City Cautions Workers to Avoid Threats

By Ann K. Williams
Staff Writer

April 24 -- After Ocean Park librarian Celia Carroll was pushed to the ground last month by a homeless man, City management is giving employees explicit instructions on how to deal with unpredictable, aggressive people.

City Manager P. Lamont Ewell sent a memo on April 10 titled “Safety Tips for your Personal Safety,” to all city employees as a “reminder,” according to Assistant City Manager Judy Franz.

In it, employees are asked to “assess the situation objectively” when confronted by threatening individuals. The memo spells out “warning signs,” such as “extreme agitation, irritability, clenched fists, yelling or screaming,” while cautioning that not all eccentric behavior is cause for alarm.

Once it’s clear that there’s a potential threat, Ewell advises staff to take steps to protect themselves.

When confronted, employees should remain calm but move behind a large piece of furniture or a counter without taking their eyes off the threatening person.

They should lower their voices, listen attentively and avoid aggressive gestures like folding their arms or pointing.

Under no circumstances should employees turn their backs on aggressive individuals or touch or try to restrain them.

If the situation warrants, employees should call the police, but not announce their intention to do so, and especially not threaten to call the police without following through.

Last March, Carroll followed Melvin Winston Hardy, a homeless man who frequented the library, outside and then turned her back on him. That’s when he pushed her down onto the sidewalk. In the past, she had repeatedly threatened to call the police when his behavior got out of control.

Since the incident, library security employees are spending more time at the branch libraries, according to City Librarian Greg Mullen.

Representatives of the Ocean Park Association, as well as Carroll’s husband, have called for full time security at the branch on Main Street where Carroll works.