Security guard who kicked man in head gets suspended sentence after admitting assault – The Irish News

A security guard who kicked a man’s head outside an east Belfast bar has avoided jail.

Curtis Brown, 42, was sentenced Tuesday to four months of probation after pleading guilty to assault.

The judge was told that after 14 years of impeccable work as a porter he had suffered a “temporary, total loss of self-control”.

Brown, who lost his job over the incident, was also ordered to pay £500 compensation to the victim.

Belfast District Court heard the man was on duty at a house off Upper Newtownards Road when an argument broke out between several men just after midnight on November 18 last year.

Police were told that at one point the doorman allegedly stomped on the injured man’s head.

However, according to the witness, the victim was also hit with a glass by one of the participants in the argument.

He received hospital treatment for injuries including cuts to the back of his head and bruising.

Brown, who previously served in the British Army, was charged with the lesser offence of common assault, based on allegations he was responsible for the victim’s injuries.

“It was clearly established that the accused punched, kicked or stamped on his head, but the other men attacked him and inflicted the lion’s share of injuries,” the public prosecutor’s lawyer said.

The court heard that Brown claimed he was first punched and then began punching the victim in an attempt to free himself while she was on the ground.

Defense attorney Michael Boyd admitted: “There is no explanation for this, the victim was kicked in the head.”

After watching the footage of the incident, presiding judge Steven Keown said: “A kick in the neck is probably the kindest word that can be used in this case.”

Mr Keown also heard that Brown was not involved in the initial argument with two other men outside the bar.

“They were not employed as door staff to maintain the room. They may have had less caregiving responsibilities,” he replied.

The court heard that Brown had lost his licence to work as a porter.

“It appears to have been a momentary, complete loss of control,” Mr Boyd said.

Taking into account Brown’s early guilty plea and his previous clean record, the judge decided to suspend the four-month prison sentence for three years.