Section A · Page 6
The University Daily Kansan
Thursday, December 2, 1999
Imposing security force makes an impression
Continued from page 1A
getting everybody else not to take on the same tone."
Spain said that Mil Spec guards did not have arrest power in Kansas, but they did have the right to detain and press charges against individuals who have committed a crime on a client's property.
"If there has definitely been a crime like a felony, where charges are going to be pressed, then we'll go ahead and handcuff
Although Spain cited incidents where Mil Spec had assisted the Lawrence Police Department, Sgt. George Wheeler, a representative of the police department, said, "Basically, we don't have much of a relationship, except
them and wait for the police" Spain said.
Keeping the Peace
that they call the police when they find something that needs our presence," he said. "Mil Spec is a private security agency, and our function is to simply license those folks — just like we license door-to-door salesmen."
aspect about Mil Spec was not their size or empty threats, but the 9mm pistols they carry.
Sean Mongey, St. Louis sophomore, said that he had seen the aggressive nature of Mil Spec guards.
"I understand they have a job to do." Mongey said. "But sometimes they go beyond what is necessary. I've seen them intimidate people by threatening to throw them off the third floor balcony of Jefferson Commons."
Marrs said it was usually the resident who was at fault and that alcohol blurred their image of reality.
"We like to start new guys off on the floor at nightclubs. It really tells us a lot about them."
"You have to take what the ignorant masses have to say with a grain of salt," he said. "Their stories are always that they were reading the Bible, and we came up and picked on them. If you talk to an apartment manager that has been around for a while, they will tell you that most tenants are full of shit."
Sgt. Wheeler said that a person needed to be 21 years old and qualify on the law enforcement range to be licensed to carry a firearm. Certified by the National Law Enforcement Training Center, Spain and Marrs subject their guards to additional training in firearm safety and self-defense' tactics.
"That's not anything anybody makes us
Mongey said the most intimidating
Derek Spain Co-owner of Mil Spec
do, but it's a liab-
issue," he said.
"Obviously if you put
somebody out on the
street there's a serious
liability, and we do
everything possible to
reduce it."
Marrs said that people were less likely to pull out a gun at an establishment if they knew there were armed guards.
In addition to nightclubs, hotels and apartment complexes, Mil Spec patrols Memorial Stadium, Allen Fieldhouse and Anschutz Sports Pavilion, and also does security work for Naimmith Hall, 1815 Naimmith Drive.
Spain got the idea for Mil Spec after he was honorably discharged from the Army, where he served as a Ranger. The Lawrence native started attending classes at the University of Kansas, with aspirations of serving in law enforcement. After a summer of working as a security guard at Coyote's, 1003 E 23rd, he decided not to become a police officer.
Since May of 1995, Mil Spec has become one of Lawrence's larger security forces with a fleet of eight vehicles and 40 security guards.
A life-size poster of Arnold Schwarzenegger greets visitors at the company's headquarters, 218 Pinecove Drive. Instead of looking like an administrative office, weight machines line the walls and a mirror stretches from floor to ceiling.
Spain said that Mil Spec gave its guards every opportunity to work out.
In the beginning
"Originally we had the idea of going completely ex-military personnel," Spain said. "But there weren't a lot of them around."
Spain also discovered that just because people had military experience did not mean that they had the right discipline to be members of Mil Spec. He then turned to recruiting football players.
"We like them because they tend to be pretty physically fit, good-sized guys and very trainable," Spain said. "They are used to taking orders, and they are used to being taught how to do things."
Marrs said that most of the football players were from Ottawa University but included Chad Rine, a redshirt freshman on the University of Kansas team.
Rine, Naples, Fla., sophomore, played football for Ottawa last year and learned about Mil Spec through a friend before transferring to the University.
"I've gained an addiction for solving people's problems," Rine said. "There is some danger, but we train pretty hard, and I work with a lot of good people."
Spain said that new officers earned $8 an hour and were paired with veterans and assigned as bouncers at various night-clubs.
Currently, Mil Spec employs about 30 percent ex-military personnel and 70 percent football players.
"We like to start new guys off on the floor at nightclubs," Spain said. "It really tells us a lot about them. It gets kind of rough in there. If somebody has a hot head, you identify it very quickly."
Spain said Mil Spec's market called for better training and higher pay for employees when compared to other security companies.
"It all comes down to pricing," he said. "We can't compete on the level of those guys you see at Dillons, who bid their contracts out for less than what we pay our guys on an hourly basis. Which is why we've settled for a more high intensity market. You can charge more."
Zack Marrs, co-owner of Mil Spec Security, 218 Pinecove Drive, assists an intoxicated man in front of a local nightclub. Marrs and his partner, Derek Spain, started Mil Spec in May of 1995 to provide trained security guards for establishments. Photo by Todd Halstead/KANSAN
Marrs said that many clients were reactive and not proactive when employing Mil Spec's services.
"I've dealt with nightclubs that wouldn't talk to us until somebody got shot dead," he said.
On the streets
After last call at Tremors last Friday, a flood of late night revelers poured out of the club. The breeze did not sway people from clustering around the club before migrating to the parking lot across the street. The bass from car stereos began to boom as tiny pockets of people engaged in drunken conflicts.
Like clockwork, five Mil Spec officers corralled the clientele away from the club and toward their cars in order to secure the area. One of the revelers, Mike Crawford, Kansas City, Mo., junior, said that the Mil Spec guards were too aggressive in subdu-
ing the crowd.
"I'm just trying to make my way out of the club, and they tried to push me to the side." Crawford said. "I guess it's all good, but they just don't respect us."
Spain said that the goal was to get the crowd dispersed as quickly as possible, but that they never made an attempt to be disrespectful.
After about 20 minutes only a few stragglers remained before they too left without incident, leaving Mil Spee's agents in pursuit of further disturbances in the city.
— Edited by Mike Loader
— Designed by Anne Robertson
Please recycle your Kansan when you are through with it
Congratulations O. Maurice Joy
On behalf of the countless number of students whose minds you challenged and developed Thank you for your commitment, energy,and wisdom.
On behalf of the colleagues whose work you shared. Thank you for your friendship, leadership,and dedication to excellence.
On behalf of your friends and family whose lives you grace each day, Thank you for your devotion, sacrifice,and love.
Congratulations on a remarkable career. We wish you a long and happy retirement.
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