CHARLOTTE — A confrontation between security guards and a man at Steele Creek’s Berewick Town Center on Saturday night has raised questions about the authority and conduct of private security personnel in North Carolina.
The incident occurred when the man, who wished to remain anonymous, was heading to the Harris Teeter and encountered two security guards.
He recorded part of the altercation, during which he felt threatened by the guards, who allegedly chased him and refused to identify themselves.
“They were threatening to me, without any kind of reason,” the man said, expressing his fear during the incident.
Former CMPD officer and private security expert Lee Ratliff reviewed the video and noted, “The security officer authority is no different from a private citizen.”
According to North Carolina law, security officers are required to identify themselves and can only detain individuals if they have probable cause to believe a crime has been committed.
They must then immediately turn the person over to law enforcement.
Pappas Properties, which owns Berewick Town Center, stated they expect Excalibur Security personnel to be professional and courteous, though they must be firm with individuals not on the property for business.
The man involved in the incident is seeking to file charges of communicating threats against the security guards, highlighting ongoing concerns about the balance between security measures and public safety.
Ratliff encourages any citizen who has a complaint about a security guard to reach out to the North Carolina Private Protective Services Board.
A representative with Harris Teeter told Channel 9, “The individuals in this video were not hired by Harris Teeter and have no association with our company.”
Excalibur Security Team sent the following to Channel 9:
“After conducting an internal investigation into the incident that occurred on February 22, 2025, it was concluded that our officer was finishing a patrol on Berwick Towne Center when he noticed a group a vehicle arriving in the Harris Teeter parking lot. At that time, he parked his vehicle in a position to see the entire parking lot to observe the situation. Once he noticed more cars arriving and realizing that this was a “street takeover” event he called for a second unit and called for CMPD assistance. Once the second unit arrived, both officers went into the Harris Teeter to confirm that this was not an authorized event. Harris Teeter manager advised them it was not, and they needed to leave. At that point the two officers went into the parking lot and started telling everyone they needed to leave. At that point more vehicles were still arriving and people started to gather around their cars in groups. At one point in body camera video, you can see an interaction between one officer and a group of individuals. During the interaction the group started to surround the officer, which prompted the second officer to run over to make sure the officer was safe. We agree that this interaction could have been handled differently, and we are taking internal steps to ensure that this type of interaction does not happen again. When both officers were talking with CMPD, you can hear them talk about this interaction and they acknowledge that the conversation got heated so they decided to walk away and clear out the other side so everyone could calm down and leave.”
VIDEO: Man’s death after fight with transit center security guards deemed justified
©2025 Cox Media Group
