Austin security guard speaks out after being attacked on the job

AUSTIN, Texas - A security guard is speaking out after he was attacked on the job in East Austin by two young men he believes were trying to steal his car.

Around 9:30 p.m. on Monday, June 24, Percy Payne was working his shift at an office building on East 6th and Brushy Streets, when he spotted on surveillance video two males, who he believed to be between 17 and 20 years old, going inside the private underground garage. The door was apparently stuck open.

"I witnessed two young Hispanic males on two electric scooters," said Payne.

He went downstairs to check it out, and says he saw the teens messing with his personal car.

"One individual was at my driver's door with his back to me, looking back. The other individual was at my passenger door facing me, being a lookout."  

The suspects saw him and ran off. Payne chased after them, and says he tried to detain them until someone could call the police. Then, things got physical.

"A young individual tried to run me over with his scooter multiple times. And then that's when they started to assault," said Payne.

Payne says he noticed a screwdriver in one of his pockets.

"I heard the individual say, ‘hold him’. And that's when he went for the screwdriver to try to stab me. I let them go and immediately went to get my work phone to call 911," said Payne.

Payne told the dispatcher he wasn’t hurt badly enough to require EMS, but needed an officer to respond because of what happened to him.

"Even though I told her I had been assaulted, she told me ‘we will not be sending police officers out there because they did not steal your car’. And that is when I hung up," said Payne.

He called 911 again a few minutes later.

"I got a different operator. I told her the situation. She apologized," said Payne.

About an hour later, an officer did arrive, who Payne says was very helpful. The attack is now being investigated as an aggravated assault.

"The officer told me that that call should have been an emergency case," said Payne.

A spokesperson for Austin police told FOX 7 Wednesday night they listened to both 911 calls and "it sounds like it was handled correctly and within policy."

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In a statement, APD said an officer did not respond the first time because the call did not meet certain criteria:

• The suspect(s) need to be on scene or their location known. The suspects were no longer on scene in this case.
• Medical Attention needed – When asked, the caller stated that he was fine, did not need EMS, and just wanted to file a report.
• Vehicle Stolen - No vehicle was stolen in this incident, so we would not respond to an attempted car break-in or a stolen vehicle attempt.

During FOX 7’s interview with Payne, his supervisor with Priebe Security walked up and asked him to stop speaking with us while on the job, stating there was a policy against doing interviews while in uniform.

An argument ensued, which escalated, and Payne made the decision to quit.

The argument continued. Payne asked the supervisor if she believed the attack was his fault. She responded: "I would say yes. Every bit of it."

"The fact that my supervisor basically told me it was my fault, that I got assaulted. That let me know all that I needed to know," said Payne.

FOX 7 spoke with a rep for Priebe Security via phone Wednesday night, who said: "We’re in the process of gathering details. We have been made aware of it and are looking into the situation."