Mall guards, another sued for alleged attack

Local News

February 19, 2009

Ronica Shannon The Richmond Register Thu Feb 19, 2009, 08:17 AM EST

Three Richmond Mall security guards and the brother of one were ordered to the Madison District Court diversion program Tuesday because of their roles in the alleged Aug. 15, 2008, assault of a mall patron.

The four — Troy Pollock, Josh Farthing and Chris Rawlins, along with his brother Jason Rawlins (who is a former Richmond Mall security guard, but was not employed at the time of the incident) — are accused of the alleged assault of 18-year-old Kyle Sharp near the food court entrance of the mall.

Sharp was charged with disorderly conduct in connection with the same incident, but that charged was dismissed in district court.

Sharp’s attorney, Wes Browne, filed a civil suit Tuesday in Madison Circuit Court against: Bush Realty Richmond Mall LLC; Eagle Security LLC; Jason and Chris Rawlins; and Josh Farthing and Troy Pollock.

Pollock is the same guard who, six days earlier, Aug. 9, 2008, ejected mall patron Kym Clem from the mall for wearing a short skirt.

“After Ms. Clem’s story aired, we fielded a number of phone calls from mall patrons who claimed they were mistreated by the security guards,” Browne said. “What made Kyle’s case stand out was the number of eyewitnesses who saw the attack, and the severity of what happened. We hope any eyewitnesses who did not give a statement to police will come forward.”

There were at least three eyewitnesses based on 911 calls made at the time of the incident.

“You’d better get a bunch of officers out here because they don’t know what the hell they’re doing,” said one 911 caller. “They’re beating people for no damn reason, and I’ve got several witnesses here saying exactly what happened. They attacked him first. He (Sharp) ain’t hurt, but these security guards are jumping him for no reason. And I mean jumping.”

Another caller claimed: “A security guard just attacked a kid for no (expletive) reason. The security guards just tried to shove a kid out of the mall. He was going back in there to buy a drink and I guess see his girlfriend and he just got attacked. Right by the food court.”

The third caller told the 911 dispatcher: “Yeah, this kid just got his ass whooped.”

According to a statement from Browne, the three security guards and Jason Rawlins prevented Sharp from escaping.

“Pollock is a small guy, but the other two security guards are huge, body-builder types, and Jason Rawlins is a very large man,” Browne said. “They may have outnumbered Kyle four to one, but they probably outweighed him seven to one. He missed several weeks of work because of his injuries.”

All four defendants are being represented by Richmond attorney Jerry Gilbert.

“I’m unable to comment on the civil complaint that was filed,” Gilbert said, who had not had a chance to read the suit as of press time.

The suit seeks: “Judgment against the defendants, in an amount that will fairly and reasonably compensate the plaintiff for the damages caused by the defendants’ actions; punitive damages against the defendants; for pre-judgment interest; for trial by jury; his costs expended herein, including reasonable attorney fees; and any and all other relief to which the plaintiff may appear entitled.”

The defendants will appear again in Madison Circuit Court on July 14.

Ronica Shannon can be reached at rshannon@richmondregister.com or 623-1669, Ext. 6698.

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