From the Files of a Security Expert Witness

Charles A. Sennewald

• Publisher: Butterworth-Heinemann
• Year: 2013
• Print ISBN: 9780124116252
• eBook ISBN: 9780124116269
• Topic: Derecho
• Subtopic: Derecho penal

From the Files of a Security Expert Witness guides the reader through the experience of testifying in court on security issues in civil litigation. Written by one of the security profession's best-known expert witnesses, the book explores 36 cases that reflect the high drama of true crime, including kidnapping, rape, and murder. Many of these cases led to premises liability lawsuits based on claims of negligence, inadequate security, false arrest and imprisonment, excessive use of force, and others. Effective security specialists, whether or not they are considering becoming expert witnesses, should be familiar with the facts of these cases, their theories of liability and theories of defense. Encompassing aspects of criminal and tort law, all within the context of forensic security consulting, this book offers valuable insights from an experienced security professional. - Understand the role of a security expert witness through his involvement in actual civil lawsuits driven by criminal acts - Explore the expert witness's role in liability litigation, from forming opinions to being able to intelligently present beliefs to the legal community as well as to juries - Learn practical, in-depth guidelines for becoming an expert witness through the firsthand experiences of a court-recognized authority

Chapter 1

Greene v. Holy Spirit Hospital

A young female employee of the Holy Spirit Hospital was abducted from the parking ramp, taken to an isolated area not far from the hospital, forcibly raped, and, during the rape, strangled to death and her body abandoned. The hospital was sued by the victim’s surviving family members. The lawsuit alleged the hospital’s security program was negligent and inadequate.

Keywords

appeal; case law; complaint; crime statistics; defendant; dismiss; hospital security; plaintiff; security program; rape

Contents

What happened?

Who was being sued, and why?

Who was involved?

When did it happen?

How did it happen?

Assessment of the security program

Assessment of crime statistics in the community

The results of my assessment

Postscript

What happened?

A young female employee of Holy Spirit Hospital was abducted from the parking ramp, taken to an isolated area not far from the hospital, forcibly raped, and, during the rape, strangled to death and her body abandoned.

Who was being sued, and why?

The hospital was being sued by the victim’s surviving family members. The lawsuit alleged the hospital’s security program was negligent and inadequate.

Who was involved?

• Vivian Greene, a 21-year-old nurse’s assistant, who typically worked the day shift at Holy Spirit Hospital.

• Danny Greene, a 23-year-old furniture salesman who married Vivian two weeks prior to the murder.

• Betty Rankowski, the mother of the victim, who was also a nurse’s assistant at Holy Spirit Hospital and worked the day shift.

• Jo Rankowski, the victim’s 12-year-old sister.

• Robert Corley, a 26-year-old newly released inmate from the state prison given an early release by the governor because of an act of heroism.

• James T. Trenton, the state governor who authorized the early and unexpected release of Robert Corley.

• Mr. and Mrs. McGrath, the resident managers of the state’s halfway house for released inmates.

• Tom Case, the director of security at Holy Spirit Hospital.

When did it happen?

On a Thursday evening in early December around 9:00 p.m.

How did it happen?

With no scheduled releases of inmates for the next two weeks, the McGraths planned on a well-earned vacation away from the residence and job as overseers of the state’s halfway house—that is, the strategy of temporarily housing and supervising newly released inmates in their transition back into society.

A week before the tragic crime, a riot in one of the prison’s cellblocks broke out. In the following pandemonium, inmate Robert Corley personally pulled a guard into a safe location, preventing any injury to the man, and in so doing incurred some risk to himself. This act of heroism came to the attention of Governor James Trenton who expressed his gratitude by authorizing an early release for Robert.

The unexpected release caught the McGraths off-guard. Should they cancel their vacation? After meeting and talking with Robert they felt comfortable with letting him stay alone in the halfway house in their absence. He understood the rules, which included no alcohol or drugs. They left Tuesday.

The week prior to the fateful event, the victim’s mother, Betty Rankowski, agreed to work a double shift on the next Thursday so a coworker could attend a party. It was a special favor for a friend. That meant that her daughter Vivian would have to drive home alone after the day shift. Because the newlyweds were struggling financially, they ate at Betty’s each evening, then went home in Danny Greene’s car to their small apartment. Each morning Danny would drop off Vivian at Betty’s house and the two nurses’ aides would drive to work together. At the end of the day they all gathered at Betty’s and had supper together.

On Wednesday, Robert, now enjoying his freedom and staying in the halfway house, borrowed a friend’s car and, with another ex-con, obtained marijuana, smoked it, and started partying with two female acquaintances. The partying included sex, along with smoking marijuana and consuming whisky, lasting into midday Thursday. During the partying, Robert’s friend injured his hand, either striking someone or something, and the two drove to Holy Spirit Hospital for emergency treatment of the injury.

Nothing eventful occurred during that daytime visit, other than Robert watching the staff.

That same Thursday Vivian and Betty drove to the hospital together in Betty’s car, reporting for work on the day shift. There was no evidence Robert saw either of them or they saw Robert.

At the end of the shift, Betty stayed at the hospital for the second shift and Vivian drove to her mother’s home where she met Danny and her little sister, Jo. The three ate while watching television. Following dinner, Vivian planned to drive her mother’s car back to the hospital’s parking ramp, followed by Danny. She would park on the third level, lock the car, walk across the skywalk into the hospital, and return the car keys to her mother. She would then return across the skywalk to the elevators in the parking structure and descend to the street level where Danny would be waiting at the curb.

Sometime right after Vivian drove out of that parking structure, Robert drove in, alone, and parked the car on the third level. It was a cold evening with a light dusting of snow. Not many cars were parked in the ramp and there was no parking attendant. The only planned oversight of the ramp was the periodic patrols of a hospital security officer. Robert sat in his vehicle with the driver’s door open, legs out, drinking whiskey, smoking, and listening to country music. One witness later testified she observed him and just assumed he was waiting for someone, although it struck her as odd because it was so cold and damp in the concrete structure and the young man didn’t appear to be dressed warmly enough. Another witness had a similar reaction.

Following supper and a couple television programs, Danny and Vivian cleaned the kitchen and prepared to return Betty’s car and go home. Vivian asked her sister if she would like to go with her. Jo said she’d rather watch television so they left her behind. Danny followed his wife and, as they approached the entrance to the hospital’s parking ramp, Danny parked parallel to the curb and watched his wife drive into the ramp’s entrance. He sat there with his motor running, headlights on, music playing, with the wipers moving slowly, whisking away the powdery snowflakes. He expected to wait for her perhaps 10 minutes at the most.

Robert, still sitting in his car (the only car in that area) watched Vivian pull into a space close to him, get out of her car, and start toward the skywalk. He stood up, pretending he was about to walk into the skywalk, and, as she passed near him, he reached out and grabbed her arm. She was startled and speechless. He pulled her to his car telling her he wouldn’t hurt her if she didn’t scream and complied with his instructions. She begged him not to hurt her, that she would do as he said, and that if it was drugs he wanted, she could get some because she worked in the hospital. He forced her into the passenger side of the car and told her he’d kill her if she screamed. She was anxious not to alarm him or trigger him into acting violently and acquiesced to each command. He told her to get down on the floorboard with her head under the glove box so she couldn’t be seen, and drove slowly out of the ramp. When he reached the exit and the street there was a car to his left with its headlights on. He made a left turn in front of the car and proceeded away with her still crouching on the floor.

Danny watched a car slowly exit the ramp. His headlights fully illuminated the old Chevrolet and the young man at the wheel. There was absolutely nothing suspicious about this, but Danny had an unexplainable eerie feeling and was curious as to why the man turned left since it would only lead, some blocks down the street, to the railroad yards and a dead-end. Not four minutes had elapsed since Vivian drove into the ramp.

A couple minutes later, the same old car approached Danny from his rear. Danny was right about the driver turning in the wrong direction. As the car slowly passed him again, the same spooky feeling returned. He did not have a reason for this chilling feeling but did consciously make a mental note of the car’s license plate.

Robert drove with his victim still crouched on the floor to a remote location by the river and, while parked there, raped the young bride. In the process of raping the woman, he decided to choke her to death to feel any contractions that might occur during the process.

When he finished, he dumped her nude body in the weeds along the roadside and returned to the halfway house.

After waiting 15 minutes for Vivian, Danny became impatient and drove onto the ramp to see what was keeping her. On the third level he spotted Betty’s car. It was locked. He walked over the skywalk and into the hospital and found his mother-in-law and asked where Vivian was. Betty said she hadn’t seen Vivian. They conducted a search of the hospital. Security was asked to assist and one of the two officers joined in the search. It was finally concluded Vivian wasn’t in the hospital, wasn’t in the car, and wasn’t at Betty’s house. No one answered the phone in the Greene’s apartment, so the police were summoned to the hospital. During the on-scene investigation Danny informed the police of his observation of the old Chevrolet, described it and the driver, and repeated the license number he had memorized.

The next morning Vivian’s body was found by a passerby.

The police ran the license number through the department of motor vehicles but it didn’t match up with the suspect vehicle or its registered location in the state. The description of the vehicle, including the “bad” license plate number, was broadcast to all police agencies in the state. A short time later that morning a police officer on routine patrol spotted a car parked on the side of the halfway house fitting the description in the broadcast. The license plate bore the numbers provided by Danny except he had inadvertently transposed two numbers. Betty’s car keys were on the passenger’s side floorboard.

A groggy and hungover Robert was taken into custody and shortly thereafter confessed to the crime.

Assessment of the security program

Tom Case, a retired local city police officer, was the hospital’s director of security. He reported to the chief maintenance engineer. This was a classic mistake in organizational design because security had no mid-management voice in such matters as budgeting. Security requests by the director of security would be subject to the chief engineer’s priorities. This organizational design typically has the head of housekeeping and janitorial services on par with security.

Case had made frequent requests for additional security personnel, citing problems at this multistory, 400-bed hospital campus, and the inability of his small staff to cover the facility that spread over several city blocks. Those requests were ignored. The budget didn’t allow for a security supervisor for each shift. The only supervisor was the director himself. Indeed, his staff was comprised of off-duty police officers so the administration wouldn’t have to pay employee benefits. Most security experts agree off-duty police officers don’t make the best security officers for a number of reasons, including that their focus, identity, and loyalty is with their police service and departments.

Payroll and time-keeping records disclosed two security officers were on duty at the time of the abduction. One was assisting a maintenance man in relocating television sets in patients’ rooms and the other was temporarily serving as receptionist during the evening hours. Because activity logs, which typically reflect what officers do on a given shift, weren’t required, there was no audit trail to identify who patrolled outside and when. Both officers testified they conducted exterior patrols but could offer no specifics. Both claimed they patrolled the parking ramp but neither recalled seeing Robert. It was not possible for a patrolling officer in the ramp to not see Robert because he was parked in the very path leading to and from the skywalk and, as noted earlier, was engaged in obvious, unusual, and conspicuous conduct. The only logical conclusion I (or anyone) could make is the officers did not patrol the parking ramp, as required....

Table of contents

• Cover image
• Title page
• Table of Contents
• Copyright
• Dedication
• Acknowledgments
• Introduction
• Chapter 1. Greene v. Holy Spirit Hospital
• Chapter 2. Yamamoto v. Harbor View Homeowners’ Association
• Chapter 3. Fiske v. Silver Mine Hotel and Casino
• Chapter 4. Marcello v. Queen of Clubs
• Chapter 5. Chatálet, et al. v. FantasyForest, Inc.
• Chapter 6. McCortney v. Sky-High Casino
• Chapter 7. Crane v. Major Stores, Inc.
• Chapter 8. White v. Mid-American Inns
• Chapter 9. McCall v. Giant Stores
• Chapter 10. A Summarization of Cases Based on the Theory of Liability, False Arrest/False Imprisonment, or Excessive Use of Force
• Chapter 11. A Summarization of Cases Predicated on Negligence as the Theory of Liability
• Chapter 12. A Summarization of Cases Based on Inadequate Security and/or Breach of Duty as the Theory of Liability
• Chapter 13. A Summarization of Lawsuits That Were Rejected or Failed for Unusual Reasons
• Epilogue
• Appendix. A Fair Warning: Avoid Victimization
• Index