MIAMI – “Get the [expletive] out of here!” one man yells. “You’re [expletive] up!” the other man yells back.
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An on-duty security guard, contracted to provide security for a Miami high rise, was forced off the property by the condo's board president. |
“I saw him pointing at
the car, and everything, so I got out to see what his
concern was,” recalled Bruton. Bruton said the man wanted to
know what he was doing, and began cursing and telling him he
was supposed to be doing his job.
“I said, legally, I’m allowed to have a lunch.”
Bruton said, before things escalated, he calmed down, and
got back into his security vehicle, and closed the door.
But, he said the man was not done.
“He comes to the passenger side and snatches the door open,”
Bruton said.
All hell broke loose.
“You are not authorized to be here anymore,” yells the
mystery man.
Bruton tells the man, he’s crazy. He said, at the time, he
didn’t know who the man was, nor did he care. The two get
into a shouting match. Witnesses whip out their cell phones.
Bruton later learned the man he was arguing with was
president of the Blue on the Bay condo board, Ben Dvir. Dvir
would ultimately call the police, claiming he felt
threatened by the guard.
“Look at this racist [expletive],” Bruton said, making sure
to record the exchange in his own cell phone. “He’s racist
as [expletive], Bro.”
“I’m racist?” Dvir asked the guard. “I’m more Black than
you,” responded Dvir. Dvir is not Black.
Police arrived and their body cameras were rolling as Dvir
made clear that he wanted the guard removed from the
property.
A couple of witnesses wanted police to know the guard did
nothing wrong and that Dvir should have handled the
situation differently.
“This is not the first security guard he’s tried kicking
out,” one man said.
“He’s a [expletive] to everybody,” a woman was told police,
referencing Dvir.
Bruton said police later approached him to say they’d
verified Dvir’s position as board president, and asked
Bruton to leave. “I said, ok, no problem, and I left.”
Bruton’s boss and owner of the security company said he
stands behind any employee who has been mistreated. Rolando
Palma lost the contract with Blue on the Bay following the
incident. He also said this wasn’t the first time Dvir had a
problem with one of his guards.
“He’s made references, before, [to] people of color,” Palma
said.
Palma said it is the first time an incident was caught on
camera. Palma is now planning to take legal action.
Alessandra Stivelman does not represent Blue on the Bay, but
she is an attorney who is board certified in condo law.
“You’re representing the interest of your entire community
and you have an obligation to ensure that it’s properly
represented,” she said. If not, board members can expose an
entire association to liability in the form of
discrimination complains, civil suits, and breaches of
fiduciary duty.
“No one wants to deal with that because it only ends up
getting paid by the owners – they’re the ones that suffer as
a result of having a board that doesn’t know proper
protocol,” Stivelman said. “Just because you’re a board
member, doesn’t mean you can take unilateral actions – that
you can fire people, or tell people what to do. There are
certain procedures that need to be followed.”
She said this is an issue that should have been handled by
Blue on the Bay’s property manager.
When Local 10 reached out for a response, we were told, “no
comment.”
We were able to catch up with Dvir outside of the building,
and tried to get his take on things.
He was getting into his car, and wanted to call his
attorney, first.
He rolled up the window, and appeared to make a call. He
also produced another cell phone and appeared to record the
Local 10 crew as they waited. Seconds later, Dvir put the
car into gear, and drove away, bumping reporter, Layron
Livingston with his side mirror as he took off.