An armed private security guard patrolling downtown Portland
is still working for Securitas, despite the security firm saying in
October it would probably fire him for allegedly threatening a public
citizen.
It has also emerged that the security guard, 34-year-old Michael
Joseph Anglin, was caught fleeing a nine-year-old DUI warrant by a
Portland Police Bureau officer last summer—but Securitas spoke up
for their employee in county court, and even allowed him to serve his
six days of jail time on the weekends while he continued patrolling
downtown Portland with a gun during the week.
Anglin, who has reportedly worked for Securitas as a daytime bike
patrol officer for almost three years, rides from one contracted
property to the next around downtown and Old Town for the company,
armed with a Glock 9mm handgun—the same gun carried by the city’s
cops.
A cab driver said on October 2 that Anglin tried to instigate a
fight with him at the intersection of SW 6th and Stark, after the
cabbie honked his horn at Anglin for cutting him off.
“The guy came up to the cab in a very threatening way, so I asked
him what his name was,” the cab driver told the Mercury at the
time. “He told me he didn’t have to tell me anything, and called me a
little prick, that he was going to kick my ass, and I was a little
motherfucker.”
The cab driver then filed a complaint with Securitas using only the
guard’s badge number and his description. (The cab driver has since
identified Anglin by photograph.) Securitas Services Area Vice
President C.J. Fox told the Mercury in October: “If one of our
officers was rude to the public and we have evidence of it, then that
would be grounds for termination.”
Fox would not divulge details of Securitas’ disciplinary process
because Anglin is a private citizen working for a private firm. Last
week, an unnamed source familiar with the situation contacted the
Mercury to say Anglin was not fired after the incident, and was
only given probation. The Mercury has verified the source’s
identity and credibility, but the source wishes to remain anonymous for
security reasons.
Anglin is the only daytime bike patrol officer working downtown
Portland for Securitas (there are two at night), so his identity would
not have been difficult for the firm to ascertain. He also has a
distinctive tattoo on his right bicep—mentioned by the cab driver
in his complaint.
Securitas has also known about a troubling aspect of Anglin’s
background since last summer, when he was caught by a Portland police
officer with an outstanding DUI warrant on the police computer dating
back to 1997.
Anglin was first arrested in October 1997 after crashing his truck,
drunk, into the back of another car on the I-5 Bridge going north over
the Columbia River. Despite confessing to the arresting officer,
Darrell Shaw, that he’d been driving under the influence and that he’d
shared four pitchers and six beers with a friend over the course of the
evening, Anglin never showed up for his court date—which
ultimately led to the warrant. He only turned himself in after a police
officer urged him to on August 25, 2006—almost nine years after
his original arrest.
According to court records, Anglin told the court in January that
had he passed his background check at the Department for Public Safety
Standards and Training (DPSST) in Salem, which certifies all private
security in Oregon, despite his failure to appear in court for the DUI
in 1997.
“And did anyone tell you there was a warrant when you went through
that background check?” asked his defense attorney, Stacy
Tela-Kerber.
“No,” Anglin responded.
DPSST Director John Minnis did not return a call for comment about
background procedures.
Despite the inconsistencies between Anglin’s background check and
his true police record, Securitas Bike Patrol Division Field Service
Manager Chris Cohen wrote to the judge in January to stick up for
him.
“He has been a crucial part of the bike patrol division’s success
and the ongoing efforts to reduce the crime rate in downtown
districts,” Cohen wrote.
Nevertheless, Anglin was sentenced to six days in jail, which he
served on the weekends, and had his driver’s license suspended for a
year. He also had to attend alcohol counseling and pay $750 to one of
the DUI victims. Efforts to contact Anglin through Securitas were
unsuccessful by press time.
Asked this Monday, December 3, about Anglin’s employment status
following the complaint about his behavior in October and his drunken
driving record coming to light, Securitas Vice President Fox declined
comment.