Reilly's bouncer caught on video hitting patron |
Reilly's bouncer caught on video hitting patron |
Oct 5 2009, 08:05 AM
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Member Group: Members Posts: 137 Joined: 24-August 09 Member No.: 945 |
I can't believe no one started this thread already, so I will! I want to see what everyone has to say about this story. http://thenewsdispatch.com/main.asp?Sectio...ArticleID=26179
Video clip shows Reilly's bouncer punching man Alicia Ebaugh Staff Writer MICHIGAN CITY - Caught on video by bystanders, footage of a doorman hitting a patron several times and then kicking him outside Reilly's Sports Bar and Grill last month has drawn pointed criticism from all sides. The patron and his family claim such force was excessive and wouldn't have been employed if he weren't black. Bar employees say the patron provoked the fight. In the 28-second clip, which first found its way to the internet Tuesday, Eryc D. Calvin, 26, of Michigan City, is seen lying on the ground outside the bar at 1103 Franklin St. near some broken glass with two men standing over him, pushing him into the sidewalk. The volume on the video is low, but Calvin can be heard saying "I didn't even do nothin'," to which doorman Eric Polomcak replied, "You took a swing at me, b----." A man identified by bar owner Mark Killerman as a manager is seen yelling to another bar patron involved in the altercation, "Marty, let him go!" Calvin is allowed to stand up, fixing his pants and shirt sleeves. Polomcak then says, "You wanna play?" and punches Calvin in the face four times. After Calvin is on the ground, Polomcak asks, "Now we done?" before kicking him in the upper body. The video, which was featured on the social networking Web site Myspace until Thursday night, drew more than 3,200 views over the three days it was posted there. It is now featured on YouTube. "Bottom line, what they did was wrong," said Calvin, who is black. "It's racist. You know if that was me beating up on some white guy, I'd be in jail right now." Polomcak, who admitted in an interview that he punched Calvin, disagreed. "I saw it, and I know that video doesn't show everything that happened. He pushed another doorman," said Polomcak, 41. "I don't give a s--- if you're black, white, pink or purple, someone who's been drinking is like a loaded gun. You don't know what they're gonna do." The incident started inside the bar a little before 1:45 a.m. Sept. 20, but Calvin and Polomcak give differing stories about how Calvin ended up outside. Calvin said he was at the bar with his girlfriend, his brother, his brother's girlfriend and two other women. A young woman was pulling on his sweater and trying to dance with him when a doorman came up to him and asked what he was doing, he said. "He told me I needed to leave and pushed me out the door," Calvin said. "I wasn't trying to fight or nothing." Polomcak said another doorman, identified only as "Jason," approached Calvin after the woman told Jason that Calvin, her ex-boyfriend, was trying to "start something" with her. "Jason pushed him toward the door, but he got belligerent and pushed him back, so I got involved. I told him he needed to go and pushed him outside, and we went to the ground," Polomcak said. The other patron who went outside with them was just trying to help defuse the situation, Polomcak said, and patted Calvin down for weapons. He did not have any. When Calvin stood up near the curb, he said he would have walked away had the two men not been in front of him and a car behind him on the street. "How am I supposed to get out of all y'alls club if you're not letting me leave?" Calvin said in an interview. But Polomcak said that when he asked Calvin if he wanted to "play," Calvin replied, "Yeah, [expletive], we're gonna go." However, that's not audible on the video. "I'm notorious for keeping my temper, but when he said that I wasn't going to wait to see what he was going to do next," Polomcak said. "I didn't want to get hit ... I could have held back from the knee, but I think everything else was justified." Calvin's girlfriend, Britney Harmon, 21, Michigan City, said she saw Calvin talking to the woman and went to dance. The next thing she knew, she said, he was pushed outside. "The bouncers wouldn't let us outside to see what was going on," Harmon said. "They were blocking the doors." None of his friends saw what happened, Harmon said. Any time there is a fight outside, the doors are blocked to make sure no one else gets involved, Polomcak said. But the video clearly shows a woman was allowed outside during the incident to speak to the other patron who was involved. Calvin's lip was cut during the fight, he said, and he said he still has severe headaches. He called police after he left the bar to make a report, but he said he didn't get the impression they would do anything about it. In a police report Calvin filed Thursday, he said he was unaware he would have to go to the police station to make a report for battery. The report was made after he first talked to The News-Dispatch about the incident. Calvin's family has hired attorney Greg Sarkisian of Portage in hopes of pursuing action against the bar. Bar owner Killerman said he was sure his staff handled the situation appropriately. "We don't want this place to be like the old Sullivan's (the bar's previous name)," Killerman said. "We don't want trouble here." Necessary disclaimer: The views expressed in this post are mine and do not necessarily reflect the views of Paxton Media Group.
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Oct 5 2009, 11:25 PM
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Getting Comfortable Group: Members Posts: 36 Joined: 26-August 09 Member No.: 947 |
I just saw the video and it is pretty rough. You have a police department to call if something inside warranted a beat down outside.
If a loud mouth gets you beat down like that ....then we could never have town halls!!!! No excuse whatsoever... I cannot think of an example where a beat down like this would be tolerated under any circumstance..(Roadhouse movies excluded). The bouncer will do some time and or lose the lawsuit. The bar will be held responsible. The Chicago killing of an innocent person by an angry mob is another indication of how crass and harsh we have become. The strong taking out their rage and vengeance on the weak..and we sometimes find a logic for the behavior. Thank goodness for video!!!! Here is a link for the Chicago mob scene: http://www.iviewtube.com/v/89320/16-year-o...eath-in-chicago and here is a link to what should be happening when the lions prey on the herds. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LU8DDYz68kM At some point (racial or otherwise) the violence has to BE stopped. |
Oct 5 2009, 11:52 PM
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Really Comfortable Group: Members Posts: 1,829 Joined: 11-January 07 From: Kobe, Japan Member No.: 18 |
I just saw the video and it is pretty rough. You have a police department to call if something inside warranted a beat down outside. If a loud mouth gets you beat down like that ....then we could never have town halls!!!! No excuse whatsoever... I cannot think of an example where a beat down like this would be tolerated under any circumstance..(Roadhouse movies excluded). The bouncer will do some time and or lose the lawsuit. The bar will be held responsible. The Chicago killing of an innocent person by an angry mob is another indication of how crass and harsh we have become. We? |
Oct 6 2009, 07:09 AM
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Getting Comfortable Group: Members Posts: 36 Joined: 26-August 09 Member No.: 947 |
We? One word speaks volumes. It so much reminds me of the right wing blogs and talking heads. The 2 Americas theory. I was pretty clear on who "we" are. I don't think most readers were confused by my grammar. How bout this little either/or test to help on clarity. Fill in the blank. WE or WE? _____need to pay higher taxes. _____need to pay lower taxes. _____should allow abortion on demand. _____need to demand health care for ALL. _____need to do all we can to close the borders . _____need to come together to stop the violence. Last I checked EVERY ONE of the people in the Chicago video were a part of "we". I guess not in your world though. |
Oct 7 2009, 10:54 PM
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Really Comfortable Group: Members Posts: 1,829 Joined: 11-January 07 From: Kobe, Japan Member No.: 18 |
One word speaks volumes. It so much reminds me of the right wing blogs and talking heads. The 2 Americas theory. I was pretty clear on who "we" are. I don't think most readers were confused by my grammar. How bout this little either/or test to help on clarity. Fill in the blank. WE or WE? _____need to pay higher taxes. _____need to pay lower taxes. _____should allow abortion on demand. _____need to demand health care for ALL. _____need to do all we can to close the borders . _____need to come together to stop the violence. Last I checked EVERY ONE of the people in the Chicago video were a part of "we". I guess not in your world though. One word can also be misinterpreted. I could have been clearer in my request for clarity. If you mean the whole family of man thing, yeah - "we" is appropriate. I chafe at being lumped in with a bunch of lamebrains - even though lamebrains ARE part of "we" as well. So - thanks for clarifying. I agree with you - parts of society, which we ARE a part of - can really suck. |
Oct 8 2009, 09:47 PM
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Getting Comfortable Group: Members Posts: 36 Joined: 26-August 09 Member No.: 947 |
One word can also be misinterpreted. I could have been clearer in my request for clarity. If you mean the whole family of man thing, yeah - "we" is appropriate. I chafe at being lumped in with a bunch of lamebrains - even though lamebrains ARE part of "we" as well. So - thanks for clarifying. I agree with you - parts of society, which we ARE a part of - can really suck. I am glad we find common ground. I ,however, was not referring to the family of man (whatever that is). I was referring to the USA in general and Michigan City in particular. I too chafe at being lumped in with lamebrains. Also thugs, bums, crooks, and lazy people. Hopefully one day soon the dialog will elevate to a point where the the problems in our society can be addressed with an earnest goal of changing behavior. It cannot continue as is. |
Oct 9 2009, 01:05 AM
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Really Comfortable Group: Members Posts: 1,829 Joined: 11-January 07 From: Kobe, Japan Member No.: 18 |
I am glad we find common ground. I ,however, was not referring to the family of man (whatever that is). I was referring to the USA in general and Michigan City in particular. I too chafe at being lumped in with lamebrains. Also thugs, bums, crooks, and lazy people. Hopefully one day soon the dialog will elevate to a point where the the problems in our society can be addressed with an earnest goal of changing behavior. It cannot continue as is. The family of man just means all people - all the people in the US, all the people in MC. I don't think the problem is the dialog - lots of dialog addresses the problems in our society. But that's all it is - dialog. Changing the white hillbillies in the south who think nigger is an acceptable word - or the people who continue to produce the Miss Black America Pageant. How can that goal be facilitated? I personally have no idea - but I truly wonder if it CAN happen. Racism seems pretty ingrained in humans. Is that just what we're used to? Perplexing. |
Oct 9 2009, 05:18 AM
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Getting Comfortable Group: Members Posts: 36 Joined: 26-August 09 Member No.: 947 |
The family of man just means all people - all the people in the US, all the people in MC. I don't think the problem is the dialog - lots of dialog addresses the problems in our society. But that's all it is - dialog. Changing the white hillbillies in the south who think nigger is an acceptable word - or the people who continue to produce the Miss Black America Pageant. How can that goal be facilitated? I personally have no idea - but I truly wonder if it CAN happen. Racism seems pretty ingrained in humans. Is that just what we're used to? Perplexing. If both of those goals were fulfilled and hiring practices that breed nepotism and homogeneous results continue then we have done nothing. We have never had a dialog on this issue. Results and opportunity based on honest , fair and open processes is what most people want. The N word and beauty pageants are extremely low on my radar (Its not as insulting as it once was because it is a better indication of the USERS mental place than the recipients) ...maybe thats why dialog is important. Why some think these are linchpins to addressing racial progress and others think they are just symptoms of an underlying issue is also perplexing. Nationalism is a human characteristic but the black white stuff is purely an american animal. |
Oct 9 2009, 06:02 AM
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Really Comfortable Group: Members Posts: 1,829 Joined: 11-January 07 From: Kobe, Japan Member No.: 18 |
We have never had a dialog on this issue. Is that a joke? Though racism still rears it's ugly head the racial situation in America is far better than it was in, for example, the 50's. This is due in now small part to the on-going dialogue you claim we've never had. |
Oct 9 2009, 06:40 AM
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Getting Comfortable Group: Members Posts: 36 Joined: 26-August 09 Member No.: 947 |
Is that a joke? Though racism still rears it's ugly head the racial situation in America is far better than it was in, for example, the 50's. This is due in now small part to the on-going dialogue you claim we've never had. I would attribute our VAST improvements on this front to sit ins..marches..brave women and men like JFK,MLK,and sacrifices by thousands of people white and black risking their lives and their jobs resisting intolerant and unrepentant racist people and laws not only in the south. But we regress on this thread and I can and will respect your opinion. I will respectfully agree to disagree. |
Oct 9 2009, 03:38 PM
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Really Comfortable Group: Members Posts: 1,829 Joined: 11-January 07 From: Kobe, Japan Member No.: 18 |
I would attribute our VAST improvements on this front to sit ins..marches..brave women and men like JFK,MLK,and sacrifices by thousands of people white and black risking their lives and their jobs resisting intolerant and unrepentant racist people and laws not only in the south. But we regress on this thread and I can and will respect your opinion. I will respectfully agree to disagree. Yes - I support your right to disagree, and I appreciate your being a gentleman about it. But don't you think people like Martin Luther King, John F. Kennedy, and other have had a long dialog about this problem. It baffles me to see you say there's been no dialogue about it. |
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