School security guard loses job after weekend town hall incident in Colorado Springs
Harrison School District 2 in Colorado Springs has taken strong action after a weekend incident during an appearance by Gov. Jared Polis.
In a release issued Tuesday evening, the district said one of its security guards has lost his job.
A video that went viral on YouTube shows the guard grabbing the arm of LaDonna Robertson and pulling her toward him, causing her to fall to the floor and scream in pain.
The video shows Robertson falling over her granddaughter, 10, and crying out that she’d had back surgery a few days earlier.
She was treated by paramedics at he scene.
Robertson was protesting Saturday at a town hall meeting hosted by Polis at Sierra High School, and belongs to a group seeking to recall the governor.
The incident happened at the end of the event, as Polis was leaving, and the guard apparently thought Robertson was being too loud or disrespectful.
The video was recorded by a man who wants to be known only by his first name of Zechariah, who was standing near Robertson during the incident.
Zechariah belongs to the same bipartisan recall group, and said Robertson is considering legal action against the district after she was injured during the incident.
“It was excessive force,” he said. “She wasn’t doing anything more to call attention to herself than anyone else was.”
Except for an appearance on a local radio show Monday — during which she called the guard “a bully — Robertson has been unavailable for comment.
The district’s decision regarding its security guard came after an internal investigation. The release didn’t indicate whether the guard resigned or was fired. Because the action is a personnel matter, the district said it would have no further comment.
District 2 also announced it will no longer provide security for political events.