Patron filmed unconscious, held around neck as guard evicts him from hotel
The Age
Staff Reporter
November 25 2020
A man has passed out while being held in a chokehold by a security guard as he was ejected from a hotel in Melbourne's east.
The incident, recorded by patrons at the Dorset Gardens Hotel in Croydon, shows the guard holding the man around his neck before the patron falls to the floor. The guard then grabs his shirt and pants and drags him out the door.
Hotel publican Anthony Poloso confirmed the incident, which happened on November 14. He said the ejected man was all right. Mr Poloso said the man had been removed earlier from the pub.
"He was escorted out first at 6pm, then jumped the fence into the beer garden, then decided to pour his own beers behind the bar," Mr Poloso told Nine News.
He said the guard, who had worked for the hotel for about six years, had received a written warning and had been reassigned to other duties.
Mr Poloso said the patron lost consciousness in the chokehold but came to moments later.
Police confirmed they were investigating a reported assault at a licensed premises in Croydon on November 14. Investigators have been told a male was ejected from the Dorset Road premises before returning a short time later.