Club Security
02-23-2003, 03:23 PM
Good Day All…
Last night a security guard in a popular Downtown San Diego nightclub was killed. He was 22 years old and had been with the club for only 6 months. The incident went down like this.
A male patron had gotten up onto a go-go dancing platform. He was bothering a female dancer who was stationed on the platform dancing. The patron was approached by security and asked to get down. He complied and was told he needed to leave the club. He complied. There was no violence. The patron showed no outward signs of being intoxicated or under the influence of narcotics.
The two guards walked behind the patron towards the stairs that led to the front door of the club. As the three climbed the stairs, the patron stayed ahead of the guards. At about the fourth or fifth stair up, the patron, who had his hands at his sides, abruptly turned and with a closed fist, struck the guard closest to him in the face. The guard was on the second stair up from the floor. The guard fell straight back and onto the concrete floor. He suffered a skull fracture and died.
The patron was detained, arrested and will probably face murder charges.
I share this story so others might learn from this terrible incident. I am a veteran police officer and have learned to raise my threat level when I travel up or down stairs with suspects.
First, I tell the person as we approach any stairs that I am going to place my hands on them. I don’t want to surprise them when I touch them. Second, I never let them walk ahead of me on stairs. Third, even if the person isn’t charged with a violent crime I place my hands on their arms, wrist’s or shoulders whenever we are on stairs. Fourth, I stand or walk on the same level with the person. Fifth, if there is a second officer with me, they have two choices, they either walk close to the person so, one step below us. If there is a problem, they can wrap the person up and help me. The second choice is to walk 4 or 5 steps below us so they are out of reach of either a punch or kick. Lastly, I always talk to the person as we walk up the stairs. This is a simple distraction technique to keep the person off guard. If they are planning something the conversation provides something else for them to think of.
Stairs are an extremely bad location for the keepers of peace. Stairs automatically place the good guys in a position of disadvantage. Knowing this can possibly keep you from the experience of the young man in San Diego. Additionally, the security company is one of the best in San Diego. They run the security in over 8 clubs and have many hours of training under their belts. Just remember, you can never be too careful!
Be safe!
Nightclub Security Consultants
Last night a security guard in a popular Downtown San Diego nightclub was killed. He was 22 years old and had been with the club for only 6 months. The incident went down like this.
A male patron had gotten up onto a go-go dancing platform. He was bothering a female dancer who was stationed on the platform dancing. The patron was approached by security and asked to get down. He complied and was told he needed to leave the club. He complied. There was no violence. The patron showed no outward signs of being intoxicated or under the influence of narcotics.
The two guards walked behind the patron towards the stairs that led to the front door of the club. As the three climbed the stairs, the patron stayed ahead of the guards. At about the fourth or fifth stair up, the patron, who had his hands at his sides, abruptly turned and with a closed fist, struck the guard closest to him in the face. The guard was on the second stair up from the floor. The guard fell straight back and onto the concrete floor. He suffered a skull fracture and died.
The patron was detained, arrested and will probably face murder charges.
I share this story so others might learn from this terrible incident. I am a veteran police officer and have learned to raise my threat level when I travel up or down stairs with suspects.
First, I tell the person as we approach any stairs that I am going to place my hands on them. I don’t want to surprise them when I touch them. Second, I never let them walk ahead of me on stairs. Third, even if the person isn’t charged with a violent crime I place my hands on their arms, wrist’s or shoulders whenever we are on stairs. Fourth, I stand or walk on the same level with the person. Fifth, if there is a second officer with me, they have two choices, they either walk close to the person so, one step below us. If there is a problem, they can wrap the person up and help me. The second choice is to walk 4 or 5 steps below us so they are out of reach of either a punch or kick. Lastly, I always talk to the person as we walk up the stairs. This is a simple distraction technique to keep the person off guard. If they are planning something the conversation provides something else for them to think of.
Stairs are an extremely bad location for the keepers of peace. Stairs automatically place the good guys in a position of disadvantage. Knowing this can possibly keep you from the experience of the young man in San Diego. Additionally, the security company is one of the best in San Diego. They run the security in over 8 clubs and have many hours of training under their belts. Just remember, you can never be too careful!
Be safe!
Nightclub Security Consultants