Warrington’s Golden Square have parted company with a security guard after a video of him gripping a youngster in a headlock went viral on social media.
The youngster had apparently been skateboarding in the multi-storey car park.
The video which was posted on Facebook by a friend of the youngster attracted outrage from members of the public attracting more than 85,000 viewings and over 1,800 shares.
A spokesperson for Golden Square Shopping Centre said today: “Following an incident which took place at the shopping centre on Friday 24 June, a full internal investigation has been carried out and the individual concerned is no longer employed at Golden Square.
“The centre has worked closely with the Cheshire Police since the incident took place, and taken relevant support and advice to review security and safety procedures.
“We would like to reassure members of the public that this is an isolated incident in which procedure and training were not followed by the individual, and this has been taken very seriously.”
6 Comments
I’m not condoning the actions of the security guard as it does look rather heavy handed but then again it doesn’t show what went on prior to what is shown in the short video clip. Maybe there was something or maybe there wasn’t.
BUT I saw it on-line and I also saw Golden Square’s replies to postings made on their own facebook page about it a day ago or so. The [GS] replied that they were investigating the incident which they said [quote] “took place at 00:38 on Friday 24th June, involving trespassers breaking into Golden Square’s locked car park”
So as wrong as it was to have the lad in a headlock…WHY did the lads think it was acceptable to break into a closed carpark and WHY on earth were they out skateboarding at almost 1am in the morning anyway.
I came here to say the exact same thing! People are too quick to judge based on a few seconds of a video clip.
It’s nice to see 2 comments supporting the guard on this site. I tried to put a positive post on the Warrington Facebook page, where the video was originally posted, but it was deleted in 5 minutes and I was blocked from posting on the page. How can a Facebook page claim to promote Warrington but only allow the editor’s opinion to be viewed?
Not sure which Warrington facebook page you are referring to but as Editor I can assure you I have not removed any comments from our facebook page
It was the other site just called Warrington where the video was first posted
Note the security guard is heard saying “you’re not going anywhere”. Sounds to me like he is attempting a citizen’s arrest. He is not punching the intruder or causing any physical injury he is holding him firmly and in a way that the intruder can’t punch out at him. What would have been considered the correct way to ensure the intruder didn’t escape? As can be seen by the video there were at least two intruders – and they were not exactly little children. They look the same kind of age as the young teens who attacked and murdered Gary Newlove. How else could this guard have held this intruder whilst protecting his own safety? If he had just stood by and watched them run off he would probably have been criticised for not doing his job.
What ‘normal’ teen is out skateboarding in the early hours of the morning? for all the guard knew they could have been arsonists or even planting a bomb. In this day and age security is a very serious concern,
Personally, as a shopper in the Golden Square I would feel happier and more ‘secure’ if this guard were reinstated – I think he’s brave and efficient.