A US marine had to have part of his skull removed after being knocked out in one punch by an Aussie bouncer.
Hayden Robert Bruce Summers, 34, faced Northern Territory Supreme Court on Friday and was found guilty of unlawfully causing serious harm to US marine Glen Thomason after punching him.
Summers had claimed he was acting in self-defence after Mr Thomason allegedly told him: ‘I could kill you, I’m a trained killer’.
He said his punch was just a ‘six out of ten’ but the judge ruled Mr Thomason ‘did not deserve a blow like that’.
The jury examined dramatic CCTV footage of the confrontation between the two men after Mr Thomason was thrown out from Monsoons nightclub in Darwin in the early hours of April 11 last year.
Security guard Hayden Robert Bruce Summers was found guilty of unlawfully causing serious harm after punched and ‘knocked out’ American marine Glen Thomason (pictured, CCTV footage of the altercation)
In the footage, which has no recorded audio, Mr Thomason is seen appearing to yell at the security guard.
He then moves his arms across the bouncer’s face and two seconds later Mr Summers strikes Mr Thomason in the face causing him to fall back and hit his head on the ground.
While unconscious, the doorman rolled the marine on his side and into the first-aid recovery position.
The court heard Mr Thomason had part of his skull removed and had to spend a ‘significant amount of time’ in hospital and rehabilitation following the altercation, according to ABC News.
Defence barrister Peter Maley insisted that Summers acted in self-defence and said the 34-year-old did not intend to hurt Mr Thomason.
‘All of the witnesses – most of which were other bouncers- gave unchallenged evidence that the US marine was aggressive and engaged in confronting behaviour,’ Mr Maley told the court.
‘They all say the marine would not leave or calm down and that he yelled and screamed.
Summers (pictured) pleaded not guilty to the charge and claimed he acted in self-defence after the American allegedly threatened him by saying ‘I could kill you, I’m a trained killer, I’m a US Marine’
‘They all recalled him saying words to the effect of ‘I could kill you, I’m a trained killer, I’m a US Marine.’
Summers said he feared the marine was about to punch him because of a ‘death stare’ and ‘threatening’ hand gestures – evidence the prosecution labelled as a ‘lie’ that did not match the CCTV footage.
The Crown argued Mr Thomason’s hand gestures were not menacing and was trying to explain how another security guard ‘manhandled’ him.
During a summary of the evidence on Thursday, Justice Jenny Blokland told the jury Mr Thomason was ‘clearly disgruntled at his rejection’ as he had not been told why he was removed from the establishment.
Justice Jenny Blokland said the evidence showed Mr Thomason was ‘clearly disgruntled’ after he was thrown out of Darwin’s Monsoons nightclub (pictured) but reminded the jury of the Crown’s argument that the punch was not a reasonable response
Justice Blokland reminded the jury of the Crown’s argument that the punch was not a reasonable response.
Prosecutor Ian Rowbottom argued Summers failed to explore other options which could have diffused the situation including stepping backwards, and asking colleagues for help.
Mr Rowbottom said instead of ‘knocking someone out’ Summers could have just pushed Mr Thomason away.
Justice Blokland reminded the jury of the prosecutions argument that Mr Thomason ‘did not deserve a blow like that’ despite Summers describing the strength of the blow as ‘a six out of 10’.
Summers will face court at a later date for sentencing.