Can You Sue If a Security Guard Uses Excessive Force?

Yes. If a security guard in California uses more force than the situation reasonably calls for and you are hurt, you may be able to bring a personal injury claim against the guard and, in many cases, against the security company and the business that hired it. Guards are allowed to use reasonable force in limited situations, such as self-defense or a lawful citizen's arrest, but that permission ends where reasonableness ends. Whether you have a case depends on the facts, and the evidence that proves those facts tends to disappear quickly.

A shopper accused of taking something, a patron walked out of a Koreatown bar, a tenant arguing with a guard in a lobby: most of these encounters end without injury. When one ends with a broken wrist or a concussion, the injured person deserves a clear answer about whether the guard had the right to do what they did.

Key Points

• A private security guard is not a police officer and generally has the same basic arrest powers as any other private person.
• California's Bureau of Security and Investigative Services (BSIS) requires guards to be registered and trained in arrest powers and the appropriate use of force.
• Force must be reasonable at each moment. Force that was justified at the start can become excessive once the threat is over.
• Possible claims include battery, assault, false imprisonment, and negligence, including negligent hiring, training, or supervision.
• The guard's employer, the business that hired the security company, and the property owner may all need to be investigated.
• Get medical care and preserve video, photos, clothing, and witness names right away.

Security Guards Are Not Police Officers

A uniform and a radio can make a guard look like law enforcement, but most security guards are private employees. Their authority comes largely from the same rules that apply to everyone else.

In California, any private person may make what is commonly called a citizen's arrest under limited conditions, such as when a public offense is committed or attempted in their presence, or when a felony has actually been committed and they have reasonable cause to believe the person they are arresting committed it. Someone who makes that kind of arrest must turn the person over to a peace officer or a magistrate without unnecessary delay. Guards may also use reasonable force to defend themselves or others and to protect property they are responsible for. What they cannot do is treat their job title as permission to use whatever force they like.

The distinction shapes your case. Claims against police often involve federal civil rights law and special rules for suing government agencies (see our police misconduct page). A claim against a private guard is usually a personal injury case under California law, though the lines can blur when an off-duty officer works private security.

What California Requires of Security Guards

Private security in California is regulated by the Bureau of Security and Investigative Services, part of the Department of Consumer Affairs. A person working as a security guard generally must hold a BSIS registration, often called a guard card, and complete required training. According to BSIS's security guard training requirements, that training includes the power to arrest and the appropriate use of force, with topics such as objectively reasonable force, de-escalation, and civil liability. Carrying a firearm on the job requires a separate BSIS permit.

That training standard works as a yardstick. If a guard was never properly registered or trained, or ignored what the training teaches, it can support a claim against the guard and the company that put them on the job.

When Does Force Become Excessive?

No move is always legal or always illegal for a guard. The question is whether the force was reasonable given what was happening at that moment, and guards are expected to keep reassessing as things change. Pulling someone out of a fight may be justified; continuing to punch or pin them after they stop struggling is a different story. Common patterns include:

Force that continues after the threat is over

A person who has stopped resisting, is restrained, or is walking away no longer presents the same danger. Force applied at that point is much harder to justify, and video often shows exactly when the struggle ended.

Physical contact over a request to leave

A business can ask someone to leave, but being slow to go does not automatically give a guard the right to shove or drag the person out. Whether the person was threatening anyone and whether calmer options existed both matter.

Misuse of weapons or chemical sprays

Being licensed to carry pepper spray, a baton, or a firearm is not the same as being justified in using it on someone who posed no real threat.

Dangerous or prolonged restraint

Chokeholds, kneeling on someone's back or neck, or keeping a person pinned long after they are under control can cause fractures, shoulder damage, and breathing problems.

What Legal Claims Might Apply?

An excessive force case is rarely just a complaint that the guard was too rough. Depending on the facts, it can involve several claims at once.

Battery

Under California's civil jury instructions, battery generally means touching someone, or causing them to be touched, with the intent to harm or offend, without their consent, in a way that causes harm or offense. Grabbing, shoving, striking, and slamming someone to the ground can all qualify. You generally do not need to prove the guard meant to cause the specific injury you ended up with; the focus is on the harmful or offensive contact itself. When a guard says the contact was justified, such as self-defense or a lawful arrest, the dispute usually comes down to whether the force was reasonable.

Assault

Assault covers the threat side: acting to cause harmful or offensive contact, or threatening it, so that a person reasonably believes the contact is about to happen.

False imprisonment

If a guard held you against your will without legal justification, or held you longer or more forcefully than the law allows, a false imprisonment claim may also be available.

Negligence

Negligence claims look at the people and companies behind the guard. Did the security company check the guard's background, train them properly, and supervise them? Did it keep an aggressive guard on the job after earlier complaints? Did the property owner hire a qualified security company and give it reasonable instructions? These questions can support claims for negligent hiring, training, retention, or supervision, and sometimes for negligent security more broadly.

Who Can Be Held Responsible?

Under California's respondeat superior rule, an employer is generally responsible for wrongs its employees commit within the scope of their employment. California courts have applied that rule to some intentional acts as well, when the conduct grows out of risks that are inherent in the job. Because handling confrontations is part of what guards are hired to do, a security company may be responsible for a guard's excessive force even if the company never approved it.

The store, bar, hotel, or venue that hired the security company, and the owner or manager of the property, may also need to be investigated. Not every connected business is automatically liable. Responsibility depends on who employed the guard, who directed the guard's work, what the security contract required, and what each party knew. Property owners also have their own duties under premises liability law to keep people reasonably safe, and our overview of how premises liability works in California explains those duties in more detail.

Early on, a lawyer can send preservation letters demanding that each company keep its video, incident reports, training files, and contracts.

How Insurers Defend Security Guard Cases

This is where an insider perspective helps. Our founder, Matthew Nezhad, previously worked as a personal injury attorney, and excessive force claims tend to follow a predictable defense playbook:

• Blaming the injured person. Expect the defense to say you were the aggressor, were intoxicated, resisted, or ignored lawful instructions. Any citation or arrest connected to the incident will be used to support that story, even if the charge is later dropped.
• Fighting over coverage. Security companies, bars, and venues usually carry commercial liability insurance, but many policies contain exclusions for assault and battery or for injuries the insured expected or intended. Insurers may argue the incident was a deliberate battery so an exclusion applies, and California law generally does not allow insurance to pay for an insured's own willful misconduct. How the claim is framed, and which defendants it names, can decide whether insurance money is available at all.
• Pointing fingers between companies. Security contracts often include indemnity and additional-insured provisions. The property owner's insurer and the security company's insurer may argue for months over who must defend whom while the injured person waits.
• Downplaying the injury. Adjusters may call it a brief scuffle and blame your symptoms on something else. Prompt, consistent medical records answer that argument.

Injuries Commonly Caused by Excessive Force

Common injuries include:

• Concussions and traumatic brain injuries from strikes or being slammed to the ground
• Fractures of the wrist, arm, ribs, nose, or face
• Shoulder dislocations and torn tendons from being yanked, twisted, or restrained
• Neck and back injuries, from strains to serious spinal damage
• Cuts, abrasions, and bruising, some of which may scar
• Anxiety, sleep problems, and other emotional effects of a frightening assault

Evidence That Can Make or Break Your Claim

Security incidents usually happen in places full of cameras, which helps if the footage is saved in time.

• Surveillance video. Stores, garages, hotels, bars, and apartment buildings often record over old footage automatically. Ask in writing that it be preserved, and have a lawyer follow up quickly.
• Phone video. Bystanders may have filmed the encounter. Ask anyone nearby and get their contact information.
• Photos and medical records. Photograph your injuries as they change, and get treatment records that tie them to the incident.
• Witnesses. Collect names and phone numbers the same day.
• Incident reports and training files. Security companies usually write internal reports after a use of force. A lawyer can demand those, along with the guard's registration and training history.
• Police reports and body camera footage. If officers responded, their records can help, but they are not the final word on what happened.

What to Do After a Security Guard Injures You

1. Get medical care. Your health comes first, and a prompt exam documents your injuries.
2. Report what happened to police or the business, accurately.
3. Write it down. Note what led up to it, what was said, what force was used, for how long, whether you were leaving or restrained, and who saw it. Stick to what you remember.
4. Keep physical evidence, including torn clothing, photos, and messages.
5. Be careful with insurers. If an insurer for the security company or business contacts you, you are not required to give a recorded statement. Talk to a lawyer first.
6. Get advice if you were cited or arrested. If you face a criminal charge from the same incident, speak with a criminal defense attorney before discussing the facts with anyone, because what you say can affect both cases.
7. Talk to a personal injury attorney. A lawyer can investigate, identify every responsible party, and figure out which claims and insurance policies apply.

What Is an Excessive Force Claim Worth?

There is no set payout. Value depends on factors such as:

• How serious and how lasting your injuries are
• Past and future medical costs
• Lost income and any reduced ability to work
• Pain, emotional distress, and scarring
• The strength of the evidence, especially video
• Which insurance policies apply and their limits

In cases where a guard acted with malice or oppression, California law may also allow punitive damages, although those require a higher standard of proof and come with special rules before an employer can be held responsible for them.

Deadlines to Keep in Mind

In California, most personal injury lawsuits, including battery claims, must be filed within two years of the injury. Some related claims, such as false imprisonment, generally have a shorter one-year deadline. If the guard worked for a public entity, such as a government-run hospital or a transit agency, a formal government claim usually must be filed within six months. And because surveillance video can vanish within days or weeks, the practical deadline for protecting your case is often much shorter than the legal one.

Talk to Oaks Law Firm

The companies involved will usually insist their guard did everything right. Our team knows how commercial insurers evaluate and defend these claims because our founder used to work on their side. We look closely at the timeline, the training records, the contracts, and every policy that might apply. We are based at 15233 Ventura Blvd, 5th Floor, in Koreatown and Central Los Angeles and help injured people across California.

If a security guard injured you, contact us for a free case review or call (877) 539-5366. You pay no attorney's fee unless we recover compensation for you.