BOUNCER LOSES LICENCE AFTER SHOCK ATTACK
A BOUNCER at a popular Gold Coast restaurant and bar threw a patron on to the ground so hard during an unprovoked attack it fractured his ear canal.
Mackenzie Waring walked from Southport District Court yesterday after pleading guilty to one count of assault occasioning bodily harm.
Waring claimed he made a “mistake”.
The 25-year-old was sentenced to eight months in prison, wholly suspended for 15 months.
“You were in a position where you had a particular obligation not to unlawfully use violence even in situations which are intense,” Judge Katherine McGinness said.
“The complainant had acted in a verbally aggressive manner to other staff but that is no excuse.”
Crown prosecutor Natalie Lima said the victim had not been allowed back inside Justin Lane, Burleigh Heads, after having a cigarette.
The victim asked for his jumper to be returned and was talking to staff members outside the eatery while he was waiting.
CCTV footage played to the court showed the victim had made no aggressive movements when Waring came up behind him. The footage showed Waring grabbing him by the torso and pulling him to the ground.
“The complainant’s head audibly hit the footpath,” Ms Lima said.
She told the court Waring had given no warning to the man before the attack.
“There was a disregard for the complainant’s safety,” she said.
The man was left with a fractured ear canal and has fully recovered but has lost some sense of smell.
Waring left a note in the security log that the man had tripped, Ms Lima told the court.
Defence barrister Damien Gates said Waring had “made a mistake by pushing him so hard”.
He said Waring was remorseful for his actions, rendered first aid immediately and had written to the court apologising for the incident.
Waring lost his security licence after the incident and now works as a courier.
Mr Gates said Waring was born in Dunedin, New Zealand and attended high school at Tamborine Mountain College before returning to New Zealand to join the defence force.
Warning is the stepfather to four children and his wife is due to give birth tomorrow.