Fired Guard Says He's Break-In Fall Guy

Guard Fired In Wake Of Election Commission Break-in Reported By Nancy Amons POSTED: 6:28 pm CST January 4, 2008 UPDATED: 7:07 pm CST January 4, 2008 NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- A security guard fired after a break-in at the Metro Election Commission said he is a fall guy. Brandon Murphy said he was watching the building the night someone stole laptop computers with the Social Security numbers of every registered voter in Davidson County. “So, I guess you get complacent after a while, this routine, lights just roll on like they always do,” he said. Murphy said there’s not a lot he can say about the break-in. He said he came to work at about 6 p.m. on Christmas Eve and did not notice that a window had been broken or two laptops stolen. “It’s unfortunate. I’m sorry the whole thing happened. I should have taken the time to look up at that window, but it just didn’t seem urgent enough,” he said. Murphy said he didn’t know exactly when the thieves came in but assumed it was before his shift. He said when he came in, he saw that Christmas ornaments had been disturbed. He was fired on Jan. 2. He said he also cannot explain that, while Election Commission officials said the laptops were taken about 9:45 p.m., he didn’t hear anything. He said he worked the day before Christmas Eve and Christmas Eve. When asked if he knew why a digital video recorder had been unplugged, which prevented any security camera recordings, he said he didn’t know that the cameras the commission used were working. He said the company he worked for cut back on security hours at the school to save money on overtime. Murphy worked for a subcontractor for Wackenhut, who has Metro’s security contract. Three Davidson county voters have filed a class-action lawsuit against Metro government, the security company Wackenhut and a sub-contractor. The Metro Council also sent a letter to Wackenhut asking it to pay for the cost of the letters sent to voters. Postage on those letters cost more than $122,000.