‘Shane’s brother put in chokehold’
A DOORMAN accused of attacking rugby star Shane Williams and his friends while ejecting them from Coyote Ugly in Cardiff put one of them in a chokehold for 11 seconds, a court has heard.
A jury at Cardiff Crown Court heard on Monday that Shane Williams’ brother, Dean, was left unconscious after the alleged incident which followed the Wales v South Africa match at the Principality Stadium on December 2 last year.
The former Wales and Ospreys winger was out with his brother and friends Rhodri Williams and Stewart Herbert in Cardiff city centre after the game.
They were drinking at the nightclub in St Mary Street just before 10pm when someone approached the group and tried to headbutt Dean Williams. After seeing this incident door staff working at the venue ejected the four-man group from the premises but an altercation occurred outside.
The door staff involved Dean Flowers, 32, of Closy-carlwm, Thornhill, Cardiff; Haydn Morgan, 42, of Herbert Street, Bridgend; and Dave Wing, 53, of Shearman Place, Grangetown, Cardiff, who all deny affray.
Yesterday Wing told the court he runs a company called Resolve It, where he and his colleague go to schools to talk about personal safety, self-defence, healthy relationships and drugs and alcohol awareness.
He said he also works as a door supervisor, which he has been doing for 25 years. He also teaches door staff.
On the day of the incident Wing was working on the front door of Coyote Ugly, along with Haydn Morgan and another doorman.
Wing said he was at the front door when Shane Williams and his group arrived. He said: “I assessed them on the front door and had a quick chat with Shane and he introduced me to his brother, so I said ‘your brother has all the good looks in the family.’ We laughed, had a hug and I let them in free of charge.”
Referring to events outside the club once the group had been ejected, Wing’s barrister, Heath Edwards, asked him if he meant to harm Dean Williams by putting him in a chokehold.
He said: “No, the intention was to nullify the threat. I then put him into the recovery position because he was unconscious. I was aware of Shane Williams coming towards myself and Dean Williams so I tried to move Dean out the way.”
Wing said he continued to work at the club that night until he was arrested by police.
Prosecutor Clare Wilks showed Wing CCTV footage of Dean Williams tapping him while being placed in a chokehold.
Wing said: “He wanted me to let go but he’s still resisting me.”
Ms Wilks said: “He couldn’t speak because you had a tight hold of him. He couldn’t speak because you were squeezing his throat and windpipe, he couldn’t do anything else.”
Wing said: “To me I still feel he’s a threat, I had to nullify the threat, the aggression he had shown before meant he could attack me again.”
Ms Wilks asked Wing how long he had Dean Williams in a chokehold. She ran the CCTV footage and counted to 11 seconds, before asking him why he didn’t let go.
Wing responded: “I was fearful of violence, he’s tried to attack door staff unprovoked and he’s bitten on my hand. I did what was instinctive.”
In her closing speech, Ms Wilks referred to Shane Williams being one of the individuals shown in the footage and reminded the jury to be true to their oaths and assess the evidence in the case.
She said: “Because of his rugby career he doesn’t have higher or lower standing in this court and you should assess him fairly and simply as another person on that footage. It comes down to this, the three defendants act in reasonable selfdefence, or did they cross the line, lose their cool and did the red mist come down?”
In his closing speech, Kevin Seal, defending Flowers, said: “The evidence you have heard in this case has come from live witnesses, everybody, whether they come from the dock or outside the courtroom, for the prosecution and the defence.
“The prosecution bring the case against Dean Flowers and they have to prove it.”
Defence barrister Peter Donnison, representing Morgan, said: “This case is all about self-defence and whether this defendant acted lawfully in selfdefence. The CCTV helps you a lot but it doesn’t tell you what people are thinking or how people perceive the actions of others. The real question for you is, was Haydn Morgan’s actions in defence of himself, in defence of his colleagues and the public?”
The trial continues.