A security guard working for the owners of Ford City Mall has been placed on indefinite leave after elected officials called for accountability following a viral video showing the man hitting an 18-year-old with his car.
The guard is suspended indefinitely “pending the outcome of the ongoing investigation into the incident, which is being conducted in continued collaboration with the Chicago Police Department,” according to a statement from the mall’s ownership.
No arrests have been made and no charges have been filed, though an investigation is ongoing, according to Chicago police.
Dashboard-mounted cameras have also been added to security vehicles “to provide additional documentation and accountability going forward.”
“Ownership has also since re-reviewed the existing protocols and expectations with the full security team around not engaging with trespassers, involving law enforcement, and the prohibited use of personal vehicles while on-duty,” the statement said.
Two victims — who previously spoke to the Chicago Sun-Times on condition of anonymity — said they were riding Lime e-scooters on a sidewalk near the property around 11 p.m. Sept. 21.
Videos of the encounters, which have amassed tens of thousands of views on social media, show one of the riders, a 28-year-old man, attempting to talk to the security guard, who, without speaking, pulls a metal object from the back of his car and hits the 28-year-old man with it. Another video taken moments later shows the guard driving the same white SUV and hitting an 18-year-old who was with the 28-year-old, knocking him off his scooter as he continues recording.
Both scooter riders had been wearing GoPro cameras and were recording at the time of the incidents. Paramedics treated both at the scene, police said.
Eighteenth Ward Ald. Derrick Curtis, whose ward includes the property, previously called for the security company — which the mall’s owners will not identify — and Namdar Realty Group, one of the property’s major owners, to be held accountable for the men’s injuries.
“I’m happy that [Ford City Mall ownership] are taking the situation seriously, but he needs to be held criminally accountable so he doesn’t end up doing this in the future at a different job,” the 28-year-old victim told the Sun-Times Monday afternoon.
The guard is suspended indefinitely “pending the outcome of the ongoing investigation into the incident,” according to a statement from the mall’s owners. No arrests have been made and no charges have been filed.
The guard is suspended indefinitely “pending the outcome of the ongoing investigation into the incident,” according to a statement from the mall’s owners. No arrests have been made and no charges have been filed.
