Fired Y-12 guard says he followed procedure
OAK RIDGE, Tenn.—The Y-12 National Security Complex security guard who was fired last month after a security breach says he did nothing wrong and followed protocol when he encountered three anti-nuclear protesters, including an 82-year-old nun, who cut through perimeter fences and vandalized a building that contains highly enriched uranium, according to an Oak Ridge Today report.
Kirk Garland, 52, who has been a Department of Energy guard for 30 years, was the first to reach the protesters on July 28. He said the reason given for his termination was that he failed to take immediate control of the protesters, but he told Oak Ridge Today that because the unarmed trio was not threatening, he didn’t feel the need to “pull a weapon on those people, mainly because of their age.” The other two protesters are 57 and 63.
“I handled my job exactly the way I was trained,” he said in the report published Tuesday.
The International Guards Union of America Local 3 has filed a grievance on Garland’s behalf.
Comments
Fired Y-12 Guard says he followed procedure !
Ostensibly, the Dept of Energy is in shock! Senior personnel, don't think logically and fire the man who was paid to do just what he did.....respond and halt the intrusion. (Energy) needs to look at how their alarm system failed to detect the intrusion. Why did they not receive adiquate response time? Instead of releasing the guard, they should hail him as a hero. Their actions show their true colors (yellow) and send a NEGATIVE message to the guard force, do your job, and you will be blaimed. The action of the officials in Energy are malfeasant, they should be disciplined. Let's help the Guard get his job back. Count on me for any assistance. Harry T. Rensel CSSM