Fan assaulted by House of Blues security for taking picture in 4b3221d42

Fan assaulted by House of Blues security for taking picture

October 12, 2009 - Chicago House of Blues staff assault a girl after one of them believes she took his picture. Hanson fans were waiting to get photos of the band after their performance and were told they had to wait off of House of Blues property. While waiting at the street, one girl took a picture and a security guard believed she had photographed him. The video shows her camera is wrestled out of her hands and she is shoved to the ground repeatedly until she calls for her friends to call 911. She is then kept pinned to the ground as the guard tells her to apologize to him.

Her friend videotaped the assault and had her Flip camera grabbed out of her hands by security telling her she had no right to be recording it (the lens appears to be covered but the camera keeps recording audio and you can hear her stating her rights to photography in public and demanding it back). She originally posted this video to Youtube but it was deleted for "Terms of Use Violation" shortly afterward... however, not before copies of the footage were recorded by major news outlets who are now covering this story.

A video recorded only minutes prior to the assault shows the girls among a larger group laughing and talking with Zac Hanson while he poses for photos and signs autographs. At the end of the video you can hear the security guard yell for them to clear out (of the venue's loading area), appearing to startle Hanson and those around him.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1FkkDvJ3fwo

Chicago Police have arrested Darrell Gibson, 31, of Sauk Village, on a misdemeanor charge of battery in connection with the assault. He was released on a $1,000 bond Tuesday morning and faces a Nov. 5 court hearing.

Police would not confirm that Gibson worked for the House of Blues, but a spokesperson for the venue said that "an incident occurred on Monday night outside House of Blues involving an individual and a security guard" and that the venue would "cooperate fully with the authorities."

Live Nation, corporate owner of the House of Blues, released a statement saying, "We take our responsibility to maintain the safety of both our patrons and the artists who play at the House of Blues very seriously. We are looking into the incident and will cooperate fully with the authorities."

A commenter here (Anna Vaughn) identifying herself as the person who made the 911 call states, "I was there, and I’d like to let you all know that she did not even take the security guards photos. We were sitting on a public sidewalk and a tour bus began to come up the drive way and she took a picture of the driveway to the alley. Thats it. The guards were already pissed that we went by the buses and we were informed that it is public property and we were not trust passing by going down there, just that it had been a safety issue and we politely made our way to the sidewalk. He freaked after she took the picture of the driveway, literally. They also made sure to inform us that they were already clocked out and were not on HOB property so they were allowed to do whatever they wanted to."

A source close to the investigation states that as of Wednesday night three House of Blues employees have been suspended without pay pending an investigation.

House of Blues Chicago is currently being sued for a security guard's assault on another woman inside the venue last year.

More coverage:
Huffington Post House Of Blues Security Guard Taped Assaulting Woman
NBC Chicago HoB Security Guard Assaulted Young Girl: Cops
War on Photography House of Blues Security Assaults Fan then tries to Seize Camera
Photography Is Not A Crime House of Blues security guard arrested on battery charge
Photography Is Not A Crime House of Blues security guard assaults woman for taking his picture
Idolater.com House Of Blues Guard Arrested After Attacking Concertgoer
Chicago Reader House of Blues Security on the Rampage
A.V. Club House Of Blues releases statement about incident at Hanson show
Chicago Sun-Times House of Blues guard arrested on battery charges
Chicago Breaking News Battery charges for House of Blues guard in scuffle

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Comments (60)

	Michaelk42: 10/13/2009 8:29 PM This hopped-up security guard has no business grabbing anything. Good job with the thugs there, House of Blues.
	TheTea: 10/13/2009 10:56 PM These girls had no business acting THAT ridiculous. Both parties are equally at fault in my opinion.
	Jon Quimbly: 10/13/2009 11:06 PM They had no right trying to stop from getting robbed? What, do you work for HOB? Everyone has the right to snap pictures or take video in public. Those thugs acted criminally, they had no right to steal her camera! They were caught in the act of committing robbery and assault, live on video dude. They'll be spending time in prison, not to mention getting their asses sued.
	TheTea: 10/13/2009 11:33 PM You're right in the sense that they had no right in taking her camera... unless the girls were breaking HOB rules. No, I don't work for the HOB, shit, I don't even live in a state where a HOB is located. However, these girls, from what I've heard, were warned repeatedly and ignored the warnings. Also, harrassment is harrassment, if these guys took the girls cameras without a valid reason, the MATURE way to handle it would have been to call the cops immediately, not push the guys and take a few swings at SECURITY. Common sense, if you don't have it, shut the fuck up. It's assault on both parts.
	Katrina: 10/13/2009 11:38 PM Sounds like a bunch of hysterical young idiots to me.
	markus: 10/13/2009 11:47 PM The Tea if someone grabbed my camera like that i would be the same, This prevention of taking photos in public has started to get worse over the last few months, More so In UK ( well England and Wales mainly) its got to the stage now where i advise people not to photos whilst on holiday.
	Buzznet's Official MiseryXchord™: 10/13/2009 11:48 PM They aren't security if they're on a public sidewalk... they're thugs. Even if they'd been on HOB property, security has no legal right to seize camera equipment and no right to assault you for taking a picture. THE POLICE can't even seize your camera without a search warrant. They cannot force you to show them your photos. They cannot take or erase memory cards. They can only tell you to leave the property and if you refuse, call the police to file trespassing charges. The girls left HOB property and were on a public sidewalk. Seems like they were following directions. There is no law against someone taking your picture on a public sidewalk, which is what the girl was assaulted over and why the second girl (who filmed this) had her camera grabbed... the guards were wrong in their belief that they couldn't be photographed or filmed on public property and grossly overstepped themselves by trying to force that on people who knew what their rights were. On top of all that, the girl who was assaulted stated she hadn't even taken his photo (why he was grabbing her camera). Not that that mattered, as it was perfectly legal for her to do so.
	Peterrr: 10/13/2009 11:58 PM Not defending anyones actions here, but that clip does not show anything leading up to that. were the fans originally doing something they should not have been doing? or were someplace they were not allowed? were they not behaving in the first place and the situation escalated into something worse? again, not defending either party, but let us realize that there are always two sides to a story, you know? last time i checked, it is the job of a security guard to keep things secure, and in this situation, it was a band.
	Michelle: 10/14/2009 12:02 AM They had no right because they were no longer on hob property, they had walked down the street and the guard followed them to get the camera!
	Peterrr: 10/14/2009 12:11 AM Michelle, were you with the group? tell us what happened?
	Anna Vaughn: 10/14/2009 12:24 AM I was there, and I'd like to let you all know that she did not even take the security guards photos. We were sitting on a public sidewalk and a tour bus began to come up the drive way and she took a picture of the driveway to the alley. Thats it. The guards were already pissed that we went by the buses and we were informed that it is public property and we were not trust passing by going down there, just that it had been a safety issue and we politely made our way to the sidewalk. He freaked after she took the picture of the driveway, literally. They also made sure to inform us that they were already clocked out and were not on HOB property so they were allowed to do whatever they wanted to.
	Jade: 10/14/2009 12:24 AM "These girls had no business acting THAT ridiculous. Both parties are equally at fault in my opinion." How on earth would you have acted if you were doing something perfectly legal and some guy stole your camera from you and knocked you to the ground? If someone stole something from you, you wouldn't fight back? You wouldn't try to get it back from them? If someone was harassing me and stole from me I certainly wouldn't be calm, I would be furious.
	TheTea: 10/14/2009 1:00 AM Jade, As I previously stated, I would call the cops. We know that violence doesn't solve anything. If the guy walked up and took the camera and in return was pushed and shoved by the girls in their effort to get the camera back then the assault lies on their belhalf and not the guys. If the guy came up and shoved the girl and then took her camera, that would be a different story. Since there is no physical evidence proving either is right, it's one's word against the other. I wouldn't be cool with someone taking my camera, However, I would know well enough not to become physical. Things can be handled in a decent manner, they just weren't in this situation. So, as I originally said, both parties are at fault. This guy saw a camera flash in his direction after he had told these girls not to take a photo from him. An honest mistake on his part was assuming they had taken a picture of him. He probably shouldn't have outwardly grabbed the camera but if these girls had been told numerous times not to do something and they didn't comply, one can only assume they didn't comply in this situation either. This mans actions were uncalled for but the girls' reactions were also uncalled for. We don't have to act with fists and, in my opinion, you're a ridiculous human being if you disagree. Fighting verbally and physically clearly doesn't fix the problem.
	Buzznet's Official MiseryXchord™: 10/14/2009 1:12 AM @TheTea: You seem to be missing that the video starts with the girl being shoved down and pinned to the ground while the camera is ripped out of her hands. I understand if you missed it, there's a lot of movement going on, but that's exactly what's happening. So yes, "The guy came up and shoved the girl and then took her camera" The entire video is 4 minutes long. Halfway through the girl does call on witnesses to call 911.... you can make up all sorts of scenarios in your head while you're sitting at the computer but the fact is this all happened very quickly, and most people's -immediate- response to someone attacking them on the street, someone who a witness states made clear he was "off the clock" and not answerable to HOB, knocking them down and stealing their property, would be to fight back.
	Buzznet's Official MiseryXchord™: 10/14/2009 1:15 AM Also, and I will say it 1000x if necessary, if she HAD taken his photo, it was perfectly legal for her to do so, even if he objected. He had no right to order her not to (which I have not heard any witness state he did), he had no right to assault her when he thought she did. Period.
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