The two security officers caught on camera hitting and wrestling a man aboard a moving trolley have been fired, the Metropolitan Transit System announced Friday.
The unidentified guards worked for Transit Systems Security (TSS), a company contracted to enforce safety on MTS trolleys and buses.
On Aug. 18, the employees were recorded on MTS video beating a shirtless man named Felipe Vedoy.
Over the course of the ten-minute video, Vedoy enters the trolley at the Grossmont Trolley Station in La Mesa, the guards confront him and begin hitting him. They are later shown pulling out their batons and striking the man.
When the trolley stops at the 70th Street Station, the officers orders all passengers to get off. Vedoy is then escorted out of the car by three security guards. He was taken to the hospital for minor injuries.
MTS authorities say the day of the incident, they opened an internal excessive force investigation, which led to the guards’ termination. They also turned the video over to the La Mesa Police Department to decide if the security officers will face criminal charges.
“This incident never should have happened and we will take all appropriate steps internally and with TSS to help prevent future occurrences,” said MTS CEO Paul Jablonski in a statement. “We do not tolerate that kind of behavior.”
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In addition to firing the guards, MTS officials say they and TSS will review and possibly revise all policies, procedures and training programs and ensure supervisors are reviewing security officers in the field.
