Mpls. Security Company Fired From Super Bowl Job
MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- A private security company hired to keep people safe in downtown Minneapolis for Super Bowl events has been fired.
WCCO-TV has learned EPG Security of Minneapolis provided security for Super Bowl LIVE on Nicollet Mall.
But sources tell us that contract came to an end after there was a failure to disclose that at least one of EPG's workers had a felony record.
Last month, EPG announced online it would be working for large-scale winter events, including Red Bull Crashed Ice and Super Bowl LIVE. But that webpage has since been removed.
WCCO stopped by EPG's Minneapolis headquarters Friday, where their owner Erik Bergling told us he has no comment.
EPG later released this statement: "Due to the nature of our work, and the security services we provide, we are not at liberty to comment on changing security strategies and assignments."
The private security company has been in business since 2007.
Kellie McElroy Hooper is law enforcement dean at Hennepin Technical College, and a former police officer.
"Each organization has a different way of backgrounding," McElroy Hooper said.
She said it's on security agencies to be as thorough as possible when it comes to hiring.
"Some people are just going to basically do the database check on you and call it a day," she said. "So it depends on what their due diligence is and what level of liability they are really willing to risk, I guess."
This is not the first incident involving employees working Super Bowl events. On Thursday, 33-year-old Justin Beard was arrested for trying to hire two teenagers for sex. He had responded to an ad placed by a sex-trafficking task force.
The Super Bowl Host Committee would not disclose any details of the contract with EPG, only saying in their own statement: "Safety and security is and always has been our top priority. We don't comment on the security measures in place except to say that all efforts are part of an integrated, multi-layered partnership with all levels of law enforcement. We are confident that the security measures in place are appropriate and effective."
This news comes months after Monterrey Security, the primary security agency for U.S. Bank Stadium, also lost their contract.
An investigation showed that Monterrey did not properly train their employees and had inadequate background checks.