Greensburg, Pa.-based Excela Health Westmoreland Hospital fired a contracted security guard last week for allegedly assaulting a patient in the hospital's mental health unit, reports the Pocono Record.
Local police charged 23-year-old Scott Wilson with neglect of a care-dependent person, criminal attempt, simple assault and harassment following the incident, which occurred in the early hours of Nov. 13.
Mr. Wilson and several other guards were called to the room of a 31-year-old female patient with autism and bipolar disorder who was "agitated and combative with staff," Greensburg Police Detective John Swank reported in an affidavit of probable cause, cited by the Pocono Record.
"Staff members reported that Wilson threw [the patient] to the floor and restrained her neck with his arm while slamming her head to the floor with his hand," Mr. Swank wrote in the report. "Wilson then stated that he would 'break' [the patient's] arm if she 'did not hold still.'"
The other security officers told Mr. Wilson to leave the scene, and the hospital fired him following the incident, according to the affidavit.
Allied Universal Security, Mr. Wilson's employer, did not immediately respond to Pocono Record's requests for comment. Excela Health also declined to comment.
A preliminary hearing for Mr. Wilson is scheduled for Dec. 21.
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