Bloomington Security Officer Charged with Felony Battery After Striking Homeless Man in Peoples Park

Sponsored

class="wp-block-image size-large">

Written from court document

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. — October 10, 2025

A security officer, working alone, and employed by a company contracted by the City of Bloomington to patrol public properties — including Switchyard Park, Seminary Park, and other city-owned spaces — has been charged with battery with a deadly weapon, a Level 5 felony, after police said video evidence showed he struck an unhoused man in the head with a metal baton during an early morning confrontation at Peoples Park.

According to a probable cause affidavit filed October 1 in Monroe Circuit Court, Randall Keith DeBoer, 52, of Bloomington, was arrested after officers reviewed surveillance footage of the September 27, 2025, incident.

Bloomington Police wrote that around 1:23 a.m., DeBoer — who was working for a private security company under contract with the city — flagged him down near the park and claimed he had been assaulted by a man. The man is unhoused.

DeBoer told police that the man in the park approached him aggressively after being told to leave, prompting him to draw his baton and strike him twice — once intentionally on the arm and a second time “accidentally” on the head.

The victim, however, told officers that DeBoer was the aggressor, saying he only asked for a few minutes to finish eating his food before being struck. Officers observed two large, fresh lumps on his head — one on his right temple and another on his left cheekbone — while DeBoer showed no visible injuries.

Although DeBoer was wearing a body-worn camera, he told police it had not been turned on. Police later obtained video of the encounter from another source, which investigators said contradicted DeBoer’s version of events.

The footage reportedly shows DeBoer approaching the unhoused man as he sits on a bench. The victim then stands up and walks slowly toward the guard, pointing his finger but not making contact. DeBoer draws his baton, steps toward him, and strikes him across the left side of the face, knocking him backward. DeBoer then advances and strikes the man in the head a second time before walking away.

Officer Greene wrote that the man “did not present enough of a threat to justify [DeBoer] closing the distance and striking him in the head with a blunt weapon for a second time.”

When shown the video, DeBoer reportedly admitted that he “didn’t remember it like that” and had “no answer” for why the man’s head turned sharply from the first blow.

Police also noted that company policy requires security guards to work in pairs, but DeBoer was working alone that night.

The post Bloomington Security Officer Charged with Felony Battery After Striking Homeless Man in Peoples Park first appeared on The Bloomingtonian.