Denver licensing officials have ordered a security guard company to appear at a hearing and defend its private security employer license after an investigation by the Denver Police Department found the company violated laws during an incident in March. 

Allied Universal Security Services is accused of employing an armed security guard who did not have permission to be armed or work as a security guard or private security. 

In a statement, Allied said the alleged violations occurred because of an administrative error “due to an inadvertent misunderstanding of the property address.”

“The service location in question has an Aurora mailing address, and so, our team mistakenly understood it to be outside of the Denver City limits and not subjected to Denver licensing requirements,” spokeswoman Sherita Coffelt said. 

She added: “We take licensing compliance very seriously, and are currently working through the legal process and coordinating with Denver authorities to resolve this matter.”

According to the complaint filed by Denver Assistant City Attorney Emily Reisdorph, Allied employed William Garner on March 23 at Bellco Credit Union at 1075 S. Havana St.

During Garner’s shift, a woman entered the branch and displayed a stolen ID that belonged to another member of the credit union. Garner tried to detain the woman, but she fled from the branch.

Garner followed the woman and saw her get into a black SUV. The driver then drove toward Garner, who fired his gun to try to deter the driver. 

The vehicle drove off.

Garner reported the incident to his supervisor, and Denver police began investigating the incident. 

This is the first time Allied has been issued a show cause order in Denver, said Eric Escudero, a spokesman with the city’s Department of Excise and Licenses.

The Pennsylvania-based company, which operates in over 80 countries, will appear in front of the Department of Excise and Licenses on Aug. 31. The department could suspend or revoke Allied’s security guard employer license for the alleged violations.