Rivers Casino Schenectady Sued by Women Over Alleged Security Assault

Posted on: July 28, 2022, 05:48h. 

Last updated on: July 28, 2022, 01:27h.

Philip Conneller @casinoorgphilc Read More
Expertise: Gaming Business, Regulation, Tribal Gaming.

Three women are suing Rivers Casino & Resort in Schenectady. They are alleging that security officers roughed them up at the Upstate New York venue, The Daily Gazette reports.

Rivers Schenectady
The Rivers Casino in Schenectady, NY, where the women allege they suffered “loss of enjoyment of life, economic harm, emotional upset, shock, fright and fear of impending injury or death.” (Image: Rivers Casino)

Locals Takeylyn Gibson and her twin daughters, Tajhanae and Tahziana Gibson, claim Rivers was negligent in employing staff who are “violent or possess violent propensities” and failed to adequately train these personnel.

The lawsuit names Capita Region Gaming LLC, which trades as Rivers, and includes five unnamed security officers. The three women claim these employees verbally abused them and committed assault and battery on them at the resort on May 22.

The trio is seeking an unspecified sum in damages and punitive damages,

Violent Incident 

The Gibsons’ attorney, Daniel Smalls, told the Gazette the alleged attack was unprovoked. The mother and daughters had been enjoying a night out at Rivers when they briefly left the casino to get more money, he said.

On their return, one of the security officers recognized them and beckoned them to join his entry lane, according to Smalls. But the two daughters wanted to stay in a different lane with their mother.

Smalls said cellphone footage of the incident appears to show the security officer losing his temper over this seemingly innocuous exchange. He begins arguing with the officer at the second entry lane before appearing to throw the twins to the floor.

When the mother tried to intervene, she, too, was thrown to the ground. The women suffered “cuts and scrapes,” according to Smalls, who told the Gazette the damage was more psychological than physical.

Lawsuit Pending

“[The security officers’] actions were willful, intentional, unwarranted, without provocation and were taken within the scope of their employment duties. Their conduct was intentionally and recklessly extreme, shocking, outrageous and in utter disregard for the Gibsons’ safety and wellbeing,” the lawsuit stated.

There were multiple people around that witnessed it,” Smalls said. “You could see that this security officer was irate.”

Meanwhile, the Gibsons suffered “loss of enjoyment of life, economic harm, emotional upset, shock, fright and fear of impending injury or death.”

A Rivers spokesperson told the Gazette the casino does not comment on pending legal matters and had not yet viewed the paperwork on the case.

Heroic Intervention

In 2020, two Rivers security officers were commended with a Schenectady Mayoral Proclamation for saving a guest’s life.

Mindy Cooper-Killenberger and Kyle Brownell administered CPR and an AED defibrillator on a patron who had collapsed after they determined he had no pulse.

The officers resuscitated the guest and restored his pulse. He was then transferred to the care of Schenectady Fire Department paramedics.