Listen to the nice doorman....

[Grant Lamontagne]

Well tonight was another hell of a night.  Not as bad as New Year's, but could have very easily been much worse.  There were a few minor incidents, none of which would have been out of the ordinary, but we ended up with a full on domestic dispute tonight as well that got ugly real fast and almost got uglier.

A couple had been arguing around the gambling machines all night, but it had come to a head at around midnight when the gambling machines shut down.  In Nova Scotia, to control problem gamblers, the Video Lottery Terminals shut down at midnight, in the theory that you are forcing problem gamblers to cut their losses an hour or two earlier than they would otherwise.  Anyway, these two are arguing about money- kind of stupid considering they are pissing their money away in gambling machines... still, that's not much of a concern of mine, until they become very loud and start to disturb other patrons.

The manager/owner of the bar takes them aside and has a little chat saying that they really need to behave a little better in public- of course I and the other doorman aren't too far away at during all of this.  The woman starts getting very belligerent to the manager but still not violent so we hang back.  They come out of the gambling room, the guy trying to get his girlfriend to leave.  She isn't listening to anyone.  She decides she is going to finish her drink and that's all there is to it.  Enter the doormen.  She's getting wilder and wilder, telling off the other doorman for "staring" at her, which at this point is his job.  She's getting more and more animate and the wine in her wine glass is being sloshed around, and she's very loud, and using very bad language... which isn't the end of the world.  I step in and grab the glass to take it from her, she pulls back, the wine goes flying everywhere...  the boyfriend is alternating between fighting with her, telling us to back off and trying to get her to leave.  She's screaming obscenities, flailing around, throwing chairs around and otherwise freaking out.  We are giving the boyfriend some space to get her out of there without a fight, but we can see he's not getting anywhere so we are waiting for our opening.  The boyfriend gets too close to her and the next thing that happens is the wine glass is smashed against the wall.  I don't think it was intentional, but regardless of the reasons behind it, she is now in possession of a dangerous weapon.  The boyfriend is between her and I, so I crush him between me and her, and she's pushed into the wall.  I grab her wrists and call to the other doorman "GET THE GLASS!  GET THE GLASS!"  We have to take it from her before she realizes what she has. 

Now let me pause for a moment and tell you about me and the other doorman.  His name is Pugs, he's about six foot four, about 260 pounds and has a mohawk.  He is a very even tempered guy who simply does not start fights.  I appreciate this, as I hate folks that start fights.  He also carried kegs of beer across the bar the way the rest of us would carry a case, so as you can imagine, he's a very powerful guy, and great to have backing you up.  He is also 23 and trying to be a firefighter- in short, far too young and too full of promise to lose an eye or be horribly disfigured by some idiotic trashy b*tch.  I'd rather not be disfigured either, but given the choice, I'd save Pugs the stitches in a heartbeat.

So I've got the boyfriend pinned against the girl who is pinned against the wall, I've got both wrists, and out of the corner of my eye I see a hand pull the glass from her hand.  Once it's out of the way I relax a bit and step back, waiting for the next round.  The boyfriend says he will get her out.  I say fine, get her out.  She refuses to leave.  The boyfriend says if she doesn't come with him, he's going to leave her to us.  She refuses to leave.  He walks out to the door and motions to us as if to say "I tried, she's all yours."  I motion for Pugs to back off a bit, I take a step back and ask her to leave- we won't stop or harass her, she can leave with some dignity.  She refuses.  To clarify, I tell her that if she doesn't leave on her own, we will have no choice but to move her out.  She refuses.  One more time I ask her if she will leave of her own free will.  She refuses.  A quick nod to Pugs ad we each grab and arm and haul her out the door.  The doorway is too narrow for three to go abreast, so I take her the rest of the way, but since her other arm is now free when Pugs lets her go, she decides to grab onto the door frame, kicking and screaming.  I give a solid tug and she comes flying out the door at me and takes a swing at me, which I duck as I'd seen it coming.  I then let her go and make some distance so she can't try it again.  Meanwhile, the manager that had spoken to her screams "That's assault- call the police!"  That catches the woman's attention and she knows she's in it deep now, so she backs off and stands next to the door, going back to her loud verbal abuse.  I call the police on my cell phone and can barely hear the officer on the other end over this woman screaming obscenities.  As I was on the phone with the police, another patron, backing out of her parking spot, hit another vehicle, so now I had another problem to deal with.     The crazy woman's boyfriend had also gotten sick of her and decided to walk home.

While waiting for the police a number of folks tried talking to her to calm her down, she insisted that I'd body slammed her and that I only did it because I had a black shirt on.  I couldn't resist pointing out that she also had a black shirt on... 

Eventually, the police arrive and she attempts to lodge a complaint about us.  Bear in mind that I alone am somewhat larger than her, and Pugs is somewhat larger than me, so if we had meant to hurt her, there would have been nothing to stop us.  The police informed her that we had every right to eject her from the property, and that if she refused, then we had the right to physically remove her.  They also told her point blank that adults should only have to be told once, and that only children needed to be told the same thing over and over.  It was great to see the officer, whom she envisioned as her savior, tell her what a twit she was.  The conversation went like this:

Woman: I'm pissed off!

Officer: ok

Woman: Do I have a right to be pissed off?

Officer:  Yes, as long as you do it while leaving

Woman:  Can I tell you why I'm pissed off?

Officer:  No, because I really don't care

All in all, this crazy woman almost attacked both of the owners of the bar, her boyfriend, two waitresses, me, Pugs and several other patrons, and it was everyone's fault but hers. 

She was lucky tonight, because if this incident had happened at any other bar, with any other doormen beside Pugs and myself, she would have likely been hurt very bad, charged criminally, and spent at least a night in jail.  Even worse had she managed to actually use that broken wine glass- that's the kind of thing no LEO, public or private would mess with, as jagged, broken glass can make a real mess of someone in no time. 

I know all of you behave yourselves better than this, but please, if you know someone who isn't smart enough to trust the folks looking after their safety, please, have a long chat with them and explain to them how quickly a minor situation can become a major one, sometimes even before they know it.  Who knows?  The life you may save may be their own.  Even if they aren't killed wielding a weapon like shards of broken glass, a criminal record and jail time is not usually a good career move.

By the way, the car accident turned out to be nothing but a minor scrape, barely enough to scratch the plastic bumper covers on either car.  The owner of the parked car was found and informed, came out and shown the marks on his bumper, smiled, and waved the poor woman who hit his car off.  The lady who had bumped his car is an elderly lady, who was flustered after witnessing most of the above incident, and was in a hurry to get away from such a mess.

Listen to the nice doormen, and save us all a lot of grief.

Def

[Spoonrobot]

Ugh.

What a mess. Glad it ended somewhat well for you, all parts still attached and precious fluids still inside.

[Grant Lamontagne]

Yup- all intact fortunately. 

Had Pugs not been close enough to take the glass from her hand it's entirely possible her wrist could have been broken when I bounced it off something to get her to let it go.  I am glad that didn't have to happen.  I don't like to hurt people, but like I said, you don't screw around when it comes to that kind of stuff.  If Pugs had lost an eye, which is very possible in that kind of situation, his firefighting career would have been over before it started.  Weighed against that, a broken wrist is an acceptable risk.

Def

[Benner]

Sound like another interesting night there Def.

[Grant Lamontagne]

Always a new challenge, that's for sure!

It's a great job, and I enjoy the challenge of never having two nights quite the same, but you can never forget how bad things can go in no time flat.  Most of the time it's not that bad, but the one time it is, you have to be ready for it or you could be wearing the marks for the rest of your life.

Def

[WhichDawg]

stupid people are one sad thing, stupid people who drink...sadness to many. I hope you strike it big boss and get out of that soon.
I'm sure it must be getting old.

I heard a story about someone welding a broken bottle in a club once, most of the bouncers froze, trying to talk him outta it and one bouncer
in back, ruffed up his hair, pulled out his shirt and pretended to be a drunk, ignoring the guy and walking right near him and when he was close enough
grabbed the hand with the bottle, clocked the guy and pinned him down. I don't know if they called the police or took him out but that was the
end of it.

Stay safe and one piece boss, we need ya obie-thousand-an-wan!

[Grant Lamontagne]

Thanks man.  I really don't mind the job, even when things go south.  It's what I'm good at, so I do it.

According to the Use of Force Continuum, when a potentially lethal weapon is put into play, lethal force is justified.  Remember that lethal force on the continuum doesn't mean the same as it does in the movies- it is defined as any action where the expected outcome is death or grievous bodily harm.  Of course, it doesn't have to go that far, it just means if you have to, you have to.  Ten years ago most cops would draw their guns in a situation like that.  Today the subject is very likely to be tazered, possibly even without warning in such a situation.  We don't carry guns or tazers, which I am happy with.  Most doormen out there that I've worked with aren't responsible enough for that kind of hardware, and the recent incidents at the bar I used to work at seem to prove that.

Still, the one day I can't manage a woman that's 50 pounds lighter than me is the day I retire!

Def

[jock1]

Thanks man.  I really don't mind the job, even when things go south.  It's what I'm good at, so I do it.

According to the Use of Force Continuum, when a potentially lethal weapon is put into play, lethal force is justified.  Remember that lethal force on the continuum doesn't mean the same as it does in the movies- it is defined as any action where the expected outcome is death or grievous bodily harm.  Of course, it doesn't have to go that far, it just means if you have to, you have to.  Ten years ago most cops would draw their guns in a situation like that.  Today the subject is very likely to be tazered, possibly even without warning in such a situation.  We don't carry guns or tazers, which I am happy with.  Most doormen out there that I've worked with aren't responsible enough for that kind of hardware, and the recent incidents at the bar I used to work at seem to prove that.

Still, the one day I can't manage a woman that's 50 pounds lighter than me is the day I retire!

Def

Main thing is everybody went home in one piece and the polis used common sense .Not all of them do!!!!!!!!!

[Mike, Lord of the Spammers!]

Nice to have a bit of excitement once in a while isn't it , I feel sorry for the boyfriend, I've been in his shoes with nightmare ex's before

Glad you ok anyway boss, sounds like a nice piece of sound jugement on your part

Seriousy question though, when did women get so bloody aggresive , it used to be the odd one or two that'd start a fight, but it seems a lot more common these days

[Roadie]

Glad to hear you sorted it out without physical injury, i'm sure it takes more skill and judgement to do that than the alternative.

Seriousy question though, when did women get so bloody aggresive

You obviously never played mixed hockey when you were at school! I was more scared playing against girls half my size than lads twice my size!

[Mike, Lord of the Spammers!]

Glad to hear you sorted it out without physical injury, i'm sure it takes more skill and judgement to do that than the alternative.

Seriousy question though, when did women get so bloody aggresive

You obviously never played mixed hockey when you were at school! I was more scared playing against girls half my size than lads twice my size!

Nope sadly I went to a boys school (which is probably just as well or I would have ended up being a teen dad ), but I know what you mean

[Grant Lamontagne]

I don't feel sorry for the boyfriend- he was a dirtbag too!   He just didn't seem as bad since she was so over the top!

Def

[Anthony]

I'm glad everything worked out the way it did, with no one hurt.

If you were to get into that situation again, would you do anything different?  Would a face full of mace on that woman make things easier or harder in the long run?

[Grant Lamontagne]

Nope... I really can't see much of a difference in anything that was done, except maybe to have gotten her out of the bar sooner.

But that would have just made the events happen sooner, so it's not a huge regret.

Def

[jzmtl]

Alright, who's in for going to def's bar, pretend to be drunk and mess with him a bit? Must be someone he's never met face to face before. 

[Grant Lamontagne]

I'll know it's one of you by the number of multitools and flashlights in your pockets!   

Def

[bobofish]

So as camo, the person that goes in can wear a chinese knockoff SAK and a pakistani leatherman!

[jock1]

So as camo, the person that goes in can wear a chinese knockoff SAK and a pakistani leatherman!

No Way not even as an operational necessity I'd rather get fake tanned and exfoliate !!!!!!!!

[Mike, Lord of the Spammers!]

You would stand out!, everyone know's the sun never shines in scotland, I've seen 'take the high road' 

[jock1]

You would stand out!, everyone know's the sun never shines in scotland, I've seen 'take the high road' 

It's obvious you have never been out in Glasgow the tanning salons in the city draw half of the national grids output .You see legions of people who look they have been Ronsealed 

[Mike, Lord of the Spammers!]

You would stand out!, everyone know's the sun never shines in scotland, I've seen 'take the high road' 

It's obvious you have never been out in Glasgow the tanning salons in the city draw half of the national grids output .You see legions of people who look they have been Ronsealed 

I can't see the point off tanning salons, why pay for skin cancer

[jock1]

You would stand out!, everyone know's the sun never shines in scotland, I've seen 'take the high road' 

It's obvious you have never been out in Glasgow the tanning salons in the city draw half of the national grids output .You see legions of people who look they have been Ronsealed 

I can't see the point off tanning salons, why pay for skin cancer

It's so you can be the sexiest fittest looking person on the ward

[Mike, Lord of the Spammers!]

  , good point, well made that man