Brinks Guard

[The Goose]

So my wife and I went to Trader Joe's today to do a little shopping. As we were standing in line I was watching folks which is kind of fun. A Brinks truck pulled up and one of the guards, a young guy, walked in with a bag. As he walked by me I noticed his handgun (of course) which was a stainless steel revolver, probably an S&W 67. He had one of those holster that sticks the butt of the gun out from the body and there was no retention strap. He went behind a counter with the manager, they put a bunch of something in the bag and he headed out.

As he exited the store he was carrying the bag in his left hand, nowever as he passed between the two exit doors he switched the bag to his right hand effectively covering his gun. He then reached into his left pocket with his left hand and started digging for something. He was wearing black swat type pants with deep pockets so he actually had to kind of lean to reach the bottom. The whole time he appeared to be completely distracted, even looking at the ground. In fact he walked into a railing because he was looking down.

It occurred to me that he at least appeared to be quite vulnerable. Maybe this is not really a high risk job, I don't know, but it would seem like for the short amount of time that one os actually out of the truck that a little more awreness might be in order. If only to keep ones gun from being grabbed.

 

[vellnueve]

Brinks guards are little more than armed security guards. What do you expect?

 

[dreppucci007]

He probably had little to no training...Probably had to pass a Basic Pistol Course, get his LTC, and that's about it.

 

[FalArAk]

Mall Ninjas with a LTC A.

 

[dreppucci007]

Mall Ninjas with a LTC A.

Probably a restricted one...

 

[jhrosier]

.... He then reached into his left pocket with his left hand and started digging for something. ....

The Barney Fife speedloader... He was checking that he still had his cartridge.

 

[matt]

Probably a restricted one...

what are you implying? [sad2]

 

[Mikey]

A friend of mine was a Brinks guy for many years, he took pride in it and made sure he was always confident in his skills and aware of his surroundings. But even he would tell you that most of the guys were nothing more then UPS drivers with guns.

 

[dreppucci007]

what are you implying? [sad2]

Sorry buddy...I didn't mean it like THAT...More like this:

But even he would tell you that most of the guys were nothing more then UPS drivers with guns.

It was probably restricted to work or something along those lines...They could care less about the sport.

 

[MaverickNH]

I often skip heading into a store if I see an armored van outside and just pop into a neighboring shop for a few minutes. They are such EZ bait for robbery, I don't want to be near them.

 

[jhrosier]

It does seem to be a shame that someone with a clean criminal record and willing to work, rather than collect welfare, shouldn't get a little respect, both from the public and from his employer.
I blame the companies that hire security for not giving them professional training. The same fellow, in a Marine Corps uniform, would certainly not inspire contempt.
Leadership always starts at the top and if the security companies regard and treat their employees as cannon fodder, so will the general public.[/RANT]

 

[Len-2A Training]

They are (in general) neither well paid or well trained!

Most people who carry a gun for business reasons are NOT "gun people". They are "just doing a job", nothing more and nothing less.

 

[squeeze]

Long story, short. I applied to Brinks, went to the office behind South Bay. The yearly pay that was listed in the help wanted ad was if you worked seven days a week. You had to pay for your body armor, and no backup gun or personal weapons. No offense to you wheel guys, but if it came to a fire fight, I'd like to have more than six shots before a reload. So I thank them for the interview and went on my way. The feel I got from the two Brinks guys I talked to while I waited in the break room was, this was a filler job while they waited to get on some local PD. This was about ten years ago, hope things changed since then. I don't mean any disrespect to the guys that work for Brinks, it just seems to be a whole lot of risk for very little reward.

-Kurt

 

[Mikey]

When I was a security guard it was absolutely amazing what kind of people the company would hire. I along with the other college guys were pretty good but most of the others would have been completely incapable of retaining skills learned by proper training. I think the companies know this and just don’t care. When I was there it was only $8.00 an hour so you get what you get. The only qualifications for most of these security and armored car jobs are; no criminal record, drug free (at least for the test) and in armed situations an LTC.

 

[Gammon]

I worked for a security outfit that did bank protection and armed courier work. They offered NO training and considered you LTC as proof of competency. They employed quite a few meat heads that shouldn't be trusted with a weapon, but also quite a few responsible people. The one common trait they all shared was that NONE of them could shoot. I offered to take the ones I became friendly with (the non-meat heads) but few took me up on the offer. The ones that did were actually intimidated by my skill (A Class IPSC) and never returned to the range. I think they wanted to forget how badly they performed, and they were BAD, hoping that they would never have to use their pistol.

As luck would have it, one of them was tested. A genuinely nice guy and pleasure to work with, but no time to practice. He was hit making a night drop at a local bank ($2300 in the bag). The facts aren't very clear as there were no witnesses. It is known that he was wearing body armor, was shot four times, the last shot execution style down his neck to miss the vest. It is also known that he emptied his Glock and there was no sign that he hit anyone. His death troubles me to this day. I keep thinking that a little instruction and a lot of practice might have saved his life.

 

[vellnueve]

Very disturbing. The only thing that upsets me more than one not being able to carry for protection, is someone who is allowed to carry but does not make the effort to insure their own survival. Saddening story, but a cautionary tale to any armed security guard who thinks that playing Deer Hunter Pro at the local bar is firearms training.

 

[Cuda444]

Double tap. My bad

 

[Cuda444]

As luck would have it, one of them was tested. A genuinely nice guy and pleasure to work with, but no time to practice. He was hit making a night drop at a local bank ($2300 in the bag). The facts aren't very clear as there were no witnesses. It is known that he was wearing body armor, was shot four times, the last shot execution style down his neck to miss the vest. It is also known that he emptied his Glock and there was no sign that he hit anyone. His death troubles me to this day. I keep thinking that a little instruction and a lot of practice might have saved his life.

I work as a Government contracted armed security guard and while we get paid pretty well, our firearms training is lacking. Most of the guys use the gig as a stepping stone (Myself included, to some extent) But they're using it as a stepping stone to become LEOs and let me tell you, on range qual day... I'm glad I'm wearing my vest. Some of these guys have no clue when it comes to firearms. We have to qualify with the Beretta 92 (9mm) firing 50 rounds from 3, 5, 7, 10 and 15 yards at a Q target. You have to get 35 out of 50 in the gray to qualify... I've watched 5 people fail in the last 2 quals alone, but they get to try again and all passed on the second attempt. Some of the people I work with are absolute bone heads and have no business carrying a gun. One guy even went to clear his gun with the mag still in place. He couldn't figure out where all the rounds were coming from. After lazing 75% of everyone in the room, the Lt noticed what was happening and stepped in, grabbing the gun before anything more went wrong. Thank GOD we don't have the shotguns on post anymore... talk about an accident waiting to happen.

Getting back to what Gammon was saying... We work in pairs (at the least) while on duty and to be perfectly honest... if it came down to a gun fight, and I was in a bind, depending who my partner was at the time... I wouldn't want him to draw and fire, just let me fight it out myself... and that bugs me. Luckily my shift is generally a bunch of good guys (ex-military for the most part) and we are confident that we have each other's back... but man... shift coverage makes me wonder. I'd hate to see what Gammon described happen, but in some cases, it's a very real possibility... in most armed fields, unfortunately.