A bouncer and part-time lecturer in non-violent techniques for door security staff was yesterday convicted of assaulting a woman after dragging her through a nightclub to throw her out.
David Gordon (27), a member the Irish Security Institute, which sets training standards for security personnel, denied assaulting Sarah Gannon at Judge Roy Bean's, Dublin, on June 12th, 2003.
Gordon of Bessborough Avenue, North Strand, Dublin, was given a four-month suspended jail sentence on condition that he pays €3,000 to Ms Gannon.
Dublin District Court heard Ms Gannon and a friend arrived at the club in a tipsy but not a drunken state. Later Mr Gordon heard shouting from people in an alcove area and one of them, not Ms Gannon, was covered in drink. He assumed Ms Gannon was the troublemaker as she was shouting and swearing at the person covered with drink. He told her to leave and she pushed him and he pushed her back, causing her to fall. He started pushing her out and they both fell. He then grabbed her and dragged her the length of the nightclub to put her out.
She claimed she was dragged by the hair but he said he dragged her for only a short distance, six to eight feet, by holding on to her arm. He claimed he did this because she grabbed him by the lapels and was violently. She suffered scratches and bruising and said she felt shaken.
Judge Patrick Brady said Gordon's actions in the circumstances were "entirely unreasonable" especially as he had refused to allow Ms Gannon to explain what had happened.
