Security guard quits after boss blames him for attack

from Shanique Yates

June 28, 2024

And a news crew filmed the whole thing.

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An Austin, Texas security guard was caught on video being assaulted while on duty, prompting him to publicly resign from his job after his supervisor said it was “all” his fault.

What began as a normal evening shift for Percy Payne at Priebe Security quickly took a turn for the worse when surveillance video captured two men, believed to be Hispanic between the ages of 17 and 20, attempting to break into his personal vehicle in an office building.

After he approached the men, both of whom were riding electric scooters, the suspects fled, Payne said. However, when he followed them and tried to arrest them, violence ensued

“A young man tried to run me over with his scooter several times,” the Austin security guard told FOX 7 Austin. “And then they started attacking me.” He added that one of the men had a screwdriver in his pocket. When he realized they were going to try to stab him, he ran and called 911.

Payne called a dispatcher. After declining medical attention from EMS, the woman told him that no officers would be sent to the scene.

“Even though I told her I had been attacked, she told me, ‘We’re not going to send cops there because they didn’t steal your car,'” Payne recalled. “And that’s when I hung up.”

On his second attempt, the new operator apologized, and when an officer arrived about an hour after the call, Payne reported that he had been helpful. Currently, the incident is “being investigated as an aggravated assault,” according to FOX 7.

The Austin Police Department (APD) confirmed that both 911 calls were handled properly and according to protocol. The department noted that an officer was not offered to come to the scene because key criteria were not met, including the suspects being present on scene, necessary medical attention from a rescue team, or a stolen vehicle to send someone to the scene.

When Payne was being interviewed by FOX 7, his supervisor approached him and asked him not to participate in the interview during his shift.

Payne was criticized by his employer for conducting a sales interview while in uniform during a shift, which his supervisor said violated company policy. After an argument broke out between the two, he quit his job.

Furthermore, the supervisor said that “everything” that happened to Payne was his fault.

“The fact that my supervisor basically told me it was my fault that I was attacked,” he explained, “told me everything I needed to know.”

A spokesperson for Priebe Security said the company was “in the process of gathering details. We have been informed and are investigating the situation.”

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