Security response questioned after video shows physical altercation at Sask. Walmart

law in Prince prince albert, Sask., say they're reviewing a picture shared online that appears to present a certificate guard slapping a woman during a confrontation at the McDonald’s restaurant inside the Walmart on 15th Street East.

It appears to show three security guards near the woman, with a man beside her who seems to be trying to restrain her. The woman swears, stumbles and fakes a punch at one guard, then hits his face.

The guard responds by slapping her across the face.

"What I saw was that guard lash out," said Steven Summerville, a retired staff sergeant with the Toronto Police Service who now teaches safety programs to security officers across Canada.

"I can never get into the mind of what a person’s thinking, [but] that technique did not appear in its nature to be control-oriented," Summerville said after watching the video.

In a statement, Walmart said it is aware of the incident and takes matters of this nature "very seriously." The company said it notified the third-party security company involved and understands it will look into the matter.

Raw video shows Walmart security guard and woman strike each other in Prince Albert

This incident lands at a time when security guard conduct is being scrutinized more closely in Saskatchewan, after other high-profile cases.

In December, the Saskatchewan Health Authority said contracted guards involved in an incident at Prince Albert’s Victoria Hospital were no longer permitted to work at any of its sites after a video showed a First Nations man being wheeled outside in freezing temperatures. 

Not too long after, in Saskatoon, the SHA found itself responding to another incident regarding the death of a patient, Trevor Dubois, after an altercation involving security at Royal University Hospital.

Prince Albert city police said officers were called around 8:15 p.m. CST on Feb. 5 for a report of a disturbance. Police said call information indicated a woman was trying to start a physical altercation with staff. Officers arrived shortly after and removed the woman from the property.

Police said they only became aware of the video the following day and are reviewing it.

"[The woman] was refusing to leave," Morin said. "They started arguing [and] he was trying to push her out, but she didn’t want to."

She said the interaction had been going on for several minutes before she started recording.

Morin said after the slap, the woman held onto the man beside her and appeared to be crying. She said the woman then left the area on her own.

Summerville said short clips can leave out critical context, including what led security to attend and what was said before filming began.

But he said one of the first things he teaches guards is to manage distance — what he calls a "reactionary gap" — to create time to speak calmly, develop rapport and try to de-escalate the situation.

He said even when a guard believes they have been assaulted, the next steps should be aimed at control and safety, not retaliation. 

He said that can include stepping back, calling police and using reasonable restraint, which is not what he saw in the video.

"I saw a physical strike," Summerville said. "I didn’t see what we call [the] effective communications component or the de-escalation component."

He added that "two wrongs don’t make a right."

Summerville also pointed to training as part of the wider conversation. He said training standards vary across provinces, and described basic training as limited compared with what police officers receive.

He said de-escalation should be treated as a core skill.

"What comes out of your mouth is the greatest tool you have," he said. "You either have the ability to calm a person down or rile them up."

Security officers need to learn to "calm a person down, develop rapport and understand what the word empathy means," Summerville said.

"All those areas make a significant difference to mitigate and prevent any unnecessary use of force. That's how we reach that standard."

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