A woman says she was recently mistreated by Kingsway Mall security officers when she tried to help a homeless man, but mall management stand behind the officers’ actions.

Marlene Willier said she regularly frequents the mall, occasionally offering a hot meal to the homeless or destitute hanging around outside.

“I go there just to talk to people, help out with a little money if they need some if they are down and out,” she said.

Willier said last Sunday she met a man outside who looked like he could use some kindness.

“It was snowing, it was cold, he looked hungry. He looked really pitiful, freezing out there,” she said.

After talking for a while, Willier invited the man into the food court to join her for a meal. They sat and talked for hours before she decided to take some money out of a cash machine to help the man.

But as they walked to the second floor to an ATM, Willier said they were met by two security officers who said the man she was with had been banned from the mall.

“They said you are with him and you are just as guilty as he is,” Willier said.

After explaining herself to security, Willier and the man were asked to leave. At that point, security officers issued her a 24-hour ban from the property.

“She decided to get very involved in the conversation, would not accept the security’s explanation of what’s happening. That’s where the 24-hour ban came in to place, just to calm things down,” Jelena Bojic, spokeswoman for Kingsway Mall, said Tuesday.

Willier said they left willingly, but stopped for a cigarette outside in the parkade before parting ways.

That’s where security guards put both of them in handcuffs and escorted them to two separate locked rooms, holding them until police arrived, she said.

“It was scary and I was so insulted. They didn’t believe me when I told them the truth,” she said, adding, “I couldn’t even wipe my tears. I was handcuffed from the back.”

When police arrived, they let her and the man go with a warning, but not before mall security searched through her belongings, issued her a $287 ticket for trespassing and banned her from the mall for six months, she said.

While the incident may have been traumatic for Willier, Bojic said the mall has reviewed the incident and determined the security officers acted appropriately.

“Our security officers — and we have reviewed the footage — have handled themselves very professionally, very calmly,” Bojic said, adding it is protocol for security officers to handcuff people who have been detained until the police arrive.

Bojic said the mall takes the allegation seriously and that Kingsway Mall property manager Seana Almer has reached out to Willier.

That said, the mall stands by their security officers.

“They’ve acted most professionally and with dignity. We reviewed the footage. All of our security officers undergo training to make sure that when they interact with the public in difficult situations they treat everybody with respect,” Bojic said.

Willier said while she is upset by her treatment, she intends to keep making regular visits to the mall and buying the occasional meal for those in need. She’ll just have to wait six months to do it.

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