Assaults on Oregon Mental Health Workers Rise

In Oregon, the workers at the state-run mental health facilities for criminals are concerned about their safety. At the Oregon State Hospital, 208 injuries were recorded through October, up from 185 in 2003. The reason is mostly due from assaults from clients. One issue that is commonly raised by employees is that the patients are not charged for their crimes unless they are of the most serious felony assaults, causing severe injury. All others are handled through the hospital’s administration and not the judicial system. Additionally, while it is a crime for inmates to throw bodily fluids on corrections officers, this same behavior is not considered to be criminal if committed against a hospital worker. In 2 recent cases whereas an employee was seriously injured after being struck with a toilet seat and after a nurse was beaten by an inmate, new security measures have been put in place such as video surveillance. However, more staff, less crowding of inmates and other precautions are requested by the union of hospital workers.

Israeli Teacher Killed by Husband in Front of Students

On December 29, Sammy Gizawi was released from jail after he was arrested for the murder of his wife two weeks earlier on December 14th. He was conspiring with his brother who shot her. She was parking her car as she arrived at the school where worked as a kindergarten teacher when the assault occurred. She was shot 5 times and was rushed to the hospital where she later died. Her brother, who was also charged and still being held in detention, then fled the scene. Several children, also arriving at the school witnessed the crime. It alleged that the murder was an “honor-killing”, due to an alleged affair she was having.

Man kills co-worker in Minnesota

Douglas J. Saunders allegedly entered Fast Distributing Inc. of Mountain Lake, MN about 7:30 a.m. on December 17th and shot co-worker Howard O. Hockel with a shotgun. Hockel died on the scene while Saunders was arrested after a brief chase by authorities. Investigators are not considering the shooting a workplace crime because the two men had previous contacts with each other and that the incident stemmed from a non-work related issue.

Two Incidents- Similar Situation: Elderly Women Killed by Blow to Head

Earlier, just after Thanksgiving, we brought you two similar cases of women killed at work by their husbands. Again, we find a pair of cases that are oddly common. In two separate incidents, separated by thousands of miles, two elderly women were found dead in the small businesses that they owned. Both were killed by blunt force trauma to the head. Carrie Billeaud was killed in New Iberia, LA on December 13th at her store, Glenn Billeaud Pump and Water Well Service. There are yet to be any suspects. Mary Ann Clibbery, 69, was killed a week later on the 21st inside Al Zullo's Remodeling Specialists in Loves Park, IL. Clibbery death has been attributed to her business partner, George Hansen.

Report on Workplace Violence in Wakefield, Mass.

On December 26th, 2000, Michael McDermott, an engineer at the Edgewater Technology murdered 7 co-workers in Wakefield, Massachusetts. In response, the State’s Public Safety Department developed a range of studies and reports, one of the latest being a report developed by the Wakefield Police Department and the Northeastern University. This 2004 study of focus groups and employee surveys provided information on the prevalence of workplace violence, various perceptions of the problem and proposed solutions.
Among the finding, overtly threatening behavior was the most commonly cited form of workplace violence behavior. While robberies were noted as the most frequent type, verbal threats came in second. Females tended to be more aware of how domestic violence is a serious risk to the workplace and appeared to have more concerns about violence exhibited at work in general. Although managers and employees indicated that they experience the same rate of violence, managers were less concerned about the issue compared to their employees. This was especially true in the high-tech industries. Most of those who had experienced some form of workplace violence did not make a report because they believed that it was not important enough. In terms of police support, almost half wanted bulletins regarding local crimes, especially near their businesses and about a third wanted increased patrolling during certain times of the day.

The full report is available from the Wakefield Police Department at http://www.wakefieldpd.org/Pages/WakefieldPD_WebDocs/Articles/workplace_violence.pdf

Please contact jlee@peaceatwork.org if you have trouble opening the page. You will need Acrobatic Reader as it is a .pdf file.

UPS Worker in Sioux City, Iowa Stabs Co-Worker

Drew S. Johnson, 18, stabbed co-worker Terry Ogden, 26 after the two men argued about the rough handling of packages at the UPS distribution center where they worked. They agreed to “settle the matter” across the street when their shift was over. The stabbing occurred around 8:45 p.m on December 9th. Ogden survived after being treated; Johnson has been charged with the assault.

Teacher Murdered by Husband at Canadian School

Nearly two thousand students were locked down at their school for several hours after an ESL teacher, Aysegul Candir, was shot by her husband in the parking lot. Police have charged her 62 year-old husband, Erhun Candir for the murder which took place December 10th in Mississuaga, Ontario.
According to friends, Candir had suffered for years of abuse and had waited till her husband had left the country on a vacation to their native Turkey before leaving him. Afterward, she was reportedly anxious that he was stalking the school where she had worked.
The husband, a flight instructor for Air Canada, was reported by witnesses to simply walk away after the shooting and drive slowly from the crime scene. He was later arrested at their home without incident.

The Benevolent Society Urges Businesses to Address Domestic Violence

The Benevolent Society of Australia has made a public announcement urging businesses to address domestic violence in the workplace. In this new campaign launched to create awareness among employers, they provide some startling statistics regarding the impact of abuse on the business economy.
From The Office for the Status of Women report released in July 2004, the total annual cost of domestic violence in Australia in 2002-03 was estimated to be $8 billion ($6,035,618,633 US Dollars). Employers paid for around 70% of the work hours lost by staff affected by domestic violence. The total cost of abuse-related absenteeism that year amounted to $280 million ($211,212,529 US Dollars). On top of that, over 250,000 working hours were lost due to staff affected by domestic violence running late for work, or leaving early - and that amounted to a cost of $5.5 million ($4,148,817 US Dollars). An extraordinary 30% of those dealing with domestic violence at home are also harassed by their controlling partners at work, equating to a further 61,000 working days lost to business - valued at $8.3 million ($6,265,387 US Dollars). Currency rates based on conversions made on 12/14/04 at xe.com.
For more information on The Benevolent Society’s effort, please visit http://www.bensoc.asn.au/donations/dv_appeal_04.html

Security Shield Drops Assault Rate on Taxi-Cab Drivers

One security implementation has demonstrated a dramatic effect on the safety of taxi-cab drivers in Baltimore. Apparently due to a mandatory shield regulation which went into effect in August of 1996, the number of assaults and robberies against drivers went down 62% from the first six months of 1997 compared to the same time the previous year. The most astounding finding is that sedan services, that were not required to place a shield between the passenger and driver sections, had a leap of a 1100% increase in the number of crimes during the same time period. During the 1997, there were two murders of taxi-cab drivers however one of which occurred while the shield was in the down, retracted position.
These statistics were just released by Baltimore Police Department and clearly demonstrate the benefit of simple technology to preserve the safety of taxi-cab drivers, the most dangerous profession in the nation.

NC Supreme Court case on whether an employee can be fired for being a victim

A landmark case was tried on December 7th in the North Carolina Supreme Court as to whether employers can fire a victim of domestic violence simply because of their status as victims. James Edwards Imes was a bus driver with the city of Asheville when he was fired after his wife had shot him in the stomach in 2001. Though Imes passed away earlier this year due to an unrelated illness, the issue is still a vital concern to many employment rights and victim advocates. 29 agencies and organizations from across the state and nation signed onto an amicus brief in support of the case.
The heart of the issue is the “at- will” doctrine that allows employers to hire and fire at their discretion. Aside from discrimination issues, this flexibility is argued to be the right of employers to run their business according to their judgement. However, the plaintiff and the supporting groups argue that it is contrary to the recent efforts made by the State to offer support and protection to victims at work and thereby a violation of public policy.
Decision is pending with a result expected in the coming weeks. Stay tuned.

North Carolina man displays firearm at former workplace

Israel Yarbrough, 39, of Rocky Mount, allegedly came through a back door into the Newbold Corperation factory where he was fired from the day before. It is just before 7:45 p.m. on December 7th when he brandished a long arm, rifle or shotgun, from under his coat. About a dozen employees fled with no one being injured. When authorities arrived, he had already fled. He was later arrested at the home of a relative.

South African woman killed at work by husband

Tragically similar to the murder-suicide in Chapel Hill NC, a Pretoria woman named Dikeledi Onica Nkatingi, was murdered by her husband, Vicki. At almost the same time, 7:30 am on Novermber 29th, she went to her car with the assailant to retrieve some personal items of his when he shot her three times with a 9 mm handgun, once in the hand and twice in the chest. Just as the North Carolina case, the assault occurred in the parking lot of the place where she worked as a receptionist for an arms manufacturing plant. The husband, a security guard, fled the scene in her vehicle but turned himself in to the authorities soon thereafter.
She too had obtained a restraining order which proved to be useless. Allegations that Nkatingi had help from police friends, releasing him from jail, threatening the victim's family and offering him a firearm, are being investigated. The police officer suspected of providing this support is currently being sought by authorities.

Local UK government asked employers to support domestic violence victims at work

The Devon and Cornwall Criminal Justice Board in the United Kingdom has written letters to 150 largest employers this week encouraging them to develop a domestic violence policy. As domestic abuse is recognized as a primary source of the total crime and violence statistics in their communities, companies are asked to pledge support for their employees who may be victims of domestic violence and to introduce protection measures in the workplace.

Australia tallies the cost of Domestic Violence to businesses

On November 29th, the Victorian Government in Australia released a report on the economic impact of domestic violence to businesses. An average annual of $1.5 billion (estimated at $1,136,625,000 in US dollars) is lost due to productivity, absenteeism and indirect costs. The abuse makes its impact on job performance including poor concentration, depression, stress and anxiety. An estimated $1 billion was lost to business and corporations through their tax share of services needed to deal with family violence, including hospital admissions, counseling and support services.

Chapel Hill, NC Woman killed outside of her office

Shennel McKendall was murdered as she returned to work from a long Thanksgiving weekend. On November 29th, as she walked with co-workers to the entrance of her building at the UNC Hospital administrative offices, she was confronted by her husband, Randy McKendall. He used a handgun to shoot her and then he killed himself. The incident was even more tragic as the victim had tried to seek protection by obtaining a restraining order earlier in the month. In this short period of time, he violated that order twice and attempted suicide by drug overdose. Despite these clear warning signals of lethality, he was released on bail, obtained a weapon he denied owning and committed the atrocity.
This incident occured just a few hundred yards from the Friday Center where a landmark conference on domestic violence in the workplace occured a little more than a year ago.

Woman murdered by man she tried to divorce

In Australia, a 61 year old woman, Carol Schaer, was killed in the department store where she had worked since 1997. On the morning of November 17th, her husband, Simon Schear, 69, shot her multiple times and she later died after being rushed to the hospital.
The murder occurred the day after the divorce papers were delivered to him, four days earlier than when she had anticipated. She had planned to take work off and not be in town the day she expected her former husband to be served the papers. She was to go on a short vacation with her new partner whom she had lived with for the past 6 years and whom she had planned to marry this January. It is unknown why the divorce papers were served earlier than anticipated.
Schaer was charged with murder and will face trial early next year. Just hours prior to the shooting, he had left his two rottweilers in the care of a former student, telling her that he was going on holidays.

Wal-Mart repeatedly evacuted due to bomb threats by ex-employee

A former Wal-Mart employee made two bomb threats to a store in Marysville, Washington the week before Thanksgiving.
Wesley Gene Dorris, 29, was arrested at his new place of employment after the phone calls were traced. During the same time period, another call was placed by a 15-year-old boy who made similar threats against the same store.
While no bombs were ever found, managers estimated the loss of about $500,000 in retail sales as the store was evacuated and closed for several hours.
During the investigation, Dorris stated that he made the fake bomb threats as he believed that he was unjustly fired.

Random assault on Florida Radio Shack kills two people

On the evening of November 18th, Justin Cudar entered the electronics store and opened fire, using a 9mm Glock that he had purchased just weeks before. Both a customer and a store clerk died at the retail shop located in St. Petersburg and another employee was critically wounded. Cudar, 25, a psychology major at the University of South Florida, had no apparent relationship with anyone at the store nor was he trying to commit a robbery. Cudar was being investigated for a road-rage incident that occurred earlier in the day. He allegedly threw a steering-wheel lock at another vehicle, smashing the windshield. His mother was quoted as stating that he had anger management issues. This is a unique case of workplace violence that only fits in the Type 1 category. However, the motive was robbery or sexual assault as is the case with most incidents of this class.