Can a bouncer legally put their hands on you if you aren't being violent or threatening harm to anyone?

Ya got no shot here, theyll lie znd say you was. Drunk an instigted it.

Ive been thrown outta moredives than you been to, so take it from me.

I would suspect you wouldn't get much sympathy.

Retail store owners have a right to use physical restraint to prevent stealing and this is written into the laws in many states and in the common law in others. I have not really looked into boucers specifically, but I suspect the same may be true.

Depends on the jurisdiction if they have to have a security license or not, but even without one they are generally allowed to use "reasonable" force to expel someone. You went into a closed area, they chose to expel you, you chose to ignore them, he used reasonable force to get your stupid asz out of the bar. Don't go into closed areas, idiot. Rules are for everybody else right? Guys like you need a beat down.

security license wrote:

Depends on the jurisdiction if they have to have a security license or not, but even without one they are generally allowed to use "reasonable" force to expel someone. You went into a closed area, they chose to expel you, you chose to ignore them, he used reasonable force to get your stupid asz out of the bar. Don't go into closed areas, idiot. Rules are for everybody else right? Guys like you need a beat down.

I get what you're saying, but I don't understand the need to escalate things so quickly. This seems to be how poor people like to treat each other, and I don't really want to be a part of it. You can't tell me that at a nice restaurant, the staff's response to someone standing in the doorway of a closed section would be to immediately throw the customer out. But I guess it's my fault for going to a dive bar.

On the plus side, there is a non zero chance that the meathead lives in an apartment my company owns. Maybe I'll do some digging.

What Can a Bouncer Do?

Injuries caused by bouncers can lead to contentious litigation, since the line they tread tends to be a bit foggy. On the one hand, they’re supposed to maintain order in what can be an unruly situation. On the other hand, they’re duty bound to do this without causing any harm.

Bouncers, like other employees, are required to exercise reasonable care around their guests. Unfortunately, their job duties are broad and open to interpretation. Most jurisdictions assume bouncers are allowed to use a “reasonable amount” of force to maintain peace in a volatile environment.

If they breach this duty, a court can find bouncers guilty of negligence. Intent doesn’t play a role in determining negligence, so a bouncer can be negligent even if he or she injured someone accidentally.

The following is a list of things a bouncer might be able to do:

Check IDs

Issue verbal warnings

Ask unruly patrons to leave

Break up fights

Call the police

Protect bystanders from violence

Respond to equal force when indicated

Refuse entry for certain reasons – for example, if a person seems too intoxicated, is acting unruly, or doesn’t comply with the policies of the establishment

What Is a Bouncer Not Allowed to Do?

Bouncers are trained to de-escalate situations through verbal tactics and removal. Contrary to what we see on television, they’re not allowed to strong-arm patrons without cause. These are examples of what bouncers aren’t allowed to do:

Punch or kick any patron

Physically rush someone to remove them from an establishment

Use techniques like chokeholds or headlocks

Use pepper spray or any weapons

Bouncers aren’t allowed to use any physical techniques unless they’re used against them first.

When a bouncer asks you to do something, comply and there will be no problems. Very simple.

They are allowed to “escort” you out of the building. You don’t have to be endangering for them to do that you simply have to be disruptive to business. If they cut you off because they felt you were too drunk and you told them you were going to finish your beer, then they are allowed to escort you out. If they allowed you to finish that beer and then somebody got hurt because of it, then the business can be held liable for over-serving an obviously drunk person. That bouncer clearly lacks interpersonal skills and patience to calmly deescalate the situation, but you also may have been more intoxicated than you thought you were. Bars make money from their customers and the last thing they want to do is kick their paying customers out and potentially lose future business. I would say don’t take it too personal and stop allowing that guy to live in your head rent free.

“ On the plus side, there is a non zero chance that the meathead lives in an apartment my company owns. Maybe I'll do some digging.”

Sure. That ought to help your career at your company.

The part I find funny is the "Bouncers are trained..." . I have known a few bouncers in ,my life. The only training I recall any of them telling me about was on how to spot fake IDs. Other than that, they were hired because they are big and somewhat menacing. Several are off duty cops who likely have some training in de-escalating, but many are vets who have PTSD and I feared being set off easily.

Too many people have seen "Road House" and think it is a documentary or training film.

One guy I knew who was a bouncer in college was very good at getting a-holes out of a bar. One of his best moves against a belligerent guy was to accept his invitation to take it outside. He would then lead the guy (and often a buddy) out a side door into the alley. The guys would go out first and he just shut the fire door behind them. They would then have to walk around to the front and the guy at the door would not let them back in. Seriously, idiots fell for this way more often than one would think. Drunk college guys have an IQ only slightly above room temperature.

Plot twist. It turns out that my father is good friends with the owner of the bar in question (that's small town life for you). My dad is going to try to set up a social get together so I can tag along and see if I can do something about meathead's employment situation.

Tommy Ferrari wrote:

But I guess it's my fault for going to a dive bar.

Bingo. Raising your standards will eliminate most of the issues.

The bouncers are always buddies with the cops. The cops usually wait outside bars and arrest people who get thrown out and cite public intoxication so they have to pay a fine of 70-100, bucks which goes to police salaries. Indeed, you have absolutely no shot against a bouncers word unless there is real damning 3rd party video evidence right outside of the club. They will indeed just say," oh, he was just another guy who was too drunk." The bouncers could literally beat the F out of someone for no reason and get away with it 99.9% of the time.

Bands a make hoes dance wrote:

The bouncers are always buddies with the cops. The cops usually wait outside bars and arrest people who get thrown out and cite public intoxication so they have to pay a fine of 70-100, bucks which goes to police salaries. Indeed, you have absolutely no shot against a bouncers word unless there is real damning 3rd party video evidence right outside of the club. They will indeed just say," oh, he was just another guy who was too drunk." The bouncers could literally beat the F out of someone for no reason and get away with it 99.9% of the time.

Maybe this is true in big cities, but it’s definitely not true in smaller cities or rural areas. The bouncers are thugs and get arrested far more frequently than average members of the population.

There real question here is why are you such a privileged jerk? I guess your daddy always takes care of your problems.

You think you should be able to get the guy fired because you were a drunk a-hole? If you do get him fired don't be surprised if he finds you and rearranges your face. If you're lucky he won't break your legs.

Co-Flounder wrote:

There real question here is why are you such a privileged jerk? I guess your daddy always takes care of your problems.

You think you should be able to get the guy fired because you were a drunk a-hole? If you do get him fired don't be surprised if he finds you and rearranges your face. If you're lucky he won't break your legs.

I wasn't drunk. I was manhandled for standing in the wrong place, not for being inebriated. I was on my first beer of the evening.

If the bouncer touched you without consent, can’t you file a lawsuit for sexual assault?

Trump wrote:

If the bouncer touched you without consent, can’t you file a lawsuit for sexual assault?

Only if you're a cop apparently.

Co-Flounder wrote:

There real question here is why are you such a privileged jerk? I guess your daddy always takes care of your problems.

You think you should be able to get the guy fired because you were a drunk a-hole? If you do get him fired don't be surprised if he finds you and rearranges your face. If you're lucky he won't break your legs.

So responding to your problems with politics is entitled, but responding to you problems with violence is to be expected?

Arguing with a bouncer is like playing 21 in Vegas -- the house always wins!