Reporting from Elizabeth Rosenthal at the New York Times reveals that more and more hospital guards are now carrying weapons. For patients in mental distress, like Alan Pean, this can have serious consequences.
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Sad story, glad the kid didn’t die. As to, “If a patient throws a tray at a nurse and the staff responds with restraints, it can be considered a health care incident. If the same patient throws the same tray at a police officer, even one off-duty, who shoots in response, the encounter is subject to a criminal investigation.” This strikes me as a double standard, and a good reason NOT to have armed police officers moonlighting undercover in hospitals as “security guards.” How was this guy, whacked out of his mind on a psychoactive drug, supposed to know the security guard was also a cop? Did he identify himself as a police officer?
