Part one of CNN’s special investigative report “Hired Guns” premiers tonight at 8 pm ET during Anderson Cooper 360. The two-part series will conclude tomorrow night, also during AC360. The special report is the result of a yearlong investigation by CNN and The Center for Investigative Reporting (CIR) that found armed security guards are often a threat to public safety due to a combination of lax laws, minimal oversight and a lack of accountability.
During tonight’s special, CNN’s Drew Griffin investigates the case of an armed guard with a history of alcohol abuse who is charged with murder in the shooting death outside a Miami nightclub.
“Amid all the discussion on the use of excessive force concerning our trained and sworn officers of the law, I think the average person will be stunned at the absolute lack of training that it takes to carry a gun as an armed guard in this country,” Griffin told TVNewser in an exclusive interview. “In one state you can simply become an armed guard by putting on a uniform, buying a badge and a gun and calling yourself one”
Griffin went on to tell TVNewser, “Time after time, we have found armed security guards who should have never been put in the positions they were in. And when an event ensued, crisis followed.”