Glen Warner, a security guard, was assaulted last Thursday at Riverside Park. He had facial surgery at RIH on Tuesday (Image Credit: CFJC Today)

By Chad Klassen

SECURITY GUARD ASSAULT

‘I didn’t even get the words out of my mouth’; Riverside Park security guard hopes to return to work soon after assault

Jul 8, 2020 | 3:58 PM

KAMLOOPS — A security guard who was assaulted at Riverside Park last week is recovering after surgery on Tuesday night (July 7).

Glen Warner, a security guard with Secure Guard, was patrolling the park last Thursday morning (July 2) when he asked a man to stop smoking. He was then punched in the face.

“I didn’t even get words out of my mouth. He just looked at me and said a few vulgarities and told me to ‘Hit the road, goof,’ then smoked me,” remembers Warner.

The 71-year-old Warner didn’t see it coming. He’s used to quick resolution. However, he was able to snap a picture of the man before he took off.

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A 33-year-old Surrey man was eventually arrested on Tuesday night. Matthew Santoro has now been charged with assault causing bodily harm and has an Aug. 10 court date in Kamloops.

On Wednesday, Warner was released from the hospital after a metal plate was inserted on the right side of his face. The assault has him off work for at least the next month.

But less than 12 hours after having surgery, Warner was back at Riverside Park on Wednesday with his son Jason. They wanted to thank the Kamloops RCMP and the community.

“I know Dad’s feeling really good. He’s feeling a lot of love from this community,” noted Jason, who drove up last week from his home in Abbotsford. “Even as we stand here in the park, little kids and workers and some of the local street community have come by and said ‘Hi’ to him, and I can see that he keeps tearing up because of this. We want to thank the community for everything they’ve done and thank the RCMP for quickly resolving this.”

The suspect was arrested at the Valleyview boat launch. He was followed there by a local motel owner and eventually surrounded by Kamloops RCMP. It’s a relief to Glen and Jason. But both want the best for the man who committed the assault.

“Just hoping that maybe, in some way, out of this there’s something positive,” said Glen. “He just seemed like a very angry individual, and that’s not good because that just rots yourself.”

While he’s off work, Glen is being covered by WorkSafeBC and doesn’t know how long he’ll be sidelined. But when he’s given the green light by his doctor, he’ll be back.

“I love this job. Like I tell people I met here, what better job could you have than get paid to talk to people and hang out in the park,” he said.