ORANGE COUNTY, Fla. — Bright House Networks said it’s cutting off cable to a troubled Orange County condo complex because it’s too dangerous for technicians.
A Bright House worker was held at gunpoint in the Tymber Skan complex last month.
That prompted the company to stop service calls and now it’s pulling out altogether.
The move comes after county commissioners discussed plans on Monday to clean up the property.
Channel 9’s Kathi Belich found out Bright House had asked for help from the Orange County Sheriff’s Office.
Leaders from the county, the Sheriff’s Office and Bright House will meet later this week to discuss the issue.
In the meantime, law abiding residents who said they can’t afford to leave Tymber Skan said they don’t deserve to be denied Bright House’s services.
A Sheriff’s Office report said a Bright House technician was answering a service call at Tymber Skan just before 1 p.m. on July 27 when he said a man put a black handgun to the small of his back and said, “Give me everything you got.”
The technician said the gunman was startled by another resident and took off after ripping off his watch.
That led Bright House to make the unusual move of ending service calls altogether.
“Apparently, Bright House is afraid to come here. They were here the other day checking on my Wi-Fi, or about a week ago,” said resident Jean Riess.
Riess is disabled and works from home.
“This pretty much means I lost out on a job I was supposed to start on Friday,” Riess said.
The homeowners association's lawyer said Bright House’s decision to cut service amounts to treating Riess and other law-abiding Tymber Skan residents as second-class citizens.
But Bright House said the Tymber Skan HOA broke its agreement by failing to provide a safe environment.
It cites a Channel 9 report about the county’s plans to demolish about a dozen buildings over the next year and a half.
The Sheriff’s Office will only send deputies into Tymber Skan in pairs.
An agreement later this week may provide security for Bright House technicians so that service could continue.
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