![]() ![]() Because there is no universal bouncer standard, individual bar owners are left to come up with hiring and training practices for their businesses.īob Woody, owner or part owner of 20 bars in Austin and a member of the board of directors for the Texas Bar and Nightclub Alliance, said he employs nonlicensed doormen at his businesses, but assigns only experienced workers to that job. Officials at the Texas Department of Public Safety, the state’s licensing agency for security guards, said they don’t know how many bouncers working in downtown Austin are certified. Still, he added, “when you have people who are checking IDs, patting people down at the door, breaking up fights and escorting people off the property, then you are 100 percent acting in the capacity of a security officer.” “They are saving money by not saying ‘security’ and putting ‘event staff’ or whatever other words on their T-shirts.” “It’s a money thing,” said Jones, a senior instructor and manager for Texas Certified Training Academy. ![]() Yet Glenn Jones, whose company trains students for the state security guard test, said most bar owners don’t hire or employ licensed guards because of the added expense in fees and to possibly avoid additional state regulation. The number of reported force encounters by Austin police, for example, jumped by 80 percent between 20.īar owners say they need bouncers to occasionally protect staff and customers against the inevitable patron who drinks too much and becomes disruptive. While assaults generally dropped slightly from 2013 to 2014, police say they have observed more aggression among patrons. The issue of bouncer behavior comes as crowds flocking to Austin’s entertainment district have grown and the volume of alcohol sales have surged, providing a combustible mix that police say can result in violence. “But they can still be sued or charged with assault if they use an unreasonable amount of force.” “You are allowed to use reasonable force to get someone to leave your place,” Assistant Austin Police Chief Jason Dusterhoft said. Under state law, they are permitted only to physically escort someone from a property if that customer is deemed to be trespassing.īecause of that, police warn, the actions of bouncers can quickly dissolve into assault. If a bouncer is accused of assaulting a patron, the alcohol licensing agency investigates only whether the bar properly reported the incident and if the business could have prevented it.Įven when licensed, bouncers enjoy no special legal protections. The Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission, which has strict rules and training for bartenders and others who serve liquor, has no standards or training for bouncers. Yet some nightclub and bar owners skirt that mandate by striking arrangements with employees to serve in those roles informally, effectively allowing them to hire bouncers with no experience or particular skill. State laws require employees designated as security personnel to undergo state-required training that teaches them conflict resolution and how to handle intoxicated people, among other skills. Yet they rarely have any formal training in taming patrons or de-escalating conflict, leaving them, according to critics, relying upon only brute strength while operating under a shaky premise that straddles the line between lawful enforcement and criminal conduct. But in one other recent case, a man has sued a downtown bar after he said an employee there hit him so hard in the face that he still requires treatment months later.Ī common sight at downtown bars, bouncers are supposed to project an air of implied menace to dissuade violence. Most haven’t resulted in any legal action. In the last three months of 2014, assault victims in eight other Austin police cases have claimed they were injured at the hands of a downtown bar employee or bouncer - typically muscular men empowered by bar and nightclub owners to perform security roles such as checking IDs at the front door or ejecting rowdy or drunk patrons. Yet the incident highlights a legally gray area of Austin’s entertainment district that raises public safety questions as the city’s entertainment district has become ever-busier. The case against Camillone, charged with assault, is pending. ![]() “In just an instant, everything changed dramatically,” said O’Hare, whose injuries required emergency brain surgery that night. Nearly three months ago, 24-year-old Joey O’Hare was at Kung Fu Saloon on Rio Grande Street on a relatively slow Sunday night when police say bouncer Robert Giovanni Camillone grabbed the back of the San Antonio resident’s neck, choking him into unconsciousness before dropping him face-first at the front door. ![]()
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