In a story that might have ended in tragedy, a single security guard changed the narrative—and possibly saved lives.
Earlier this week, James Michael Flynn walked into the Vero Beach Emergency Room in Florida seeking treatment for a sore leg. What unfolded next made headlines. Flynn, carrying tools in his backpack that could be used as weapons, was denied entry by a sharp-eyed security guard. The guard, a former police officer, noticed the tools and intervened before things escalated. Flynn is now in the Indian River County Jail, charged with battery on an officer.
It’s easy to scroll past stories like this. Another headline, another “incident.” But this one deserves a closer look—not just because of what happened, but because of what didn’t happen.
My name is Jeff Ketelaars, and I’m the founder of Security Guards Only, an online resource hub for professional security guards. With over two decades of experience in the security and public safety industries, I’ve worked with companies, training providers, and private clients to raise the bar on what it means to be a professional security guard in today’s world.
What happened at Vero Beach is a clear example of why training matters. This particular guard’s law enforcement background played a crucial role in how he handled the situation, but not every facility is fortunate enough to have an ex-police officer on shift. In fact, most aren’t.
This incident stands in contrast to a much darker one just weeks earlier at Palms West Hospital in Loxahatchee—another HCA-owned facility—where a Baker Act patient, Stephen Eric Scantlebury, nearly killed nurse Leela Lal in a brutal and senseless attack. That incident sparked national outrage over hospital safety, eventually prompting HCA to assign a sheriff’s deputy to guard the facility.
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Sign Up TodayYet when asked whether similar measures would be implemented at Vero Beach ER, HCA’s response—according to ABC News WPBF—was this:
“HCA Florida Vero Beach Emergency has policies, processes, and protocols in place to maintain a safe environment. We are thankful that our security guard was not injured during the incident, and we are assisting local law enforcement with their investigation.”
Policies and protocols don’t stop violence. People do. Trained, alert, and respected professionals.
Security guards now outnumber police officers in nearly every jurisdiction in North America and across the Western world. And yet, they often work with far fewer tools, less authority, and virtually no public recognition. In many places, guards are paid barely above minimum wage and offered just enough training to meet the legal minimum. That needs to change.
I’ve been blogging for years about how police training facilities—funded by taxpayer dollars—often sit empty between graduating classes of recruits. Meanwhile, the private security sector continues to grow, with no clear pipeline for guards to access scenario-based, advanced training unless they pay out of pocket.
We already have the infrastructure. We have private training companies—some of which already train police in tactical awareness, de-escalation, and emergency response. So why not expand that access to professional guards, especially those assigned to hospitals, mental health facilities, and other high-risk environments?
It’s time to stop treating incidents like Vero Beach as flukes or lucky breaks. They are proof that training saves lives.
How many patients that day looked at that guard and saw a retiree? A “rent-a-cop”? How many staff passed him without a second thought? This story has a fortunate ending for everyone except James Flynn. But without that guard’s quick thinking and professional training, the outcome could have been far worse.
This is a call for legislative change. For public awareness. For a cultural shift in how we view the Security Guards who are first on the scene—before the paramedics, before the police, before the headlines.
Security guards are the unsung, invisible heroes of our daily lives. Let’s stop overlooking them. Let’s start empowering them.
