General Motors has suspended the arrest powers of its security guards following a federal lawsuit alleging abuse at the company’s headquarters in Detroit, Michigan.
According to CBS Detroit, GM is being sued after white security guards were accused of assaulting and harassing Black co-workers and guests of the Renaissance Center, a glass skyscraper where the company’s headquarters are located, also known as the RenCen. The building also houses several other businesses, including a Marriott hotel.
GM released a statement announcing the suspension of the guards’ arrest powers at the RenCen on Jan 5.
“General Motors has zero tolerance for harassment or discrimination. We are taking the matter seriously and are reviewing the alleged incidents where bias and use of excessive force are claimed, Allied Universal’s practices and protocols, and our contractual relationship with the compan
y,” says the statement.
“In the meantime, Allied Universal has removed from all GM sites the officers involved in any incidents under review. We have suspended arrest powers for Allied Universal at the Renaissance Center. We have requested additional support from the Detroit police. All Allied Universal officers assigned to GM properties in Detroit have completed required racial sensitivity and de-escalation trainin
g.”
Several security guards were terminated last November after the lawsuit filed by a longtime Black security guard accused white guards at the RenCen of assaulting and harassing Black visitors. The Detroit Free Press was the first to report on the lawsuit that detailed heinous acts dating back to 2011.
White security guards were accused of targeting one Black guest, Demarko Brown, while he was staying at the Marriot for his birthday back in 2020. The guards harassed him and later violently beat him while holding him in the basement of the building.
Brown was beaten so badly that he was left brain-damaged. He was also denied…
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