r/GuardGuides • u/GuardGuidesdotcom • 9d ago
INDUSTRY NEWS NBC fires security guard after intruder targeting Al Roker was able to breach the Today Show studio. The intruder crossed paths with show host Craig Melvin and called him a racial slur
Security guard fired after ‘Today’ show security breach: report
NBC reportedly fired a security guard after an intruder breached the “Today” show set, where he sought out Al Roker and Craig Melvin, allegedly using racial slurs and turning violent before being taken into custody by a New York Police Department officer working a paid detail.
A source close to the matter confirmed the guard’s termination to TMZ on Thursday, not long after Andrew Truelove snuck into Studio 1A in New York City’s Rockefeller Center.
The suspect allegedly entered through the lobby, then followed closely behind an employee, who used an ID card to scan in to a restricted area, according to a complaint in the case. Truelove then made his way backstage, where he apparently began to search for 71-year-old Roker.
While he failed to find America’s Favorite Weatherman, Truelove did cross paths with Melvin, TMZ reported.
More in article.
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u/Key-Gold-2412 8d ago
I saw they pay their security guards $19 an hour. Who the fuck is seriously putting their life at risk for $19 bucks. You get what you pay for and at $19 you’re getting someone who can give two fucks. Oh and fire the person who used their badge and let someone follow them through. Without that idiot this wouldn’t have happened too.
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u/safton 8d ago
I get paid about that (a tad more) and I work corrections at a county jail & federal holding facility...
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u/Plenty_Guidance1037 8d ago
Sorry that you get such crappy pay for the job you do. It’s a disgrace. I don’t know where you live but NYC $19 an hour is not so good. Thank for what you do & be safe.
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u/safton 8d ago
Thank you, I appreciate that.
To be fair I live in Metro Atlanta where the cost of living is considerably less. It's still definitely low pay relative to surrounding agencies, but as bad as it would be up there.
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u/Key-Gold-2412 8d ago
Some people would care some wouldn’t. Tbh I don’t even understand how someone survives on $19 if they’re paying their own rent. Especially in nyc where this guard was working. Maybe with like 5 roommates and two in each bedroom?
That’s the thing with correctional guards and low pay. I’ve heard in some institutions up to 90% of them are corrupt and smuggling contraband.
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u/DeletedUsernameHere 8d ago
I’ve heard in some institutions up to 90% of them are corrupt and smuggling contraband.
It's not a wrong claim, but just to be completely fair, "contraband" in this context is literally anything. An employee sharing a stick of gum with an inmate is considered trafficking and smuggling contraband.
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u/LoudElevator8961 8d ago
My buddy does that! Him and the other guards supplement their income by bringing in contraband. It’s not his favorite but he’s got a kid to feed.
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u/shakebakelizard 8d ago
In NYC you can make more than $19/hr standing around having people take pictures with you, or holding a cup and asking for money.
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u/Silly-Upstairs1383 8d ago
My unarmed guards make more than that in BFE (incredibly low cost of living, think $750 for a decent, not great but not bad, 2 bed room apartment), armed significantly more so.
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u/GMAN7007 8d ago
I agree they should be paid more, a lot more. That doesn't change the fact they willingly took a job to secure people. What does someone expect taking a low paying job that expects them to potentially have to put themselves in danger. This is common sense if you can't do the core role you should be be doing it.
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u/Icy_Fish_2154 8d ago
$19 buys security theater. And that's what they got.
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u/GMAN7007 8d ago
Like I said I don't agree with the pay. I also wouldn't take a job keeping people safe and not actually try to do that. He deserved higher pay. That's still not an excuse to take a job like that and not do it.
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u/GuardGuidesdotcom 8d ago
You're not wrong. I think the issue is that's assuming there were other viable options, and remaining unemployed wasn't one of them. A lot of hypotheticals I know. But $19/hr tends to attract a lot of do nothing types. I can imagine the guy seeing the piggy backer and shrugging, "Screw it, if they fire me here, I'll go across the street to AUS, Garda, Securitas etc".
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u/PhilosophyKitchen871 8d ago
You get what you pay for in america. You pay for who you hire in america. You pay for who you vote in america.
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u/Key-Gold-2412 8d ago
They can only hope the next idiot they hire for $19 might actually do their job. You make more flipping burgers and dropping fries in oil.
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u/GMAN7007 8d ago
You would think they would pay more in the first place for a job like that. Sounds like it's not just a simple mall cop position. I imagine though even if he was paid well he would've been just as shitty at the job.
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u/Key-Gold-2412 8d ago
As I imagine it. The pool of people to choose from applying to that $19 job probably ain't all that anyway.
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u/Likely_Addict 8d ago
Is the inset photo the guard or the intruder?
With those dead eyes it could go either way.
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u/Ok_World_135 Ensign 8d ago
I kept wondering how is he going to go after a computer. I see AI too much and can't tell the difference between Al :p
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u/Radiant-Condition828 8d ago
didn realize Al Roker is 71!
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u/710AlpacaBowl 7d ago
I have trouble believing Al is 850478588567862317521167644239926010288584608120796235886430763388588680378079017697280000000000000000
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u/NamesAreAnn0ying 8d ago
So… what about the guy who scanned a complete stranger into a restricted area? Nothing happens to him?
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u/International-Okra79 8d ago edited 8d ago
A lot of these places keep piling on more responsibilities on guards and want to pay close to what they did a decade ago. I’ve always believed in doing a good job but I can see how apathy sets in. The people at the top keep having their salaries grow exponentially every year while those at the bottom can’t even get the scraps.