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    Wednesday, May 22, 2024

    Psychologist who tested Mateen for security job did same for another killer

    FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — The psychologist who administered the test that established Orlando killer Omar Mateen as mentally fit to carry concealed weapons as a private security guard did the same for another South Florida killer who worked for the same company.

    Carol Nudelman, who had an office on Red Road in South Miami, administered the tests that determined Mateen was “mentally and emotionally stable,” according to an application for a Class G firearms license released Wednesday by the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services. It’s unclear from the application whether the evaluation involved anything more than giving him a standard written test.

    Nudelman years ago also had administered a psychological test to Paul David Ahern, another guard at security company G4S, then known as The Wackenhut Co. Ahern killed two people and wounded two others in 1998 at his condominium community in Kendall. He is serving a life sentence.

    The week before the shootings, Ahern had been issued a temporary security officer’s license by the state. His psychological exam had been administered by Nudelman, according to a 1998 news article from the Miami Herald.

    Mateen, who killed 49 people early Sunday at a gay club in Orlando, had also worked as a security guard for G4S. He held two licenses from the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services: a Class D security officer license and a Class G firearms license.

    The gun license allowed him to carry up to two firearms. The psychological evaluation by Nudelman was conducted on Sept. 6, 2007, according to his firearm license application.

    Agriculture Commissioner Adam Putnam said earlier this week that the department reviewed his files and found nothing out of order.

    Mateen worked nearly nine years at G4S, most recently serving as a guard at a gated retirement community. He had also served as a guard at the St. Lucie County Courthouse.

    G4S released a statement this week saying the company was cooperating with law enforcement and that there had been nothing questionable in his conduct on the job.

    “Omar Mateen was employed by G4S at a residential community in South Florida and was off-duty at the time of the incident,” the statement read in part. “Mateen was subject to detailed company screening when he was recruited in 2007 and rescreened in 2013 with no adverse findings. He was also subject to checks by a U.S. law enforcement agency with no findings reported to G4S.”

    Psychological evaluations for armed security officers are generally not as rigorous as the exams given to police officers, said Robin Inwald, a psychologist who developed some of the first guidelines for police and public safety screening and fitness-for-duty evaluations in the early 1980s.

    For armed security officers, Florida law requires a security company to provide a verified written psychological test or an interview with a licensed psychologist showing the person is “mentally and emotionally stable.”

    The latest guidelines from experts recommend both a written test and an interview by a licensed psychologist. Such tests are more effective but also more time consuming and expensive, Inwald said.

    “In the security field the majority of security companies do not conduct a comprehensive psychological evaluation, even for armed security personnel,” said Inwald, who is not familiar with G4S’ specific screening protocol. “It’s important to do better screening for anyone carrying a gun, but how we do that and the cost of that process has to be discussed.”

    G4S has not responded to questions asking for specifics about the company’s screening protocol. It did not respond to a request for comment Wednesday on the latest revelations.

    Nudelman, who has since moved to Colorado, also could not be reached for comment.

    Using psychological testing to identify mass shooters is difficult because mass murder is such a rare event, Inwald said. Also, it’s possible someone’s mental stability could change after they are tested.

    Psychological testing is much more effective at predicting a person’s likelihood of being fired from a job or having trouble adjusting to a new job, Inwald said.

    “We need to train our community and family members to identify escalations of behaviors that could lead to mass shootings,” Inwald said.

    A spokeswoman for the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services did not respond to a request for details on the psychological testing.

    Mateen obtained his special firearms license in September 2007, shortly after he was hired by G4S. He passed a shooting range and a written test.

    Mateen was an excellent marksman, according to state records. On several occasions on the shooting range, he scored in the 230s out of a maximum score of 240, far above the passing score of 168.

    Mateen’s marksmanship scores slipped in 2014 and 2015, falling to 203 in his most recent test.

    He earned high marks on required tests, scoring a 96 on the most recent written exam he took in August 2015.

    The FBI had investigated him twice for possible terrorism links. Nothing in the records from the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services indicates the state was aware Mateen was under FBI investigation in 2013 and 2014 for suspected links to terrorism.

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    ©2016 Sun Sentinel (Fort Lauderdale, Fla.)

    Visit the Sun Sentinel (Fort Lauderdale, Fla.) at www.sun-sentinel.com

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