Although typically a security officer or security guard is not a trained police officer and is certainly not expected to put his or her life at risk in emergency situations, security guards and security officers are expected to respond reasonably and responsibly when such events occur, and most do. In many cases, of course, reasonable response would simply involve calling 911.

In some cases involving security officer negligence, the foundation of the case may be that the officer did nothing at all or responded inappropriately. In other cases, however, the response of the officer may have been correct and it was the unrealistic expectations of the plaintiff which were incorrect.

The basis for some litigation may involve a specific error, omission or action of a security officer, which allegedly caused the event or increased the exposure. Occasionally, too, there are cases where security officers overstep their authority, employ excessive force or otherwise act in a manner inconsistent with the generally accepted standards of the industry. In many instances, questions concerning the adequacy of training and supervision are factors.

Mr. Schmedlen's experience in the management of security officers includes an extended period acting as security manager of a contract security service, as well as functioning in a proprietary security management position where he supervised outside contract security services. Additionally, he has prepared well over a hundred sets of post orders for security officers, both proprietary and contract, and has participated in the training of security personnel. The evaluation of security officers and their duties is a routine part of security surveys conducted by Mr. Schmedlen.

Mr. Schmedlen served for one year on the Private Security Committee of the International Association of Chiefs of Police. Additionally, he has taken an active part in legislative matters relating to security officers and security training and has testified on behalf of the contract security industry at many Michigan Senate and House committee hearings.

A 43 page document covering recommendations on qualifying and selecting contract security services, which was prepared by Mr. Schmedlen, can be viewed on the main Loss Prevention Concepts, Ltd. Web site. Regrettably, however, these higher recommendations do not represent industry standards today. If you would like to view these recommendations on the main Web site of Loss Prevention Concepts, Ltd., please follow this link to: security agencies: qualifying and contracting

Please scroll down to view security expert witness security guard and security officer case titles.

* Includes one subrogation case.

SECURITY EXPERT WITNESS LITIGATION CASE HISTORY
SECURITY GUARD & SECURITY OFFICER NEGLIGENCE

Debra Medved & John Medved v
Thomas Krueger, Briarwood Taubman Company
& Bivouac Automotive Corporation
Security guard negligence expert witness for plaintiff
Washtenaw County, Michigan

Dawn Marie Whitaker v
Sheller Globe Corp. & Pinkertons, Inc.
Security guard negligence expert witness for defendant
St. Joseph County, Michigan

Jean Frantz v
Per Mar, et al
Security guard negligence expert witness for plaintiff
Cook County, Illinois

Agnes Taylor v
Porcupine Security & Charter Oaks
Security guard negligence expert witness for defendant
Genesee County, Michigan

Roy Arms (Deceased)
Security guard negligence expert witness for plaintiff
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Larry J. Rogers v
Bargas, Holland Hospitality, Inc. d/b/a Holiday Inn
Security guard (bouncer) negligence expert witness for plaintiff
Ottawa County, Michigan

Steven Krass (Dec'd) v
Tri County Security et al
Security guard negligence expert witness for defendant
Wayne County, Michigan

Cole v
Pleasure Island
Security guard negligence expert witness for plaintiff
Muskegon County, Michigan

Bernadine Matthews v
Stanley Smith Security
Security guard negligence expert witness for plaintiff
Milwaukee County, Wisconsin

Maxwell v
Cincinnati Metropolitan Housing Authority
Security guard negligence expert witness for defendant
Hamilton County, Ohio

Cleveland Hickmon, et al v
Stone City et al
Security guard negligence expert witness for defendant
Will County, Illinois

Dan Hutchinson v
Black Squirrel Enterprises, Inc. d/b/a The Black Squirrel
Security guard (bouncer) negligence expert witness for defendant
St. Joseph County, Michigan

Barakat v
HPI Illinois (Ramada Inn O'Hare)
Security guard negligence expert witness for defendant
Cook County, Illinois

Christine Pascaris v
Henry Ford Medical Center
Security guard negligence expert witness for plaintiff
Wayne County, Michigan

Ward v
Platinum Sports
Security guard (bouncer) negligence expert witness for plaintiff
Wayne County, Michigan

Estate of Travis Shelton v
Kroger Stores, Inc & William Davis & Associates Security Services, Inc.
Security guard negligence expert witness for defendant
Oakland County, Michigan

Armco Incorporated v
United Steelworkers of America, AFL-CIO, AK Steel, et al
Security guard negligence expert witness for one plaintiff entity
United States District Court for the Southern District of Ohio

Wayne E. Bannister v
Ronald Sayres and Armored Motor Service of America
Security guard negligence expert witness for plaintiff
Hillsborough County Northern District, New Hampshire

Estate of Timothy Dale Harmer, Deceased v
McKinley Associates, a Michigan Corporation
Security guard negligence expert witness for defendant
Wayne County, Michigan

Brian Bultema v
Crystal Mountain, et al
Security guard negligence expert witness for defendant
United States District Court for the Western District of Michigan

Michelle Henderson v
Kroger Company of Michigan
Security guard negligence expert witness for defendant
Genesee County, Michigan

Nakia Smith and Shacal Tinsley v
The TJX Companies, et al
Security guard negligence expert witness for plaintiffs
Oakland County, Michigan

Jaclyn Fedak v
Garretson Security & Investigations, et al
Security guard negligence expert witness for defendant
Brooke County, West Virginia

Travelers Property & Casualty
as subrogee for Motor City Electric Co. v
Guardian Bonded Security, et al
Security guard negligence expert witness for plaintiff
Wayne County, Michigan

Alex Maurer v
Metropolitan School District of Lawrence Township, et al.
Security guard negligence expert witness for plaintiff
Marion County, Indiana

Stevonne Wilson v
Pavilion Apartments, et al.
Security guard negligence expert witness for plaintiff
Newark, New Jersey

Robinson, et al. v
Restaurant Holdings, LLC d/b/a Brix Downtown, et al.
Security guard negligence expert witness for plaintiff
District Court City and County of Denver, Colorado

Palmer v
Walmart
Security guard negligence expert witness for defendant
Clay County, Missouri

Oleg Shteynbuk v
Genesis Behavioral Services, Inc., et al.
Security guard negligence expert witness for plaintiff
Milwaukee County, Wisconsin

Christopher Orozco v
Mormax, Inc. d/b/a Marley's
Security guard negligence expert witness for plaintiff
Columbia County, Wisconsin

Josh Redman v
Cloud 9, et al.
Security guard negligence expert witness for defense
King County, Washington

Kurtis Stenhouse v
Reggie's Bar & Grill, et al.
Security guard negligence expert witness for plaintiff
Cook County, Illinois

Andrea Mitchell v
765 Riders, LLC d/b/a Club 765
Security guard negligence expert witness for plaintiff
Madison County, Indiana

Lewis, et al. v
City of Chicago, et al.
Security guard negligence expert witness for plaintiff
Cook County, Illinois

EXPERIENCE IN THE SECURITY GUARD INDUSTRY

Mr. Schmedlen, who is board certified in security management, has been in the private sector security investigation business for over thirty-five years. For approximately fifteen years he was responsible for the security department of a Michigan investigation and security firm which employed approximately 200 provided professional contract security officers. Additionally, for one year, he was employed in a proprietary security management position supervising approximately 25 security guards. He was active in the training of security personnel in both these positions.

Additionally, he personally worked on site managing uniformed and plainclothes security forces during hundreds of high risk events, such as violent labor disputes.

He has been active in legislative matters involving the security industry and has testified several times in Michigan House and Senate hearings as an industry representative in support of bills requiring increased training for security personnel armed with firearms.

During his consulting operations and security survey/risk analyses, Mr. Schmedlen regularly works with and evaluates security guards and policies and he has prepared well in excess of a hundred sets of post orders.

Questions on this subject? Write Roger H. Schmedlen, CPP, CFE, CII, MIPI

Security Guard Negligence and Security Officer Standard Practices Expert Witness travel time is capped as follows on litigation cases:
3 hours round trip: Illinois (Northeast Illinois including Chicago IL), Indiana (North of Muncie IN), Michigan (All of Michigan except MI Upper Peninsula), Ohio (Columbus OH and Northern OH)
4 hours round trip: Delaware (All of DE), District of Columbia (Metropolitan Washington DC area), Florida (Orlando FL south including Florida keys), Illinois (All of IL except, Northeast Illinois, Chicago IL), Indiana (South of Muncie IN), Iowa (All of IA east of Council Bluffs IA), Kansas (Eastern KS area including Kansas City KS), Kentucky (All of KY), Maryland (All of MD), Michigan (Central and Eastern Upper Peninsula, MI), Minnesota (East of Detroit Lakes MN), Missouri (All of MO), New Jersey (All of NJ), New York (All of NY including NYC), North Carolina (West of Raleigh Durham NC metro area), Ohio (Southern OH, south of Columbus OH), Oregon (Coastal OR areas including Portland OR), Pennsylvania (All of PA), South Carolina (Greenville SC Spartanburg SC area), Tennessee (All of TN), Virginia (Western VA west of Richmond VA), Washington (Coastal WA cities), West Virginia (All of WV), Wisconsin (All of WI)
5 hours round trip: Alabama (All of AL), Arkansas (All of AK), Arizona (Southern half of AZ south of Prescott AZ to Nogales AZ and including the Phoenix AZ and Tucson AZ areas), Arizona (Northwest AZ including Lake Mead, AZ and Las Vegas, NV areas), California (Western CA coastal cities regions and Southern California including Los Angeles CA, Orange County CA and northwestern regions such as San Francisco CA), Colorado (Boulder CA and Denver CA areas), Connecticut (All of CT), Florida (North of Orlando FL metro area, Florida Panhandle and of of FL in Central Time Zone), Georgia (All of GA including Atlanta GA), Iowa (All of IA west of Council Bluffs IA), Kansas (Most of KS west of Kansas City KS), Louisiana (All of LA), Maine (All of ME), Massachusetts (All of MA), Michigan (Western Upper Peninsula MI), Minnesota (West of Detroit Lakes MN), Mississippi (All of MS), Nebraska (All of NE east of CO), Nevada (Extreme southern NV including Las Vegas NV region), New Hampshire (All of NH), North Carolina (Raleigh Durham NC east), North Dakota (East of Minot ND), Oklahoma (All of OK), Rhode Island (All off RI), South Carolina (All of SC except the Greenville SC Spartanburg SC area), South Dakota (East of Rapid City SD), Texas (Northeast TX including Dallas Fort Worth TX), Vermont (All of VT), Virginia (Eastern VA including Richmond VA)
6 hours round trip: Arizona (Northern half of AZ), California (Eastern CA north of Death Valley CA area), Colorado (All of CO except for Boulder CA and Denver CA areas), Idaho (All of ID), Montana (All of MT), Nebraska (Western NE), Nevada (All of NV except extreme south Las Vegas NV region), New Mexico (All of NM), North Dakota (Minot ND and west), Oregon (Eastern 3/4 of OR), South Dakota (Rapid City SD and west), Texas (Northeast TX including Dallas Fort Worth TX), Utah (All of UT), Washington (All of WA except coastal WA cities), Wyoming (All of WY)
Negotiable: Alaska, American Samoa, Guam, Hawaii, Northern Mariana Islands, Puerto Rico, U.S. Virgin Islands

SECURITY GUARD NEGLIGENCE EXPERT SECURITY EXPERT WITNESS

SECURITY GUARD NEGLIGENCE EXPERT
SECURITY EXPERT WITNESS