CNida
Green Belt
I'd like to share a story to everyone. Just for the heck of it, not to boast or puff my chest out. At the end, I'd love to hear some comments about what you think or maybe what you might have done differently in this situation, either in a matter of technique or otherwise.
For those that didn't know already, I work as a security guard at a local hospital, in a city of about 75,000. We regularly are tasked with supervision and observation of at risk individuals who are either experiencing suicidal ideation, suffering from an altered mental status, intoxicated or just plain hostile. We are not equipped with anything other than a pager and a radio, and are not provided any meaningful training from our employer.
Sunday night, during my noon to midnight shift, the county sheriff's deputy brought in a drunk guy who had made some suicidal statements. Apparently, the deputy had gotten into a scuffle with the man when trying to help him and was required utilize the taser. Once the patient was in his bed, the deputy wrote the man a ticket and left him in our "capable hands". He warned us, however, before he left, that the man escalated to violence at the flip of a light switch.
Now as a private security guard, who has no more ability or legal authority than a private citizen, we often have to tiptoe a VERY fine line. We can not detain anyone. We can not do anything with a patient unless it is something that a nurse or doctor has asked of us.
At any rate, the deputy was right. The guy's switch flipped and he was immediately up an posturing. My partner, who is as average sized as a guy can be I guess, was trying to calm the guy down. The drunk guy got in my partners face and began making threats to which my partner repeatedly thwarted verbally in an attempt to calm the guy down and keep him in his room.
The patient was slightly bigger and more muscular than my partner who is roughly 5'10" and maybe 190 lbs. my partner could have handled him I am sure but when a person is that violent we never take chances because we are not trained nor are we equipped to deescalate things.
Anyway, drunk patient starts posturing. At some point he steps away from my partner and comes to me and says he doesn't like the way I look. I am 6'2" and a half, maybe 6'3" depending on who measures me, and I am around 250 pounds. Size favored me obviously but I never want to rest on that.
Patient gets chest to chest with me (slightly on his toes) and starts threatening me. Says he don't like how I look at him. This is where it begins. Normally I am very calm and collected, and have been able to defuse most situations by simply appearing to be apathetic or trying to use a silver tongue technique that I learned only through experience. Something didn't register right that night though. I lost my cool. Which is uncharacteristic of me. This wasn't the first time I have been threatened in this line of work and definitely not the first time someone has postured or got in my face. Even still, I told thr guy calmly and firmly, while I looked him in the eye, to leave my personal space and return to his room. He continued threatening. My partner was attempting to divert him as well but it fell on deaf ears. I told him a second time to get away from me but he did not, at least, not at first. But then he "grinned" and began to feign striking us in our stomachs, though he really was lightly touching us.
Now we can never go hands on unless it is clear that he will hurt himself or someone else, or damage hospital property, so we ignore him, and I tell him to keep his hands to himself or the police would be notified.
So he gets in my face. Again. Telling me to call the cops because he didn't care. At this time my patience as nonexistent. I put on my game face and told him for the final time that if he did not get out of my face, I would remove him from it. He didn't even get out so much as another word before I snapped and broke the unwritten rule: never let these people get you upset. I put both of my hands on his chest and shoved him, putting no small amount of force into it, backwards and into his room. He fell backwards and his elbow broke his fall on the tile floor. Unfortunately he got cut and began bleeding profusely out of his elbow. We are never sure if the bleeding patients have a blood borne pathogen or something that can infect us as well, but its a risk of the job. If that is a issue we usually take precautions though.
At any rate, after I have schoolyard-shoved this guy back a good 5 feet, my partner intervenes and tells me to walk away and calm down. So, I go inform the nurses to call the police because the situation was going beyond our comfort level to control. I return swiftly so as not to leave my partner alone with the guy. When the patient sees me, he immediately "apologizes" and says his head isn't right. When I tell him not to worry about it he flips again and attempts to bullrush past my partner and get to me. Which he succeeded. I did not calm down completely however, so as soon as he was within reach, I turned my body perpendicular to his; aligning my shoulder with his face. I wrapped my right arm around his head, trapped his right forearm with my left hand, and stuck my right leg out behind his. I torqued my body and sent him to the floor with my entire body weight falling onto him. The nurses were going ballistic. I am now in a position that I call a "half side control. My right flank is laid across his chest. I immediately go to control the head by putting my elbow into his temple and pushing his face away from mine to avoid getting bit or spit on. My right elbow is posted on the floor beneath his left armpit, with my right hand trapping him at the elbow. His right arm and hand are free and he is able to land a punch, albeit an ineffective one, on my left temple. So I then bring up my left knee and trap his free arm down. I couldn't see him at this rate but my parter had mounted the guy at his hips and was helping to hold down his left hand. We stayed this way until police arrived and medicine was administered.
Our aim is never to inflict pain but to rather prevent it from being inflicted. Restrain, not injure.
And that's it. That's what happened. Thoughts? Comments? Anything you might have done differently? Flaws with my technique, if you can even call it a technique?
Please share what you think.
____________________________
"Knowledge speaks, but wisdom listens."
For those that didn't know already, I work as a security guard at a local hospital, in a city of about 75,000. We regularly are tasked with supervision and observation of at risk individuals who are either experiencing suicidal ideation, suffering from an altered mental status, intoxicated or just plain hostile. We are not equipped with anything other than a pager and a radio, and are not provided any meaningful training from our employer.
Sunday night, during my noon to midnight shift, the county sheriff's deputy brought in a drunk guy who had made some suicidal statements. Apparently, the deputy had gotten into a scuffle with the man when trying to help him and was required utilize the taser. Once the patient was in his bed, the deputy wrote the man a ticket and left him in our "capable hands". He warned us, however, before he left, that the man escalated to violence at the flip of a light switch.
Now as a private security guard, who has no more ability or legal authority than a private citizen, we often have to tiptoe a VERY fine line. We can not detain anyone. We can not do anything with a patient unless it is something that a nurse or doctor has asked of us.
At any rate, the deputy was right. The guy's switch flipped and he was immediately up an posturing. My partner, who is as average sized as a guy can be I guess, was trying to calm the guy down. The drunk guy got in my partners face and began making threats to which my partner repeatedly thwarted verbally in an attempt to calm the guy down and keep him in his room.
The patient was slightly bigger and more muscular than my partner who is roughly 5'10" and maybe 190 lbs. my partner could have handled him I am sure but when a person is that violent we never take chances because we are not trained nor are we equipped to deescalate things.
Anyway, drunk patient starts posturing. At some point he steps away from my partner and comes to me and says he doesn't like the way I look. I am 6'2" and a half, maybe 6'3" depending on who measures me, and I am around 250 pounds. Size favored me obviously but I never want to rest on that.
Patient gets chest to chest with me (slightly on his toes) and starts threatening me. Says he don't like how I look at him. This is where it begins. Normally I am very calm and collected, and have been able to defuse most situations by simply appearing to be apathetic or trying to use a silver tongue technique that I learned only through experience. Something didn't register right that night though. I lost my cool. Which is uncharacteristic of me. This wasn't the first time I have been threatened in this line of work and definitely not the first time someone has postured or got in my face. Even still, I told thr guy calmly and firmly, while I looked him in the eye, to leave my personal space and return to his room. He continued threatening. My partner was attempting to divert him as well but it fell on deaf ears. I told him a second time to get away from me but he did not, at least, not at first. But then he "grinned" and began to feign striking us in our stomachs, though he really was lightly touching us.
Now we can never go hands on unless it is clear that he will hurt himself or someone else, or damage hospital property, so we ignore him, and I tell him to keep his hands to himself or the police would be notified.
So he gets in my face. Again. Telling me to call the cops because he didn't care. At this time my patience as nonexistent. I put on my game face and told him for the final time that if he did not get out of my face, I would remove him from it. He didn't even get out so much as another word before I snapped and broke the unwritten rule: never let these people get you upset. I put both of my hands on his chest and shoved him, putting no small amount of force into it, backwards and into his room. He fell backwards and his elbow broke his fall on the tile floor. Unfortunately he got cut and began bleeding profusely out of his elbow. We are never sure if the bleeding patients have a blood borne pathogen or something that can infect us as well, but its a risk of the job. If that is a issue we usually take precautions though.
At any rate, after I have schoolyard-shoved this guy back a good 5 feet, my partner intervenes and tells me to walk away and calm down. So, I go inform the nurses to call the police because the situation was going beyond our comfort level to control. I return swiftly so as not to leave my partner alone with the guy. When the patient sees me, he immediately "apologizes" and says his head isn't right. When I tell him not to worry about it he flips again and attempts to bullrush past my partner and get to me. Which he succeeded. I did not calm down completely however, so as soon as he was within reach, I turned my body perpendicular to his; aligning my shoulder with his face. I wrapped my right arm around his head, trapped his right forearm with my left hand, and stuck my right leg out behind his. I torqued my body and sent him to the floor with my entire body weight falling onto him. The nurses were going ballistic. I am now in a position that I call a "half side control. My right flank is laid across his chest. I immediately go to control the head by putting my elbow into his temple and pushing his face away from mine to avoid getting bit or spit on. My right elbow is posted on the floor beneath his left armpit, with my right hand trapping him at the elbow. His right arm and hand are free and he is able to land a punch, albeit an ineffective one, on my left temple. So I then bring up my left knee and trap his free arm down. I couldn't see him at this rate but my parter had mounted the guy at his hips and was helping to hold down his left hand. We stayed this way until police arrived and medicine was administered.
Our aim is never to inflict pain but to rather prevent it from being inflicted. Restrain, not injure.
And that's it. That's what happened. Thoughts? Comments? Anything you might have done differently? Flaws with my technique, if you can even call it a technique?
Please share what you think.
____________________________
"Knowledge speaks, but wisdom listens."
