Strippers, lies and video tapes
LOCAL criminal lawyer Doug Winning says security guards at Rockhampton's Zodiac Extreme Night Club are using too much force when removing patrons from their premises.
But club manager Darrin Ferguson said his staff were just doing their jobs.
Mr Winning said CCTV footage showing one of his clients being “slammed” into the pavement outside the club was an example of excessive violence.
“There's a high level of physical violence that seems to be present at this particular venue,” Mr Winning said.
He said it was absurd that people visiting the club were kicked out by security and often basically assaulted by security officers, then were charged by police for offences like public nuisance.
He said CCTV footage showed his client being thrown to the ground with significant force with no provocation, before being “sat on” for some time until police arrived.
But Mr Ferguson said footage from other cameras showed a drastically different story.
He said the footage showed the woman attempting to push past security officers on three occasions to re-enter the club, before she was grabbed by a security guard and restrained on the ground.
He said she continued to thrash at security officers and was held on the ground until police arrived.
“Refusing to leave licensed premises is actually an offence,” Mr Ferguson said, adding that security officers also had to consider the safety of other patrons.
“When we've got a packed club it's so easy for an innocent patron to get hurt,” Mr Ferguson said.
“These guys have got a job to do.”
Mr Winning said that it was true security guards were necessary for safety reasons, but said reasonable force was a key factor.
He said there was no need for the use of such violent restraint measures on a woman who was so small in stature and non-threatening.
Mr Winning said it wasn't an isolated incident.
“I have seven cases where they're all saying the same thing,” Mr Winning said.
“There's never any investigation into the conduct of the bouncers.”
Mr Ferguson said his security staff always tried to resolve the situation calmly.
“They always give them the opportunity to leave voluntarily,” Mr Ferguson said.
“But when they start to resist and become violent it's often necessary for them to be restrained.”
He said he required all of his security staff to have a responsible service of alcohol certificate and security licences and that whenever they had to restrain a patron an incident report had to be written up and all CCTV footage was handed over to police.
