Sheriff Alan Gaston being confronted by a white security guard
Toledo, OH — Alan Gaston, a Lucas County Sheriff’s Deputy who is Black, was completely shocked when Seth Eklund, a security guard who is white, confronted him and pointed a gun at him. Gaston was wearing his police uniform at the time and was armed, and Eklund even tried to arrest him when Gaston tried to leave.Here’s what happened: Gaston was on duty when he reportedly went to the Toledo Internal Revenue Service office to ask about a letter he received. A surveillance video proved that he was dressed in full sheriff’s office uniform with his gun and badge clearly visible.
Suddenly, Eklund confronted him and told him that he could not enter the office with his gun, and encouraged him to leave it in his car. Gaston said he couldn’t do that since he was still on duty so he decided to just leave the office.
While Gaston was walking out, Eklund followed him until the elevator with his gun pointed at his back, the surveillance video shows.
“[I was] basically preparing myself to be shot at that moment. Bracing for a shot in my back,” Gaston told the Daily Mail. “There’s really no way to know how you’re going to act when there’s a gun pointed at you and when you think you’re going to lose your life.”
Before Gaston could even enter the elevator, Eklund tried to grab his arm to take him into custody. Someone in the office noticed the commotion and called 911 but failed to mention that the man with a gun was actually a uniformed deputy officer.
When the responding police officers arrived, Eklund can be heard saying, “He’s got a gun and he won’t leave.”
Eklund has since been charged with aggravated menacing and is expected to appear in court at a future date.
Meanwhile, Gaston, who has been on medical leave after the incident, filed a lawsuit against Eklund seeking compensation and claiming that the incident caused him emotional and psychological distress.