Nurse suing private security companies after CTA fare jumper knocked her down at 95th Street Red Line terminal
A 61-year-old Chicago nurse has filed a lawsuit against two private security companies, after she said she was seriously hurt by a fare dodger at a CTA station on her way to work last year.
Surveillance video shows the nurse on her bike approaching accessible fare gate at the 95th Street terminal on the Red Line last summer. Seconds later, as a man tried to walk through the gate without paying, she started to close the gate and he forced it open, knocking her to the ground.
"He bullrushes her, knocks her to the ground, breaks her leg," said the nurse's attorney, Ken Hoffman.
Now, the nurse is suing Action K-9 Security Inc. and First American Security Inc. Hoffman claims the two private security companies contracted by the CTA to deter fare evasion and monitor station entrances failed to do their jobs.
"What the video shows is four people not paying attention, not doing their job," he said. "To think we're paying a private security close to $50 million to not do their job was really disappointing."
In a court filing, attorneys for the security companies accused the injured nurse of assault and battery when she tried closing the gate on the fare evader, writing that she "took the law into her own hands in attempting to physically prevent entry onto the CTA by the tailgating assailant in contravention of her own safety."
Emails provided to CBS News Chicago showed the nurse warned the CTA years ago of the dangers gate jumpers posed to paying customers.
"Chicagoans should be upset. I just want the private security companies to do their job they're being paid to do," Hoffman said.
The CTA was originally named as a defendant in the complaint but was later dismissed under statutory immunity. The fare dodger from the video has not been identified.
A spokesperson for Action K-9 said the company denies the allegations against them:
"While we do not comment on pending litigation, we categorically deny the allegations and provide that the allegations being reported do not accurately represent all of the facts. We have denied the allegations, continue to do so and will defend the allegations in court. Every day, millions of citizens travel safely through the City of Chicago, in large part due to the security we provide."
