A Portland man says he was unfairly profiled in his downtown apartment building lobby by a security guard who demanded proof that he lived there.
Pedro Oliveira said he was relaxing in the Southpark Square Apartments lobby on June 4, where he has lived for nearly seven years, when an armed security guard requested he present ID to prove he lived in the building.
Neighbors even stood up for him, a video taken by Oliveira shows, confirming Oliveira was a resident. Still, the guard was persistent.
Oliveira said he frequently sits in his lobby and has seen the security guard multiple times before. He said because he was only a floor below his apartment, he did not have anything the guard requested from him.
“My point is, if a Caucasian person was sitting in the lobby, would he still proceed the same way? Would he talk the way he talked?” Oliveira said. “I am certain that I was profiled. I’m a brown kid.”
He estimates the exchange was less than 10 minutes long. The guard eventually left him alone, he said.
Oliveira recorded the confrontation and shared it on his Facebook page. In the video, Oliveira asks for written proof of the policy that allows security guards to check for residency beyond the apartment’s pool deck.
“Why did you stop me in the first place?” Oliveira asked the guard in the video.
“Just because you’re hanging out in the lobby. We’ve had a lot of people coming in here and trying to steal things, trying to sleep. All we want to do is make sure this is a safe place for all you guys,” the officer replied.
The guard did not request ID or address verification from Oliveira’s neighbors, according to the video, embedded below. (Warning: Video contains graphic language.)
The guard was contracted through Vancouver-based Arcadia Security & Patrol, according to KATU News. Pinnacle Properties, which manages the apartment building, said it has since terminated the contract because “it is against our policy to have an armed private security officer at our property for any reason,” according to KATU News.
“Upon learning about this situation from our resident, we immediately began conducting an investigation into the matter,” representatives for Southpark Square Apartments said in a statement to The Oregonian/OregonLive. “The safety of all of our residents is of the upmost importance to us and remains our top priority.”
Property officials declined to comment on its relationship with the security agency and its building policies. Arcadia Security & Patrol did not respond to a request for comment.
Oliveira said he’s not interested in suing anyone. He only wants to bring awareness to the issue and have the parties involved change their practices.
“Please be more prepared when you have a person who carries a gun and can escalate the situation,” he said. “I can see how things can get out of hand. When somebody has a gun and the situation is stressful, it’s really hard to remain calm.”
-- McKenna Ross
503-221-5776; @mckenna_ross_
Visit subscription.oregonlive.com/newsletters to get Oregonian/OregonLive journalism delivered to your email inbox.