New York City, NY (New York Injury News – News Report) The media has covered a number of stories related to nightclub bouncers and violence we’ve heard about the horrible murder of Imette St. Guillian following a night at the Falls nightclub in Soho, and the tragic shooting of 4 people at Opus 22 in Chelsea.
Surely there are many bouncers who are good and decent people, the nightclub world itself is a universe that revolves around late-night drinking, and suppressed inhibitions, so the possibility of violence will never be too far away. Cases involving bouncers and nightclubs almost always, involve young people. Here is a case involving a 21 year-old college student who could not escape harm and violence during a night of partying at a club.
John Ross (not his real name) was at the JPOD Tavern in Queens when an argument broke out between his friends and employees of the Tavern. John thought that “discretion was the better part of valor”, so he got his car to leave but first wanted to pick up his friends. When he pulled his car around to the front, he saw that the bouncer was pummeling one of his friends. John got out of his car when suddenly a friend of the bouncer -who happened to be an off-duty policeman -pulled out a gun and told John to stop in his tracks. He fired two shots that hit John, who later died from the gunshot wounds. Reports revealed that John was carrying a pellet gun.
At trial it was disputed which of the two men pulled out his gun first – the cop or John? The defense claimed John got out of his car with the gun in hand. The plaintiff’s trial attorney agreed and pointed out that it was the off-duty police officer that pulled out his gun first and that a second gunshot wound to John was the one that killed him. Records showed that a second shot was unnecessary to ensure policeman’s self-defense.
The case was won on behalf of John’s father. But the moral is that my if an argument breaks out at a bar late at night with strangers, bouncers, or even friends – keep in mind that people are often not themselves at that hour. Some bouncers are drawn to the nightclub life because they crave power and may also enjoy intimidating people. Should things escalate in one of these situations, remember that if someone is seriously injured or killed, proving who was right will be of little consolation.
