Peace at Work

One thing that I have noticed as I scan recent shootings and workplace violence cases is the disparity in coverage. Recently, there are so many reports, articles and posts about the tragedy at Yale with the murder of Annie Le that I have to wonder about all the other women and people that are killed but do not get similar attention. The question that has floated around is if the incident was a case of workplace violence. The answer is simple. It was an act of violence that occurred in the workplace. In fact, I was contacted by a reporter who asked me this question and about the rise in workplace violence. She seemed surprised when I stated that it was the opposite, the rates are actually going down. I get a similar response when I talk with me people about my work and they ask the same question. But that may not be the question that needs to be asked. I can understand that the media has to sell advertising space and stories involving violence attract more clicks through but what is it about this case that has drawn so much coverage? I think it is the same issue with the kidnapped girls. By watching the news, one would think that only beautiful, blond girls from million dollar mansions are abducted. In the same regard, Annie Le was pretty and had the affluence associated with an Ivy League school. However, at the same period when she was discovered to be murdered at the lab, a woman barely survived a brutal assault by he ex-husband at the Discover Card Financial Services building in West Valley, UT. In another case of co-worker violence, Domingo Chavez-Lopez was murdered in Taylorsville, UT after a dispute that occurred in the workplace. Why are these cases barely covered by the local media while essentially ignored on the national scale? With a visually based media format, a pretty and successful victim will get the coverage and attention. With cultural fixation on wealth, cases involving those more fortunate will be repeated in headlines and talk show segments. This is by no means a way to discredit the loss and tragedy that the Le family must be experiencing. It is a horrible event and security does need the support and resources to ensure everyone’s safety. But every case deserves the same attention to demand more awareness about the issue and to engender the same collective grief of the loss. Several times a week, I find and catalogue a new case of workplace violence. Certainly the ones that exact a large number of victims may be given more coverage but it is a disservice to only fixate on the ones that have the trappings of a soap opera- wealth and beauty. I know that university administrators are now scrambling to revise the policies, conduct training and implement security devices. I just wish that the same response would occur when any case of workplace violence arises.

The Labor Department says the number of workplace suicides increased by 28 percent last year.

This is an article that I posted in my Jan 2006 Newsletter-

Is Suicide on the Job Workplace Violence?

Workplace suicide is a unique form of workplace violence. It is not a new “type” in regard to the perpetrator’s relationship to the workplace but rather is a different course of action that they take as a result of their conflict with their employment. There is a clear distinction between “common” workplace violence cases where a perpetrator kills him/her self after assaulting (or attempting to assault) others and these incidents. In these cases, the perpetrator had the ability and opportunity to hurt others but did not.

And these workplace incidents are violent and clearly problematic despite the fact that no one else may be physically hurt. The disruption of services or production, the emotional trauma and the impact on the public image are all issues that employers would encounter as a result of a suicide at work.

This report attempts to classify incidents of suicide in the workplace based on the perpetrator’s behavior. The assumptions regarding their motives have inherit challenges and problems. However, as their intentions may never be known, it is the distinct characteristics in the way the violence was carried out that suggests possible classification.

Intentional Infliction of Emotional Trauma

Suicide is not always about only hurting yourself. When the action is taken in view of others, it appears that there may have been an intention to inflict emotional trauma or even create a public spectacle.

10/12/2005 Hong Kong : Former Guard Threatens Suicide at Disneyland

A 48-year-old former security guard at the Hong Kong Disneyland theme park, climbed to the top of the building housing the Space Mountain roller coaster and threatened to kill himself in front of vistors. Holding a small pen knife to his throat, he also brandished a tee-shirt with the words “blood”, “reveal the truth” and “SOS” written in red paint. He was allegedly fired three months ago for allegedly violating park rules, including using obscene language during working hours. He later climbed down after 2 hour negotiations.

11/30/2005 Fort Worth, TX : Sailor Attempts Suicide at Base

A sailor tried to shoot himself in front of two officers who stopped him from carrying it out. After arriving late for duty and out of uniform, he stated, “Well, let me make this easy for you” and put a gun under his chin and fired. The bullet missed and in the ensuing struggle, the officers were grazed by another shot. The distraught sailor had a “combination of some personal and military issues.”

Late Fall, 2003 Washington, D.C. : Intelligence Experts Commit Suicide at Work

State Department Bureau of Intelligence and Research chief Iraqi analyst John J. Kokal was reported to have died after jumping from top of the State Department’s headquarters on November 7th, 2003. Less than a month later, Dr. Gus Weiss, a former CIA official, reportedly also committed suicide by jumping from the Watergate complex, just a few blocks from the State Department.

12/18/2000 California : Young Professional Jumps from Corporate Airplane

One of the most shocking incidents occurred when 31-year-old Elisabeth Otto, an employee of Hewlett- Packard Co., jumped from the company plane while it was in flight to San Jose. There 5 employees on the plane at the time and one tried to grab her as she was part way out the rear emergency exit door. Television reports stated that was depressed because of job stress.

9/24/1997 Raleigh, NC : Security Guard Jumps from Balcony inside Art Museum
David Bradley, 55, fell 20 feet from the entry level to the main floor at around 12:30 p.m.

Workplace assault ending in suicide

In many cases, it appears that the perpetrator attempts to assault others but then chooses not to, only inflicting injury on themselves. They may make negligible attempts or take others temporarily hostage but it is apparent that they did not seriously intend to harm others or that they later changed their minds. Again, it is tenuous to assume their motives but many of these cases share this distinct characteristics.

10/15/2005 Fayetteville, NC : Ex-employee of Retirement Home Takes Hostages then Commits Suicide

Renita Williams Dozier, a former employee returned to a nursing home and held two people hostage. After fours of police negotiations, she shot herself in the chest. The two hostages were unharmed. Though held against their will, Dozier allegedly never threatened to hurt them. She had recently resigned after being disciplined by a supervisor.

6/8/2005 Baltimore, MD : Just Fired Employee Kills Self in Supervisor’s Office

46-year-old Bruce Alvin Miller had been fired from a utility company when returned later in the day with a weapon. He shot through his supervisor’s window and then made his way into the office. When he arrived at his supervisor’s office, he shot himself in the head. While the argument could be made that he tried to kill another first, it was a poor attempt.

3/14/2005 Detroit, MI: Insurance Employee Kills Self Right after being Fired

Reggie Edwards, 47, barricaded himself inside the headquarters of the Safe Auto Insurance and then killed himself after releasing a female hostage. Edwards had just been fired when he went back to his car, grabbed a gun and returned to the building.

Workplace is the location for their act

Sometimes, the workplace is just the location for the suicide and apparently they had no wish to harm others. There are no witnesses to the actual act. These incidents are perhaps done because they do not want to be found by family members or, if they lived alone, they may have wished to be found.

11/17/2005 Japan : Video store Clerk Attempts Suicide then Fakes Robbery

An employee, who was depressed over financial difficulties, stabbed himself in the stomach while at work. When he failed to die, he called the police and claimed that a robber committed the act. When the investigation revealed this fallacy, he told the truth and now faces a petty offence of reporting a fictitious crime.

March, 2005 UK : Hospital Worker Kills Self Over Depression from Work Issues

Ken Wilson was a hospital worker who often worked with young victims of violence. After working with a 14-year-old victim of a drive-by shooting as an operating theatre practitioner at Queen’s Medical Centre, in Nottingham, he became despondent. He took his own life by taking an overdose of anesthetics and muscle relaxant drugs, obtained from work, at the staff housing unit. On a notepad found in his bag he had written: “I’m not mad, just very tired and depressed.”

5/17/2003 Venice, FL : Retired Employee Kills Self at Hospital

Normand Sylvestre, 70, committed suicide at Bon Secours Venice Hospital by shooting himself in the head with a .25 caliber handgun. He was a former employee who was visiting a few people that he knew when he went out to the corridor and committed suicide. He had worked there for about ten years and resigned 8 months before in October. It was thought that he was suffering from medical problems and was depressed.

4/8/2003 UK : Carpenter Kills Self after Birthday

David Hargood hung himself from a wooden beam inside a workshop at the Institute of Animal Health where he had worked for 27 years. He had long been known to suffer from depression and anxiety attacks.

Department of Labor Study

An Analysis of Workplace Suicides, 1992- 2001

Stephen M. Pegula, Bureau of Labor Statistics

January 28, 2004

The single most comprehensive study covered a period from 1992 to 2001, studied a total of 2,170 workers (3.5% of the total workplace fatalities) that died from suicide or fatal self-inflicted injuries at work. These data are from the BLS Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries (CFOI). This averages to be 217 workplace suicides a year, with very little deviation. Notably, this average has remained steady though the total number of homicides at work has dropped precipitously.

So who was at risk? Most on-the-job suicides occurred among men (94%), older workers, the self- employed, and agricultural workers. Interestingly enough, managers and administrators incurred a high number of workplace suicides. But as far as professions, law enforcement faced the greatest “relative risk” of self-inflicted fatality with those employed by the military a close second.

Source of injury:

54% firearms

25% asphyxiations, strangulations, or suffocations (mostly by hanging)

11% poisonings and toxic effects

Relation to workplace violence

We have all read the headlines: Employee Kills Supervisor then Commits Suicide. But the most interesting finding of the study is how few of the suicides included multiple fatalities. Out of the 2,170 on-the-job suicides, only 61 were multiple fatalities or just 3%. Of these incident, 50 perpetrators killed one or more co-worker then themselves. And of these, there were only 11 incidents whereas a supervisor was killed.

In 10 incidents was a family member also killed with 6 involving a spouse or an ex-spouse. It is possible that others were assaulted during these incidents but because they did not die from their injuries, these figures were not noted.

Latest Statistics

Bureau of Labor Statistics - Fatalities

2003- 218 deaths

2004- 200 deaths (preliminary figure)

I heard a BBC interview the other day on the radio, a truck dealer in Missouri who was giving out a voucher for an AK-47 if you purchased a truck from him. Great marketing gimmick, got him international coverage that you could not pay for. But it was the things that he said, the prepared, defensive comebacks to the incredulous reporter that got my attention.

I have no reason to believe that the truck dealer was not an honest, law abiding person who would never harm someone without cause. It may be that he truly hopes that by providing the weapon, he hopes to that a customer’s family could be spared a horrible fate. He mentioned a terrible tragedy where a Florida family was killed in a senseless act of villainy. This was the TV/movie plot of the innocent citizen’s ravaged by the lawless criminal. His message was “If he had AK-47, this would never happen. Sure a handgun or a shotgun is good but with an AK-47, the odds are leaning in your favor.” And he is right.

I just wish that the only solution is to shoot them first. What of prevention, of intervening at some point, earlier in the lives the perpetrators or identifying the risk factors for violent behavior and incidents and removing them instead?

Again, I am sure he had every intention to protect and defend the innocent. It is just that he touched on some concepts that may motivate those who commit the crimes he hopes to prevent. In a later interview, he stated that the main problem is crystal meth and the associated crime. It is an epidemic and needs to be addressed. But some of those core beliefs that he expressed are the same as those who commit rampage killings.

The center of those beliefs was a person’s Rights. Those who go on these rampages have a central belief that they are in the right to do so, they are serving justice. He even spoke of the Right that was given by god. This is beyond just personal view and conviction, this was divinity and the whole power and mystery of the multiverse instilling the justification for the ability to kill.

Then he spoke of the commies that didn’t like guns.  Never mind the reference to the people who gave him the renown assault rifle, it was again the distancing, the alienation and dehumanization of the other, who makes it alright to kill. When they are not like us, when they are The Other, it is okay to kill.

In his interview with the British reporter, he seemed to be more aggressive, more belligerent. He stated that the reporter (and his people) would not understand since all the strong ones left his country to create America. Again, it the strong, those who, as he says, “does whatever they damn please” that will use a gun to make things right.

But why does a person need an AK-47? “Well, we do what ever we damn well please” was his attitude.

I had this image of a family sitting around after dinner, watching a reality tv re-runs, cat on the table, shoes on the floor, rifle leaning against the couch. The bad guys burst in but their faces drop when they hear the sharp clack of metal as the first round is chambered. Boy, did they pick the wrong house. Only those smart enough and “strong” enough to be prepared for such as tragedy will survive. He kept referencing Christen beliefs and the right to defend your home. But was there an anticipation, an almost hopefulness that someone would break in to give them the excuse. It is almost like he wants someone to break in to fill them full of lead.

There is no doubt that people will defend their own lives and safety of their loves ones. Violence is terrible and tragic. But just so, this violence is seen as the remedy so readily. Is it the gun that defends life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness when it is also the central tool of so much death, domination and misery? Or course, we have the right to defend out lives.

Again, by no means do I suggest that the truck dealer is the same as a rampage killer. But the rampage shooter perverts this individual Right to kill when their belief’s or self-identity is threatened. Maybe liberty is the core issue here. I get what I want and deserve, regardless of your concerns. Where do those liberties end when they cross over to another’s? when does my right to a job, woman, self image overcome your right to live?

Is this how the thinking goes- We have the right to live- Kill anyone who enters your home to take and harm you.

We have a right to speak, read, say, talk, go, dress, love, eat, sleep however we want. The issue is that when we are so absorbed in our own rights, we don’t see the rights of others. It is a nation of individuals that is looking after themselves. Everyone is safe because they are taking care it themselves. And if you take away any of those rights, well, we can kill you too.

American’s holds the individual’s rights in the highest degree. Give me liberty or give me death. Your death, preferably. This is the nation that is based on justice that is afforded every person, in each person’s interpretation of that justice. And if a right is ever violated, if any personal liberty is hampered, not only is justice required but you personally need to fix it yourself.

Perhaps we have so many rampages because we are a nation of people who hold our rights so dearly that we would die but preferably, would kill to preserve them. Rights are vital and sacred. But when muddled with self-centeredness, the right of self image becomes greater than the rights of others to breathe.

Are American’s more egotistical, self centered and narcisstic than others? That argeument could be made. But there is no doubt for our love of the individual’s right and its fevorent defense. But the combination of these two leads to the mindset to kill.

Perhaps America has so many rampages, workplace and school shootings is because of the perversion of the individual’s right. We demand to be noticed, for justice to be served and to punish those who hurt us. It is the extreme self centeredness that is a distortion of the individual.

This is not an anti-American rant. I believe that our values support life and liberty for all. I realize that everyone has there own idea of what America is and interpretation of its values. It is wrong to separate sides and point to the those believe guns are the answer and say they are the problem. I hope that is not what this writing suggests. The question is not should guns be banned or do they work as a deterrent. It is how we can address the thoughts that killing is Right when not absolutely necessary.

We need to find the common ground in the same goals- peace and security for all of us. I don’t know how we meet in that center field but I am going to try to figure it out.

in case you are ever shot at, this would be usesul information. It may be kinda hard to remember all that it said but if you absorb in carefully and practice the recommendations such as knowing where every exit and entrance is and trying not to panic, you might survive.

I just ask that in preparation for these extreme circumstances, there is some thought into prevention. once the guns start shooting, it is hard to ensure that anything you do will guarentee your survival.  Perhaps when there is some warning or pre-indicators, support and limits can be put in place.  It can be prevented and it can be done when the potential assailant is in need.  I am not making excuses or defending, I just think that it might be more effective to intervene early.

killing is wrong but worse for studid reason. Jews have long know persecution and it continues across the seas and in our workplaces.  A young, beautiful woman was killed in the bookstore cafe where she worked while going to Wesleyan. Although, it was not on campus is was very much still a school shooting with the perp and victim having once been co students in NY.  she charged him with harassesment but then dropped it in court.  we can only speculate why. 

but it may have been her race and religion that was the source of the anger.  Apparently, according to police statements, he was a threat to jewish institions and people.  

Again, they are a people who have been targeted and now, in this land, the killing happens while we are at work.  Sometimes it was the institutions themselves that were the targets.

In July 31, 2006, a man walked into the Jewish Federation in Seattle, killing a woman, wounding 5 others and traumtazting a whole community before he was stopped.   List of problems with him: bi-polar, off meds, sex offender, employement problems, drop out.  Stated he was mad at Isreal.  

could this have been prevented?  well, he was stopped a few hours before the rampage for moving violation. was not suspicious at that point. then he waited outside tillsomeone opened the door to the federaion.   a young woman was the one he followed.  While he stated his motive was racist, investigators believed that it was more of a sign of mental illness than militant islamist.  I still say you have to be crazy to kill.

I will add more cases in my newsletter later this week.

I just finished a webinar on Domestic Abusers in the Workplace.  While I usually emphasize the liability and job performance issues with employers, there is evidence of the actual violence that batterers engage in while at work.  

there have been two recent cases of abuser who commit the murder while at their workplace. 

First, an accountant working at a Spokane roofing company killed his wife when she visited his office.  He hid her body near the workplace and impersonated her for several days to postpone discovery and also to suggest that she left the area.   The blugeoning murder occured after office hours but the employer came by when the assailant was cleaning up and actually knocked on the door.   Imagine what the employee would have done if he was discovered.  Also, the man used his work computer to log into the victim’s social networking sites to impersonate her.  As you can guess, he was fired when the crime came to light. 

But what has captured more of the national media is the beheading of wife of tv station owner. Muzzammil Hassan was in the going through a divorce with a woman after a history of documented cases of domestic abuse.  Again, it was at the station when he murdered her.  

As the employer, there is not the same issues of negligence as Hassan is the business.  But the investors, the board, the community and in a reveral of roles, even the employees were drastically impacted.  His mission was a noble one- to improve the public image and remove stereotypes of Muslims in a post 9-11 world.   What will happen to the station and to this mission has been deeply hampered by his terrible deed. 

The point is that domestic abuse is a business issue.  It has been well established that it impacts a victim’s job performance.  Now the awareness of the abuser’s impact is growing.  I hope it will not take more victim’s being killed.

A man kills his 5 young children and their mother before committing suicide.  While this frequently occurs in domestic violence cases, the tragedy that unfolded near LA last week stems from when Ervin Lupoe, the suspect, and his wife lost their jobs as medical technicians in a hospital.

 While this tragedy occurred in their home, a frequent precipitant of employee based workplace violence is a termination. With an estimated 2 million jobs lost in the last 4 last months, it is expected that there will be more cases erupting.  “While not every firing of an employee leads to a firing of a gun, there are some common characteristics that may provide clues for prevention”, stated Johnny Lee, Director of Peace at Work. 

While the risk may be apparent when an employee is fired for misconduct or job performance, many hard working and dependable people lose their jobs due to simple economics. They, like the increasing thousands across our nation, are simply being laid off.  But this lack of personal reason does not exempt the employer from revenge.  In November of 2006, in Jamaica, a female manager was gunned down as she walked into her workplace. While no suspect had been caught, numerous employees had just been laid off, generating much animosity and resentment. 

More recently, it was a reduction in force that lead to the murder of top level management including the CEO of semi-conductor company in California.  Engineer Jing Hua Wu, 47, was just laid off when he returned late on a November afternoon with a handgun.

On a deeper level, an employee may self-identify with their position and losing their job is a serious blow to their self-ego. Reggie Edwards had worked for his Whitehall, OH employer for about five years ago but it was central to his identity. “That was his life,” his sister later said. “He would eat, sleep and dream Safe Auto. I mean, that’s how dedicated he was to his company.”  It could very well be that losing that identity leads to desperate actions.  It was March of 2005 Edwards went back to his car after being fired, grabbed a gun and returned to the building.  He fired shots and then took his former a co-worker hostage who he released just before he killed himself.

In a Sarasota, Florida, 55-year-old Jacquelyn Ferguson knew that she was going to be fired. She had allegedly been abusing prescription medication and her job performance suffered.  But the victim, office manager 45-year-old Denise Keyworth, didn’t have the fateful meeting yet. Ferguson shot and killed Keyworth, despite the fact that the manager had the employee over for Christmas dinner last year.  Ferguson then went home to commit suicide.

While the day of the termination has risks, many ex-employees commit violence the next day, even during a Christmas party. Just last month, Benjamin Banky, CEO of a natural health food supplier in Canada, was killed during the company party. Eric Kirkpatrick, who had lost his job the day before, exacted his revenge amid the snacks, presents and decorations.

But there are effective prevention and intervention measures that can be utilized to help mitigate the risk.  A webinar offered on January 29th, 2009 will focus on the occurence and best practices. 

it does illustrate how desperation can lead a ‘normal’ person to commit an incredibly heinous act. While we do not have a full psychological profile of Pardo, he reportedly had a clean record, no history of violence and was active in his church.

But also known is the myriad of problems and losses that he faced. The massacre occurred less than a week before the divorce was finalized. He had apparently lost his electrical engineering job just months before which complicated his financial struggles.

I finally heard it.  I mean, I have heard people say “its a myth that people just snap”.  But I have never heard anyone say that. I was beginning to think that it was a myth that it was a myth.  But then I read this article Workplace Violence and Termination Etiquette. “Seemingly ‘regular’ people who appear to have simply ’snapped’,” is his leading hypothesis.  As an attention grabber, it is not bad but the problem is that it gets worse. 

President George W. Bush was recently assaulted by a journalist who threw his shoes at the Commander in Chief. He was never in any danger from this assault and must say that he deftly dodged the first throw.

I don’t mean to be glib about the issue. Many public figures have been tragically slain. It is hard to think of running for and running a public office as an occupation with its own risks but many ways, it is the most dangerous job in existence.

Let’s look at other incidents of violence among our governing bodies. I won’t list the assassinations that bereft communities of their best leaders.