Home Depot security guard Ali Rahnumah charged in shoplifter beating
A security guard previously charged with assaulting a disabled man at Vancouver's Pacific Centre Mall now faces a new assault charge based on more allegations of violent conduct on the job.
Ali Rahnumah, 31, is charged with assault causing bodily harm after allegedly beating a shoplifting suspect outside the Home Depot in Burnaby, B.C. where he was working as a loss prevention officer last year.
On June 20, 2014, Rahnumah allegedly pursued a suspect more than 400 metres off the property, tackling and injuring the suspect near Gilmore Skytrain Station.
Rahnumah previously had his security worker licence suspended for two months after a cell phone video emerged showing him knocking a disabled man from a wheelchair at Pacific Centre Mall in October 2012.
"I'll f--kin' throw you on the ground and f--k you up!" the guard is heard yelling at the disabled man in the video.
Rahnumah was charged with assault in that incident and that case is still before the courts.
'It's pretty infuriating from our perspective'
Following the 2012 incident, Rahnumah got his security worker licence back in in December 2012, after what the B.C. government describes as "retraining in use-of-force provisions."
He was required to successfully complete a three-day Advanced Security Training course, according to a spokesperson for the B.C. Ministry of Justice, which oversees licensing of private security guards.
Rahnumah was also issued two $115 violation tickets for violating the following conditions of his licence:
- "must not use profane, abusive or insulting language or actions"
- "must not use unnecessary force"
A new assault charge against a "retrained" security guard raises questions about provincial oversight of the private security industry, according to the Pivot Legal Society.
"It's pretty infuriating from our perspective, to see [Rahnumah] able to walk back into the system and do the same thing all over again," said Douglas King, a lawyer for Pivot.
Rahnumah is "one of the only people we've ever heard of being disciplined by the ministry for bad behaviour as a security guard," according to King.
Still licensed as a security guard
Despite the two assault charges before the courts, Rahnumah still has a valid security worker licence, according to the B.C. Ministry of Justice.
The provincial registrar of security services was not aware of the latest assault charge, and will be investigating, following inquiries from CBC News.
Home Depot did not respond to CBC News' request for comment.
Rahnumah's lawyer, Jeff Campbell, has also not responded to CBC's interview requests.
