CIS - Crazy Ignorant Security

I've recently had a run in with the security patrol people in my apartment complex. These not so professional jokers are based out of Clearwater, FL

C.I.S. - Critical Intervention Services - these jokers ride around in wanna-be police cruisers, in full black uniforms, with everything except an actual police badge - complete with an overinflated sense of authority.

As I found out, these guys feel they can harass and intimidate people for smoking outside of their apartment... little did they know they were barking up the wrong tree.. .

For your reading pleasure, I've posted below my email contact with CIS:

To: dwyerbc@cisworldservices.org
Subject: Complaint.

I've recently had an incident with one of the CIS officer's that is apparently here to protect the community property in which I reside. From my understanding there job here in the Laurel Oaks Apartment homes is to protect the property from damage and to keep the 'hoodlums' at bay - a job they do quite regularly.

This particular incident - me, sitting on the stairs in the stairwell of which I reside, is particularly annoying to me. I do not pay a rather high premium to live in an apartment complex in which I cannot enjoy to the fullest. I should not be harassed by your patrols when I belong on this property and am doing no damages. I do not appreciate your 'officers' means of 'enforcement' and I see them as somewhat of a joke.

Thank you for your time.

to which Mark Puetz, "Director of Risk Management and Professional Standards," replied:

Ms. Detour-Mind,

Please feel free to call us at 727-461-9417 to discuss your concerns in more detail. We would be happy to explain the community rules and something of our approach to keeping your neighborhood safe for you and those around you.

Be sure to ask for "Professional Standards."

Clearly Mark had little intent of looking into my complaint, asking me instead to inconvenience myself and phone him. Instead I respond:

Thank you for your number -I may call- but I feel written communication is a much better means of conveying my dissatisfaction with your company's operations where I reside.

From my understanding, CIS is not in my complex for the purpose of "keeping [my] neighborhood safe" your people are there, as a Laurel Oaks letter stated, to protect the property of Laurel Oaks - not for our safety. Mostly your patrols cruise around to keep the kids of the surrounding neighborhood from using the pool facilities located in our residence and/or damaging it's property.

Your employees are regularly seen chasing off playing children from the surrounding community and disproportionately stopping youths of color - both of which I find somewhat distressing. But now, it seems, your patrolmen have nothing better to do than harass the residents of the very apartment community who, through their rent, pay your salaries.

This particular incident involved me sitting with my girlfriend on the steps of the apartment building in which I reside - where I sit regulartly to smoke. Your officer drove by, turned around, and while driving by informs us we cannot sit on the stairs. (I'm sitting down, minding my own business, doing no harm and a CIS employee tells me -a resident- that I can't sit on the stairs for the few moments it takes to smoke a cigarette?!!) Because I continue sitting and smoking he stops, opens his car door, and walks over to confront me - asking me where and how long I've lived there, asking questions about my job, and telling me sitting on the stairs is a "fire hazard." (As if, in the event of a fire, I would just sit there and burn to death...)

After my insistance that sitting on the stairs momentarily should not be a concern to him he continues to insist it is, and demands to know in which apartment I reside - at which time I walk away. He then follows my girlfriend as she walks inside and writes down the apartment number on our door.

Later, as he writes his 'incident report' about me, the sitting smoker, he threatens my girlfriend and I by telling us that he "hopes [we] like [our] home because you probably wont be there much longer."

Not only must I be harassed for not staying inside my apartment this particular CIS employee with an overinflated sense of authority threatened us - threated to get us kicked out of our apartment.

How professional.

Now, it should be noted that close these emails with my name.. but this guy here is either thick headed, or intends to insult by addressing me as "Ms":

Ms. Detour-Mind,

Thank you for your more detailed explanation of your concerns. As a general response, you will note in the same letter you referenced from your property management that the fourth paragraph lists some of the property rules our officers enforce. The first listed among these is loitering. As you have expressed it here, the behavior you described constitutes loitering and it is within our officer's purview to address it.

I hope this addresses your concerns. My offer to speak to you via phone remains open, but I will not continue an e-mail exchange. There are too many incident specific details in any case to address fairly in this sort of medium.

Loitering? Are you sure? This guy here... "too many incident specific details," he means to say "I prefer not to type anything that could get me and my company in legal trouble - phonecalls don't tend to be recorded."

CIS and it's team of 'professionals' are obviously not interested in my issues, so I speak to a friend in the security industry... Upstairs Jim. He tells me CIS is known for it's bad behavior and has a bad reputation in the security world. My good buddy, UJ, also drops a name: State of Florida Division of Licensing. These are the guys to who license the security folks - this is where I take my formal complaint. Won't Ms Mark be so happy?


As I respond, I realise this will likely be my last email, so I address it to every email address I can find on their website - all the way up to CEO:

to		Mark Puetz
cc		letchelk@cisworldservices.org, cgundry@cisworldservices.org, tim@cisworldservices.org, moconnor@cisworldservices.org, dwyerbc@cisworldservices.org, employment@cisworldservices.org, wrs@cisworldservices.org, kc@cisworldservices.org, ceo@cisworldservices.org, rodrighb@cisworldservices.org, mannhl@cisworldservices.org, oconnowk@cisworldservices.org, vighke@cisworldservices.org, doughemj@cisworldservices.org, osmundk@cisworldservices.org, cismis@cisworldservices.org, frankedm@cisworldservices.org, petersl@cisworldservices.org
date		Mon, Jul 20, 2009 at 6:48 PM
subject		Re: Complaint.

To whom it may concern:

In my last attempt to contact your offices by phone, I was hung up on. I may be willing to try that route again, but I have little patience for being hung up on.

Situations like that mentioned above make e-mail a much more preferred means of communication as it allows me a receipt of this contact and removes any confusion as to what has been stated.


First, let me address the falsehood of your email, particularly where you stated:

"...the behavior you described constitutes loitering ..."

By definition loitering means to "linger aimlessly."

When you say that I was loitering, you are suggesting that I was idly hanging about purposeless, which is totally incorrect. I had a purpose - smoking - and was outside my dwelling smoking a cigarette - nothing unusual or suspicious about that.

Of course there's the dictionary version of loitering and then there's the law, which I have provided below. Although you may previously have been an actual law enforcement officer, you likely are not, and as such you may be unfamiliar with the loitering law here in Florida. To help refresh you (or, in the event that you were totally unaware, inform you) it reads:

856.021 Loitering or prowling

(1) It is unlawful for any person to loiter or prowl in a place, at a time or in a manner not usual for law-abiding individuals, under circumstances that warrant a justifiable and reasonable alarm or immediate concern for the safety of persons or property in the vicinity.

I may not be too well versed in legal issues, but it would seem to me that smoking a cigarette outside one's own (albeit rented) home during daytime hours is "usual for law-abiding individuals" and should cause no "concern for the... property in the vicinity" which your employees are here to secure.

With that stated, there was no need for your 'officer,' DEW-219, to speak to me, let alone step out of his car in an attempt to intimidate me. Furthermore your 'officer' has no right to try and interrogate me, and certainly crossed the line by threatening me with eviction.

It speaks a great deal about your company when it's employees are uninformed of the law and regularly step outside of their bounds of duty. Even more is said about your company's character when you have such willingness to degrade a person's usual, law abiding, activity as something criminal - when you say I was loitering.

I have called your number, but, as I was hung up on, it is becoming ever more evident that CIS has no actual intent of investigating my complaint. It might be of great interest for you to know that I have contacted the State of Florida Division of Licensing and have filed a formal complaint against unit 25, DEW-219 and your company.

Should an attempt be made by your employees to intimidate, threaten, or harass me by any means, I shall call an actual law enforcement officer so that they might assist me in resolving any situation that may arise.

Thank you for your time,
Detour-Mind

Again this guy responds with similar BS:

Ms. Detour-Mind,

I cannot explain your account of being hung up on. If that did indeed happen, you have my apologies. I am in the office Monday through Friday, 9:00am-5:00pm.

Let me be clear, though, we are not law enforcement officers. We enforce the rules of the community in which you live. Those rules prohibit loitering. While I understand your frustration, I simply cannot discuss your incident here, though, as there are too many details that may be at play. I would ask that, in the interest of civility, you refrain from insulting us or our professionalism. That lends nothing of value to the conversation and moves it from one of an attempt at understanding to one of confrontation. My preference is always for the former as it tends to make for stronger and more positive relationships between us and the community.

While you are always welcome to seek recourse through the Division of Licensing or the assistance of a law enforcement officer, I must express my disappointment that you have filed a complaint without speaking with me first.

As of this writing, I have made two offers for you to call and speak with me. The offer remains open.

Mark E. Puetz, MBA
Director of Risk Management and Professional Standards
Critical Intervention Services
1261 South Missouri Avenue
Clearwater, FL 33756
727-461-9417
Fax: 727-449-1269
www.cisworldservices.org
www.safetampabay.com

Still this guy insists on calling me "Ms" and still cannot discuss my incident in an email.. "refrain from insulting us or our professionalism" - yeah, right. Loser.

Next time these people try and pull some more BS with me over sitting outside my apartment smoking, I'll be calling the law.

Wonder how much fun being charged with harassment and/or impersonating a police officer is?