massive safety risk for all parties involved, and a completely unnecessary one.

One of the most tragic things about these cases is they’re owner-related, in which the owner should know right from wrong and have been aware of these practices. They are common in the security industry, and for good reason – they keep people alive, plain and simple.

We hope that the police are able to bring these cases, and their family, some piece of mind by bringing their assailants to justice in a timely manner and also send them our condolences.