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DENVER (KDVR) — According to 9NEWS, the man accused of shooting and killing a rally attendee Saturday at Civic Center Park was a contracted security guard for their station.

FOX31 Problem Solvers are looking deeper into what qualifications security guards, particularly ones firing guns, have to have here in Denver.

Denver is one of only three cities in Colorado that requires city issued licenses to lawfully work as a security guard. 

“Security guard is the most common professional license that we issue in the City of Denver with more than 6,500 that are issued right now,” Denver’s Excise and Licenses Director of Communications Eric Escudero said. 

Escudero says to get a license, there’s training required that must be approved by Denver police.

“There are 16 hours of required training before you get that security guard license and then there are eight hours of additional security guard training before you get your renewal because this license has to be renewed every year,” Escudero said. 

Use of force, communication procedures and interaction with law enforcement are required components of the training security guards are required to get in order to get or renew a security guard license in Denver. Training covers what to wear, among a number of different rules laid out in 10 pages.

Rules Governing Security Guards & Private Security Employers

“There’s been a few instances in the past when there was a nightclub security security person who might have been too physical or might have injured somebody, we want to make sure those instances are prevented,” Escudero said.

Under the rules, getting a license does not automatically give guards permission to carry and fire a gun too.

“That’s additional,” Escudero said, adding “Not all security guards are armed, but there’s some that want to get an armed status. They have to go through additional approvals and have to apply for an armed status so they can carry a firearm and that goes through our office and also the Denver police department.”

FOX31 reached out to check the status of the contracted security guard in question of the fatal shooting on Saturday. Escudero’s response was:

“We searched our records and there is no record for an active security guard now or ever for an individual named Matthew Doloff. If he was operating as a security guard he was in violation of the law. Administratively, a security guard operating without a license could be fined up to $999 dollars and face up to a year in jail. The company he works for is also legally responsible for making sure all their security guard employees have a license and could face administrative action against their required security guard employer license if they have security guards working without a license.”

Escudero also said Denver police routinely check for security guards licenses when they encounter them. The Excise and Licenses department requires security guard companies to report the firing of an employee or their resignation.

Pinkerton, the security guard company Dolloff was reported to be employed by, does have a security guard employer license in the City of Denver, according to Escudero. The department has an open investigation into the company and employment status of Dolloff.