Multiple Denver guard companies in trouble for firearm violations
Denver CO July 29 2022 — There’s been a lot of attention lately on shootings involving police officers in the metro area, but Denver records show a few security guard companies also got in trouble with the city this year after employees fired guns on the job.
Allied Universal, one of the largest security guard companies in the city, could lose its license because, police say, an unlicensed guard shot a bullet at a moving car.
According to Denver’s Department of Excise and Licenses, an armed security guard was working at a Bellco Credit Union when a woman entered and showed a stolen ID. Records say the security guard chased the woman off the property, and then saw her get into a car. When the driver tried to hit the security guard, he fired his gun. The woman got away.
The city says the security guard didn’t have a license to be an armed security guard. A company spokesperson said that is because the credit union location has an Aurora mailing address, and the team mistakenly understood it to be outside of the Denver city limits and not subject to Denver licensing requirements.
“Allied Universal’s first priority is safety – the safety of its teammates and the community we serve. For over three decades, Allied Universal has valued the opportunity to serve businesses, public agencies and communities throughout the City and County of Denver and the entire State of Colorado,” the spokesperson said.
Now the company has to appear at a hearing on Aug. 31 to explain to the city why its security guard employer license in Denver shouldn’t be suspended or revoked. A hearing officer will hold the hearing with the licensee and the City Attorney’s Office to hear testimony and see evidence.
The hearing officer will issue a recommended decision in the case. Excise and Licenses Executive Director Molly Duplechian will issue a final decision.
In some cases, settlement agreements are reached between the city and the licensee before there is a final decision or hearing for the case.
In July, the city signed a settlement agreement with Advanced Professional Security which required the company to provide a list of all the businesses they offer security for. It was one of the terms the security guard company agreed to after a shooting involving one of their employees in April.
According to city records, two security guards chased a wanted fugitive near a Walgreens east of Glendale. One guard fired her weapon while chasing the man because he grabbed his waistband.
“At no time previous to security contacting the victim was it reported the victim had been committing a crime necessitating the intervention of security,” the show cause order said.
The city found the two security guards didn’t have a license to do the job.
The city did take away the license of a company called CFW Enterprises in June after they hired security guards with active criminal warrants.
City documents say Denver police also discovered a security guard with CFW who was not supposed to have a gun fired three shots outside a business in the Highlands. The guard was trying to stop a fight at a hookah lounge last year.
After a hearing officer recommended the license of CFW be revoked, Excise and Licenses Executive Director Molly Duplechian agreed. The city found CFW Enterprises violated 11 state and local law provisions.
So far this year, the city has accused these three companies, along with three other individuals, of violating security guard licensing rules.
Records show one of those people gave up her license in March because the city issued it to her by mistake. Denver says she didn’t disclose her “serious and concerning” prior criminal history on her application. City documents say she pleaded guilty to multiple felonies, including robbery.
