K9 guards stood by as fare evader pushed woman, breaking her leg at Red Line station: lawsuit
<p>Private security guards stood by last year, appearing to do nothing, as a CTA fare evader knocked over a 61-year-old nurse, fracturing her leg, according to a lawsuit.</p><p>The woman is still struggling with pain from the incident at the 95th Street Red Line station, which raises questions about the effectiveness of private K9 security guards, who in this case were standing nowhere near the gates to deter fare evaders, the woman's lawyer, Ken Hoffman, told the Sun-Times.</p><p>"The whole notion behind their contract is to provide a strong deterrent force. But they weren't standing near the turnstiles," Hoffman said.</p><p>The CTA last year awarded an $89 million, two-year contract to Action K-9 Security, the main defendant in the lawsuit filed in Cook County court in January.
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<p>Private security guards stood by last year, appearing to do nothing, as a CTA fare evader knocked over a 61-year-old nurse, fracturing her leg, according to a lawsuit.</p><p>The woman is still struggling with pain from the incident at the 95th Street Red Line station, which raises questions about the effectiveness of private K9 security guards, who in this case were standing nowhere near the gates to deter fare evaders, the woman's lawyer, Ken Hoffman, told the Sun-Times.</p><p>"The whole notion behind their contract is to provide a strong deterrent force. But they weren't standing near the turnstiles," Hoffman said.</p><p>The CTA last year awarded an $89 million, two-year contract to Action K-9 Security, the main defendant in the lawsuit filed in Cook County court in January. The lawsuit claims negligence against the company and its subcontractor First American Security, who employed the guards who allegedly failed to deter the fare evader.</p><p>The company's guards were standing nearby but, according to <a class="Link" href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w6Tn2zfU2tc" target="_blank" >security</a> <a class="Link" href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BXJTmnJYcss" target="_blank" >videos</a> shared by Hoffman, did not appear to be aware or immediately respond to the crime happening just feet away from them.</p><p>The incident happened the morning of July 10, 2025, as plaintiff Hilary Thorne made her way to work at Stroger Hospital, according to the lawsuit.</p><div class="Enhancement" data-align-center> <div class="Enhancement-item" data-crop=""> <figure class="Figure"><a class="AnchorLink" id="image-660000" name="image-660000"></a> <picture data-crop="medium"> <source type="image/webp" width="490" height="275" data-srcset="https://cst.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/301cfec/2147483647/strip/true/crop/1446x812+0+84/resize/490x275!/format/webp/quality/90/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fchorus-production-cst-web.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com%2Fbrightspot%2F1c%2F49%2F387267b74a27b3a954485198e1b0%2Fscreenshot-2026-08-07-at-12-41-45-pm.png 1x,https://cst.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/bc3cdfc/2147483647/strip/true/crop/1446x812+0+84/resize/980x550!/format/webp/quality/90/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fchorus-production-cst-web.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com%2Fbrightspot%2F1c%2F49%2F387267b74a27b3a954485198e1b0%2Fscreenshot-2026-08-07-at-12-41-45-pm.png 2x" data-lazy-load="true" srcset="data:image/svg+xml;base64,PHN2ZyB4bWxucz0iaHR0cDovL3d3dy53My5vcmcvMjAwMC9zdmciIHZlcnNpb249IjEuMSIgaGVpZ2h0PSIyNzVweCIgd2lkdGg9IjQ5MHB4Ij48L3N2Zz4=" /> <source width="490" height="275" data-srcset="https://cst.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/718432e/2147483647/strip/true/crop/1446x812+0+84/resize/490x275!/quality/90/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fchorus-production-cst-web.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com%2Fbrightspot%2F1c%2F49%2F387267b74a27b3a954485198e1b0%2Fscreenshot-2026-08-07-at-12-41-45-pm.png" data-lazy-load="true" srcset="data:image/svg+xml;base64,PHN2ZyB4bWxucz0iaHR0cDovL3d3dy53My5vcmcvMjAwMC9zdmciIHZlcnNpb249IjEuMSIgaGVpZ2h0PSIyNzVweCIgd2lkdGg9IjQ5MHB4Ij48L3N2Zz4=" /> <img class="Image" alt="Screenshot 2026-08-07 at 12.41.45 PM.png" srcset="https://cst.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/718432e/2147483647/strip/true/crop/1446x812+0+84/resize/490x275!/quality/90/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fchorus-production-cst-web.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com%2Fbrightspot%2F1c%2F49%2F387267b74a27b3a954485198e1b0%2Fscreenshot-2026-08-07-at-12-41-45-pm.png 1x,https://cst.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/752564d/2147483647/strip/true/crop/1446x812+0+84/resize/980x550!/quality/90/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fchorus-production-cst-web.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com%2Fbrightspot%2F1c%2F49%2F387267b74a27b3a954485198e1b0%2Fscreenshot-2026-08-07-at-12-41-45-pm.png 2x" width="490" height="275" data-src="https://cst.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/718432e/2147483647/strip/true/crop/1446x812+0+84/resize/490x275!/quality/90/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fchorus-production-cst-web.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com%2Fbrightspot%2F1c%2F49%2F387267b74a27b3a954485198e1b0%2Fscreenshot-2026-08-07-at-12-41-45-pm.png" data-lazy-load="true" src="data:image/svg+xml;base64,PHN2ZyB4bWxucz0iaHR0cDovL3d3dy53My5vcmcvMjAwMC9zdmciIHZlcnNpb249IjEuMSIgaGVpZ2h0PSIyNzVweCIgd2lkdGg9IjQ5MHB4Ij48L3N2Zz4=" > </picture> <div class="Figure-content"><figcaption class="Figure-caption"><p>Security video shows a man push a woman to the ground, and security guards standing to the left, at the 95th Street Red Line station on July 10, 2025.</p></figcaption><span class="line"></span><div class="Figure-credit"><p>CTA video provided by lawyer Ken Hoffman</p></div></div> </figure> </div> </div><p>Before she tapped herself and her bicycle through the accessible gate, a man asked if she could tap him in too, Hoffman said. But, because of her pass, she was unable and said she could not, Hoffman said.
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- <p>Private security guards stood by last year, appearing to do nothing, as a CTA fare evader knocked over a 61-year-old nurse, fracturing her leg, according to a lawsuit.</p><p>The woman is still struggling with pain from the incident at the 95th Street Red Line station, which raises questions about the effectiveness of private K9 security guards, who in this case were standing nowhere near the gates to deter fare evaders, the woman's lawyer, Ken Hoffman, told the Sun-Times.</p><p>"The whole notion behind their contract is to provide a strong deterrent force. But they weren't standing near the turnstiles," Hoffman said.</p><p>The CTA last year awarded an $89 million, two-year contract to Action K-9 Security, the main defendant in the lawsuit filed in Cook County court in January.
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K9 guards stood by as fare evader pushed woman, breaking her leg at Red Line station: lawsuit
Sources1TypeCoverageChicago Sun-Times