Being a hospital security officer can be extremely hazardous. This fact was, once again, demonstrated by some of the incidents that have happened recently at U.S. healthcare facilities.
Man Receives 5-Year Prison Sentence for Stabbing Wisconsin Hospital Security Officer
In Milwaukee, Wis., Joel Padilla pleaded guilty last month to first-degree reckless injury for stabbing an Ascension Columbia St. Mary’s Hospital security officer. On December 12, he was sentenced to five years in prison, reports the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.
The incident happened earlier this year on January 29. Padilla, who was 18 at the time, stabbed a security officer in the head and upper back after the officer was summoned to deal with a “trouble subject” complaint. The officer located Padilla and told him he could not loiter on the grounds and asked him to leave. Padilla left but returned about an hour later and threatened to “stab and kill” the security officer, who then told him to go to the waiting room if he wanted medical attention. The officer used the restroom and Padilla stabbed him from behind. The officer was able to wrestle Padilla out of the restroom where he was stabbed again.
When Milwaukee police responded to the stabbing, they saw Padilla pointing a knife at several security officers. He then reportedly dropped the knife when one of the officers announced himself as police with his firearm drawn. When interviewed by police, Padilla said he was homeless and trying to sleep in the hospital parking structure when the injured officer woke him up and “upset” him.
In addition to his five-year prison sentence, Padilla will be required to serve six years of extended supervision when he is released.
Texas Woman Charged with Hitting Security Officer with Vehicle
In Waco, Texas, a woman who was recording video in the front lobby of the Baylor Scott and White Hillcrest Hospital on December 6 is accused of assaulting a security officer with her vehicle after she was asked to leave the premises, reports KWTX.
Related Article: Slain Oregon Hospital Security Officer’s Family Files $35 Million Wrongful Death Lawsuit
Authorities say that after the woman, Scarlett Spicer, 54, was asked to leave the hospital, she was followed by the security officer, who asked her about the video she had taken in the lobby. Court records indicate that Spicer began backing out of the parking lot, stopped and then moved again, hitting the officer in the thigh.
Another officer was able to take down the license plate number of the vehicle the suspect was driving.
Spicer has been charged with aggravated assault against a public servant and possession of a controlled substance.
South Carolina Hospital Officer Shoots Man Whose Car Struck Security Vehicle
In Florence, S.C., a McLeod Regional Medical Center security officer shot a man who drove his vehicle into the officer’s vehicle in the medical center parking lot, reports WCSC.
The incident happened December 11 when a man driving a 2016 Kia Soul crashed his car into the security officer’s patrol vehicle. The South Carolina Law Enforcement Division said the officer tried to get the man to stop his car, but the man wouldn’t stop.
After the shooting, the unidentified man was taken to a hospital for medical treatment.
