Outrage at bar security stair throw
A GOLD Coast bar boss is aghast at an experienced security guard saying that a woman pushed down a flight of stairs by bouncers at The Grand Hotel “had it coming”.
Viral video shows three security guards in an altercation with a man and woman outside the Labrador watering hole last weekend, with the woman shoved violently down the stairs.
While he’s not “sticking up” for the security staff involved, Glitter Strip bar security veteran Shane Wyrzynski believes the woman was pushed with “reasonable force”.
“I’ve been in the industry for 28 years and have analysed the video,” he said. “You can clearly see the female is the aggressor and was given at least two warnings not to push past the guards and she’s come at them,” the head of security at ex-hotspots including Bourbon Bar and Crazy Horse Showgirls said.
“I’m not defending or sticking up for the guards, but if you are kicked out of a venue and follow the rules, there is no incident. That’s the bottom line.”
He said “once someone is removed from a venue, serious charges should apply if they try to get back in”.
“There’s already hefty fines, and they are clearly written on the door of every single venue in Queensland - so it’s amazing to me that people are shocked.”
Two of the guards would not return to work at Grand, employer Regal Security said.
Witness Joel Weidenbach told Channel Nine no one deserved the treatment dished out by security and “she wasn’t a threat to anyone”.
To date, The Grand has remained tight-lipped about the viral video that surfaced after the May 14 incident. The two patrons, a male and female, were pushed down the stairs at the club’s en
Disappointing situation wasn’t de-escalated Tim Martinon Surfers bar boss stair d rama Labrador’s Grand
trance after a heated confrontation with security. It shows the woman tumbling down the stairs.
Mr Wyrzynksi, who says he has been “glassed, spat on, kicked, hit and bitten” by females and males “no heavier than 60kg”, said the gender or size of an aggressive patron “made no difference”.
“The woman was out of line.
“It was reasonable force, but I do believe the push near a flight of stairs was very reckless on behalf of security.
“He used the same force that was used against him and she had it coming when she refused to leave.”
In February, Mr Wyrzynksi called for more onthe-beat police patrols of Surfers Paradise’s safe-night precinct to curb youth crime after he was king-hit by a teenager. He suffered head
injuries, a torn right bicep and a broken finger.
Mr Wyrzynski defended the male victim of The Grand drama and said the push that sent him down the stairs was “in no way safe”.
Surfers Paradise Licensed Venues Association president Tim Martin said it was “dissappointing the situation wasn’t de-escalated”.
“The safety of patrons and staff should always be top of mind for a venue and its security staff,” he said. “The role of security is to protect patrons by acting calmly to deescalate situations in the face of what can be sometimes challenging circumstances.
“That’s why in Surfers Paradise we have extensive policies as part of the safe night precinct combined with a heavy police presence to minimise risk of these incidents.”