This story has been updated with comment from the City of Bloomington.
A private security guard pleaded not guilty this month for battery with a deadly weapon after he allegedly struck a homeless man in the head with a baton.
Randall DeBoer’s employer, MSI Security, contracts with the City of Bloomington.
Company president Jeff Nesbitt said DeBoer had been with MSI for three weeks and wasn’t authorized to carry any weapon other than pepper spray on the job.
“He signed paperwork stating that he knew it was an unarmed position and what he was allowed to carry,” Nesbitt said. “Anything outside what he’s allowed to has to be approved through the company, which obviously didn’t take place.”
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City spokesperson Desiree DeMolina said in an emailed statement that Bloomington contracts with MSI to monitor public parks, and “the conduct described in the charging documents and surveillance footage is deeply concerning and represents behavior that is outside the scope of the City’s expectations.”
According to court documents, DeBoer appears on video approaching the victim who was sitting on a bench in People’s Park at 1:23 a.m. on Sept. 27. The man stood up and slowly walked toward DeBoer who drew his baton and struck him on the cheekbone, sending him backward, and then hitting him on the temple.
The homeless man then punched or shoved him on the arm, at which point DeBoer flagged down a nearby police officer. He told him the man approached him aggressively but never threatened him.
An officer reviewing the footage wrote that the victim didn’t present enough threat to justify DeBoer’s second strike. He was charged on Oct. 1.
His jury trial is scheduled for January 2026.
