Hell’s Kitchen gay bar owner fires security team after video footage of violent incident emerges

A gay bar owner in Hell’s Kitchen has withdrawn his security team after video emerged showing a patron apparently being beaten outside the Hush nightclub on W52nd Street. Two men were arrested and charged with assault in connection with the incident.

The video, originally posted on Reddit, shows at least four men dressed in black, some wearing T-shirts that say “Security,” dragging a man to the ground and kicking and punching him several times. The beating victim was then seen lying in the middle of W52nd Street between 8th and 9th Avenue. One of the men, dressed in a long leather coat, complained loudly that the beating victim had bitten his finger.

According to police, they were called to the club at 348 W52nd Street at 1:15 a.m. Sunday morning after 39-year-old Chantis Parks complained that he had been hit multiple times. At the scene, police found he had swelling on his right eye and minor scratches on both knees. He was taken to Mount Sinai West for a medical evaluation.

Police then arrested 48-year-old Vallan Menzies of the Bronx and charged him with assault. A countersuit was filed – and Parks, who lives on W52nd Street in Hell’s Kitchen, was also arrested and charged with assault.

Bar owner Bob Fluet said in a statement: “We are investigating exactly what happened and the cause of it.” This is obviously not something we would ever expect. We have an independent external security company that employs security guards. We have had them removed from our venues until the review is complete.”

Fluet said: “Initial reports indicate that this person only came to the venue to confront the security guard and bit his face, which triggered the incident.” However, this is not a justification for what happened and we insist on it “That all guards are trained in de-escalation – but that was definitely not shown here.”

In addition to Hush, Fluet also runs Boxers. He emphasized: “We have several venues that are open seven nights a week and do an excellent job of creating safe spaces for our clientele. The security forces have to deal with all sorts of problems every night and in the vast majority of cases they do so professionally and without incident.”

Council member Erik Bottcher responded in a statement: “This type of violence is completely unacceptable and contradicts the values ​​of our community.” It is important that incidents like this are taken seriously and resolved quickly. The venue owner has a long-standing positive relationship with our community and I am grateful that he took immediate action by suspending those responsible and initiating a thorough review process that must lead to full accountability. I will monitor this situation closely and advocate for actions that will hold those responsible accountable and prevent something like this from happening again.”

Senator Brad Hoylman said: “The violence in this disturbing video sickens me. Although I do not have the facts of the incident, this video suggests that the private security guards far exceeded their legal authority and should be held accountable for the appropriate civil and criminal penalties under the law.” He added: ” I appreciate that Hush management took quick action to address this extremely concerning incident.”

MP Tony Simone said: “The violence documented in this video is outrageous. No security service should behave with such staggering brutality, regardless of what a customer has done. I am pleased that the company that employed these guards is taking swift action to investigate the incident, and I believe the perpetrators should be held criminally responsible for their actions. Security personnel are hired to ensure exactly that: safety and security. This is clearly not what these guards did and they should be held accountable.”

WARNING: THE VIDEO BELOW IS EXTREMELY VIOLENT.