California Security News

Police detective charged with assault of security officer

By Tony Barboza, Los Angeles Times

An Irvine police detective is facing assault and battery charges over a tussle with a security guard during a concert at the Orange County Fair, the sheriff's department said this morning.
Sean Crawford was arrested on suspicion of attacking private security guard Peggie Sue Walden at a July 20 concert at Pacific Amphitheatre, authorities said. The detective was off duty at the time, said Irvine Police spokesman Lt. Rick Handfield.
Crawford is accused of misdemeanor assault and battery in injuring Walden, according to charges filed with the district attorney's office in August. Crawford pleaded not guilty at his arraignment last week, court records indicate.
He was one of several audience members who tried to rush the stage after the group the Dropkick Murphys finished playing about 10:30 p.m., said Orange County Sheriff's Department spokesman Jim Amormino.
Amormino said that Crawford jumped over the railing and that when Walden tried to stop him, he struck her on the neck, under the chin and in the chest, knocking her down.
Walden suffered minor injuries, including a red mark on her neck and a scrape on right calf from falling down.
Irvine Police Chief David Maggard said in a written statement that the department had launched an administrative investigation into the charges and placed Crawford on administrative leave.
"The Irvine Police Department takes any alleged misconduct very seriously," the statement read. "We have high expectations for the conduct of all our employees, both on and off duty."

Encinitas Security Officer Shoots Man in Defense of His Life

By J. Harry Jones and Debbi Baker, Union Tribune

Encinitas business owner Mark Lawson was sitting in his office Tuesday evening with the back door open when he heard what sounded like a gunshot and then a scream. Moments later a security guard ran up and yelled, “Shots fired! Shots fired! Man down! He tried to attack me!” Lawson said.
The man the guard shot died about 20 minutes later as paramedics worked to save him. Authorities identified him as Clay Randall Pardee, 48, of Encinitas.

Sheriff's officials said Pardee, who was unarmed, attacked the guard behind a strip mall off Encinitas Boulevard west of Interstate 5 about 6:45 p.m. Pardee was hit in the abdomen.
The guard, Tomas J. Collazo, in uniform and on duty, told deputies he was behind the Smart & Final store when Pardee accosted him, sheriff's Lt. Dennis Brugos said.
Brugos said all indications were that Collazo was trying to avoid a confrontation with Pardee, “retreating and trying not to get involved.” But Pardee was enraged and attacked, Brugos said.
Pardee had something in his hand, later determined to be sunglasses. He appeared to be homeless and was not wearing shoes or socks, Brugos said.
Six months ago, Pardee was arrested on minor drug charges, jailed for two days and then pleaded guilty to an infraction and was fined $164. In May, his girlfriend of five years, Maggie Nichols, 54, was granted a temporary restraining order after telling the court Pardee choked her and punched her in the head and back.
“Clay Pardee has been verbally abusing me practically every day throughout the five years we have been together,” Nichols wrote in the request for the restraining order. “He has never physically assaulted me until yesterday but is always angry and intimidating. He has told me that he wished he could cut my head off.” The restraining order was lifted a few weeks later when neither Nichols nor Pardee appeared at a court hearing.
Lawson, the owner of the nearby Coastal Postal store, said he thought Pardee was one of the transients who live in an encampment in a brushy area behind Cottonwood Creek Park next to the shopping center.
However, others yesterday said they believed Pardee lived in a trailer with a woman and was often seen in the Leucadia area.
A spokeswoman for Airtight Security of Upland, Collazo's employer, refused to comment yesterday. Employees in the strip mall said Airtight Security began patrolling the mall a couple of months ago, replacing another company.

By Matthew Rodriguez, Union Tribune

The Sheriff's Department said it doesn't appear that a security guard committed a crime when he fatally shot an unarmed man who attacked him behind a shopping center in Encinitas.
Sheriff's Lt. Dennis Brugos said the guard feared for his life.
The department is awaiting firearms reports before it hands over the case to the District Attorney's Office, which will ultimately decide on whether criminal charges are warranted.
Records with the state Bureau of Security and Investigative Services show that the security guard, Tomas J. Collazo, and his employer have valid licenses. “Their records with us are clean,” said Kevin Flanagan, bureau spokesman.
According to the bureau, Collazo received his guard registration in January 2005; his baton permit in March 2006; and his on-duty firearm permit in June 2006.
He works for Airtight Security of Upland. Records show the company has a valid license as a private patrol operator. A woman who answered the phone Thursday said the company didn't have any comment.
Brugos said Collazo, who was on duty and in uniform, was approached by Clay Randall Pardee, 48, of Encinitas, behind a strip mall off Encinitas Boulevard west of Interstate 5 about 6:45 p.m. Tuesday.
“It was nothing provoked,” Brugos said. “He just, for whatever reason, was agitated. The security guard was walking around.”
Brugos said Pardee, who was with a woman, attacked and threatened Collazo, who retreated more than 100 feet and was backed up against a trailer. Pardee appeared to be homeless and was holding what was later found to be sunglasses, Brugos said.
The guard shot Pardee in the abdomen. Pardee died 20 minutes later while paramedics worked to save him.
Most security guards are unarmed, and shootings by armed guards are rare, authorities said.
In San Diego County, there are 21,107 registered security guards, Flanagan said. Countywide, the bureau has granted 3,302 firearms permits. Most were issued to security guards, but they are also given to private investigators and alarm-company employees.