Investigation underway after assault on Riverside Park security guard

In an update, the family claims that the security guard’s orbital bone was fractured in the altercation and reparative surgery was required.

City of Kamloops Parks and Civic Facilities Manager Jeff Putnam says the city was aware of the incident in Riverside Park.

“The RCMP I know have an active investigation, and we’re very hopeful that he (the security guard) will return to work soon, because he’s a really valued person down at the park, and people have really appreciated having that security presence.”

The man who was injured in the incident was one of the security guards regularly stationed by heritage house. About six months ago, Putnam says the city had contracted a security company to keep an eye on Riverside Park after instances of people misusing or vandalizing the public washrooms. Since then, Putnam says the vandalism situation has improved.

The public washrooms by Heritage House now have a security presence nearby to deter vandalism, or misuse. (Image Credit: Kent Simmonds / CFJC Today)

“It has been going really well. I mean there have been some incidents, but it has been well managed by bylaws and having a security presence at Riverside Park has been, to me, a really successful story. We’re really hopeful we can continue doing this.”

As far as how often security guards are involved in a physical confrontation, Putnam says the recent violent incident was certainly a rarity in the daily operations of parks.

“We have over 100 parks, we have 30 washrooms facilities, we have like 800 acres of park space. And there’s probably, on any given day, thousands of people that are in and out of our park spaces, and this happens very rarely, so we were really shocked when it did happen, and disappointed obviously.”

The city stresses that this kind of altercation is not a common occurence in Kamloops parks and they’re largely safe areas, but it is working with bylaw services to review whether any additional security is needed.

by Dylana Kneeshaw

Investigation underway after assault on Riverside Park security guard

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