May 24, 2006
Crazy Chelsea Club Clash: Bouncer Shoots Patrons
A bouncer at Opus 22 on West 22nd Street, between 10th and 11th Avenues, shot four clubgoers, killing one of them, late last night. Bouncer Stephen Sakai is now in police custody, and is being questioned in the strange, violent incident. Witnesses say that a drunk patron was refusing to leave or refusing to pay a cover and got into an argument with Sakai. Sakai then shot him "point-blank in the chest," causing one of the man's friends to yell "Why did you shoot my friend?" Sakai allegedly replied, "You want some, too" and shot that friend and others before running away. The police, who came to the club in riot gear and then used helicopters and police dogs to search for the shooter, apprehended Sakai in Brooklyn a few hours later.
This hasn't been a great year for bouncers, given the Imette St. Guillen murder where a bar bouncer has been connected to the crime. And oddly enough, Rob the Bouncer at Clublife has a post today offering "pearls of wisdom regarding the proper procedure for exiting a Manhattan nightclub", number one being "Do not get a fight after last call."
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what a dick!
After years of getting sucker punched, kicked, cursed, and shot at, the Bouncers are finally fighting back.
Its like man bites dog!
If this guy has a criminal record, then every bouncer in the city will be background checked.
Its almost guaranteed he has a criminal record, if he's carrying a .45 and has a short enough fuse he's gonna shoot 4 people over a 'bad day', i bet you a pack of gum he's gotta have at least an assault arrest somewhere.
I mean, I feel sorry for bouncers because they have been getting nailed as late even though they've let my ass freeze in the cold weather for no apparent reason but to make the party look popular to people passing by.
Bouncers are basically hired muscle: if a guy is employed specifically to be a thug, don't be surprised when he turns out to be a thug.
While it is never, ever okay to shoot anyone (regardless of some heated back talk), I can somewhat sympathize with this bouncer as I am a former one at two spots in Williamsburg.
The fact is New York City bar patrons are some of the most arrogant, and selfish people that I have ever met. They have no regard for the rules and proper behavior that is expected at the bars/clubs.
Furthermore, being a bouncer is a thankless job. After all the crap that bouncers deal with a night, the last thing we need/want is to have a bunch of swingin' dicks all up in our face because we asked them to leave. When you are asked to leave for another party, do it! There is no discussion. When it is time to leave, its time to leave.
During my experience I had many many a-holes pull what presumably happened last night at Opus. As much as sometimes you would like to shoot a guy in the arm for being ass, you cant, and you let your cooler head prevail. Sadly, for both the bouncer and the a-hole, that didnt happen.
A word to the patrons out there who think they're tough and all that. Don't f*ck with the bouncers. You wont win.
A bouncer?
ain't that a kick in the head?
Next thing you're going to tell me are bouncers need a 2 year college degree to be licensed.
Please, these guys are dumber than a box of hammers.
No one really puts down "bouncer" as a career choice.
Oh yeah, they got a black belt in "verbal judo".
anything they get, they deserve.
To wit,
what was written in post #6.
Notice, the "don't fuck with the bouncer" attitude.
Another brain surgeon. Don't like your job?
Find another one.
Girard, WTF. He's paid to guard the door and protect patrons, instead he pulls out a gun and shoots 4 people. Club owners and bouncers are the real dicks...they treat customers like shit and on top of that they charge 500 dollars for a bottle of vodka.
During my experience I had many many a-holes pull what presumably happened last night at Opus. As much as sometimes you would like to shoot a guy in the arm for being ass, you cant, and you let your cooler head prevail. Sadly, for both the bouncer and the a-hole, that didnt happen.
Sadly for the bouncer? The only thing sad about the bouncer is that he's some asshole thug. I have no sympathy for him whatsoever. He deserves all the prison time they can throw at him.
Maybe the SLA should require anyone working security at a SLA licensed restaurant/bar to undergo a background check and be issued a photo ID which must be displayed while working.
To: GollyGee
You're exactly the kind of a-hole patron that makes a bouncer have to be an a-hole back to you.
Dumber than a box of hammers? You mean box nails? You cant buy a box of hammers moron.
And just so you know, I was doing bouncing work while attending NYU and finishing my finance degree. So your broad generalization really doesn't apply here.
Its your choice to go to the types of clubs that have the ropes and the lines and all the hassles and the bouncers that are jerks. Not all bars/clubs are like that, and not all bouncers are stupid, and violent. We're regular people just like you Gee, just out trying to make a buck.
As to Rob the Bouncer's list, while I try to maintain common courtesy and location-appropriate politeness as much as possible, I don't care how the bouncer feels. They're at work. Not just at work, they're doing customer service, just like a bartender or a sweater-folder at the Gap.
It makes sense to lower your voice if you go outside to smoke or behave in such a way so as not to ruin others' good times, but now I'm supposed to care how the friggin bouncer feels? What's next, rules for ordering at Burger King? This is why I maintain a hard bar at home. (That and smoking indoors.)
Then why the condescending attitude towards patrons?
A little courtesy goes both ways.
Are you the guy with the bouncer blog linked above?
Why are you telling people how to act?
We don't tell you how to do your job.
What's with the chip on your shoulder?
If you're not the blogging bouncer, I apologise.
If you're finished with your Finance degree, great,
congratulations but what are you still drawn to the bouncer world?
I highly doubt a club would offer any tuition benefits, unlike a fortune 500 corp who may cover some higher education costs.
To Nolte:
Stop going to bars that charge $500 for vodka, That is the owners fault not the bouncers. Go somewhere more reasonable and stop complaining.
To Dirk:
When I say sadly for the bouncer and a-hole, I mean the whole situation. Its sad that it had to reach that point where the bouncer snaps and shoots people.
I have in no way excused the bouncer from what he did, it was totally wrong. I merely stated that I can empathize with the situation leading up to the shooting because I have been there before dealing with difficult, drunk patrons.
Gerard, as it's already been pointed out, things go both ways. If you don't like rude, arrogant customers, don't work in places that cater to them. There's plenty of divey bars that need bouncers.
To Holly:
No, I am not the blogging bouncer. I am a former bouncer that was interested in the story because it involved a bouncer. Does that automatically make me obessesed with the world of bouncing? No, its the news of the day though, so its interesting.
Btw, I was always respectful and nice to the people I met while working. Rarely, if ever, did I experience any sort of politeness back from the customer side of things. And I helped pay for my rent, food, etc with my bouncing wages as I had scholarships pay my tuition--since you cared so much to ask.
I am beginning to hate the stigma here that the customers here are the sweetest, most precious little darlings in the world and are without any fault. Its time to look in the mirror people.
Its not okay to be shot for being a jerk, but c'mon and lets admit here that the victim put himself in the position. If he had just left, without any back talk, all would be well today and we wouldnt be here now talking about this.
I apologise,
The blogging bouncer is Rob the bouncer, again, according to the post. Though, I can't find the guy's name in his blog. Just the moniker "the doorman"
To Scout--
I no longer work as a bouncer. But I'd be remiss to add that I did in fact work at two divey places in Williamsburg and I still encountered asshole, unfriendly, attitude-drive, egomaniacal people on an hourly basis. It comes with the terrritory of being a bouncer. Some can deal with it, others snap and start shooting.
Simply characterizing bouncers as just thugs or hired muscle is totally unfair. My friends that bounce are writers, artists, musicians, or pursuing some other type of unconventional profession. Bouncers are there to deal with difficult situations by definition, i.e. protecting staff and other patrons from any out-of-control customers who are likely drunk and/or on drugs. I am continually amazed at the facility with which they do that without resorting to violence, especially given the usual physical size disparity between bouncer and patron. I would be tempted to beat ass a lot more often given the appalling behavior one has to deal with. The last thing a bouncer wants to do, however, is to get into a physical altercation with a patron. Then there's possibly cops, lawsuits, losing your job, and all sorts of other bs. You think that's worth it for staying up 'til 4am for a few hundred bucks a week?
The bouncer who shot four people is obviously an aberration. So give your next bouncer a break. He's there for your safety and probably has a much more interesting life story than the drunk idiot sitting next to you at the bar.
Again, with the holier than thou attitude.
drunk idiot, picturing a patron's head on a tee and swing away, etc etc.
You're hired for your imposing stature, that makes you the hired muscle. Are your hands registered with the FBI, too.
Thank god, I'm out of then city on weekends.
Where I can drive my kahr.
From the point of view of someone who isn't a bouncer and frequented trendy clubs in my heyday, I can say that a little kindness goes a long way. I always made a point of being very courteous to bouncers at clubs/bars, and while sometimes they were rude or standoffish (understandable at 5AM when you've been standing in the cold for the last 7 hours), they almost always extended the same courtesy back. So if you're complaining about bouncers being a-holes, that means you're the prick who spurned them in the first place.
O RLY?
More holier than thou attitude.
Did you read any of that shit in the bouncer's blog?
He sounds like someone spurned.
Played, laid and splayed.
Nicely put, Dave H. I have no bouncer-related feelings whatsoever, just thought you spoke well about that position. Unlike the detached-from-reality, "c'mon and lets admit here that the victim put himself in the position. If he had just left, without any back talk, all would be well today and we wouldnt be here now talking about this." F-ing ridiculous. We can't admit anything because we weren't there. Wait, actually I was there. At least for the immediate aftermath. We couldn't leave a late reception across the street at the museum because shots were being fired. Then we saw three of the guys laid out and watched the one die. If "back talk" puts you in a position to be shot, we'd all be dead. Even if all involved - including bouncer, of course, were the lowest of losers, and even if most of us would have no particular feelings about their loss of life, NOTHING justifies this outcome, and being a-holes in this type of circumstance doesn't warrant being shot. The bouncer was disturbed and was thankfully caught, having nothing to do with what type of job he had.
Unfortunately, being surly and imposing can be a job requirement for bouncers. If a coked-up patron is molesting a waitress and the bouncer has to ask him to leave, things will generally go smoother if he is seen as scary rather than the big friendly teddy bear dispensing hugs at the door. Bouncing is like a cross between being a prison guard and an attendant at a mental institution--barring doors and dealing with irrational people.
English is obviously your second language.
BWAAAAAAAh
PWNED!
How many bouncers you sucked off in your heyday, liz?
Reality Check for Reality:
You weren't there to witness what happened either (until well after) so dont sit and defend the victim. You were never a bouncer, you never had to deal with the nightly verbal abuse and rudeness from customers, er go, your sense of reality here is a tad bit altered.
I also in no way condoned what the bouncer did, I am merely trying to point out that bouncers just dont go around and shoot people for no reason. The guy was an asshole, wouldnt leave, and the bouncer lost control of the situation.
It is not fair to blame the victim, but honestly, if he JUST WOULD HAVE LEFT, none of this would have happened. Alternate reality, or not.
Stop standing by the killer Girard. Bouncers should know how to deal with drunk patrons, without murdering and injuring 3 bystanders.
He didn't "lose control of the situation", he killed a customer.
Thanks for repeating my point, Girard. We (that means you, too) don't know what happened! And it wasn't "well after", a-hole, just not close enough to hear the argument. But from the reports it sounds like only one crazy guy had a gun and used it. If he hadn't had a gun, this wouldn't have happened. If he hadn't been crazy, this wouldn't have happened. If he hadn't worked there, this wouldn't have happened. I didn't defend the victims for anything, except knowing that talking smack doesn't justify some psycho going off and shooting people, as you imply. It's even worse that a guy in a job where he knows he's going to have to take sh-t, not only can't take it, but has to kill people over it. The sick part is that you think having been a bouncer allows for some softening of that simple reality. Thus, your detachment from it. Maybe we'll be reading about your arrest next?
Bouncers complaining about having to deal with a-hole patrons is the silliest thing I have heard. A-hole patrons are the *REASON* for bouncers. If everyone was sweet and showed respect for others, there would be no such thing as a bouncer. It's like a sanitation worker complaining that garbage smells bad, or a finance dude complaining about having to wear a suit to work.
This bouncer didn't lose control of "the situation", he lost control of himself. Unless the guy that got shot was literally threatening the life of another customer or the bouncer himself, there is absolutely no justification for shooting someone because he is an a-hole. If the bouncer felt gunplay was in order, that's when he's supposed to call the cops. Whether the guy left or not is COMPLETELY moot.
Why the f did this bouncer have a gun in the first place? And, Girard, I understand that you want people to see things from the bouncer's position, but the fact remains that he murdered someone. How could that possibly be justified?
English is obviously your second language.
Even if this is true, so what?
Do you think immigrants are 2nd class citizens who should not engage in discussions here? That is a privilege reserved for white elitist democrats only?
Wasn't it Harry Reid himself who said yesterday that demanding english to be the main language is racist.
Yes, some clubbers can be annoying for bouncers, but so what. It's their job to deal with that, so deal with it. Bounce these people out of the club/area if needed. Whatever happened to a smack in the month for these idiots that deserve extra attention, at least then they can awake in the morning and relies what an idiot they have been, but that's not going to happen to this poor guy, because he is now dead. What a wimp this bouncer is if he needs a gun to do his job.
Do I need to ask this..
Was the bouncer black?
I'll ask,
was it a 9mm?
why is it whenever a gun is brought up, everyone brings up 9mm? Even people who never saw or touched a real gun in their life.
A .45 was good enuff for Ms. .45, it's good enuff for me.
Apparently, it was good enuff for the bouncer, since one guy is dead. Good shot placement.
Going by the name of Stephen Sakai, the bouncer was Japanese
No, not really "good enuff" since the other 3 drunk patron pals are still alive. If 9mm was "good enuff" none of the 4 would be living. I'm not sure if it says something about his poor marksmanship or just that 9mm don't do "enuff" damage to a person's internal organs.
oops sorry I meant .45 . I guess .9mm was a little hard to come by these days.
should of used Gold dots like the NYPD.
if he used ball, then usually it's through and through.
or get the revamped "black talons" the Supreme SXT's.
So Minh, I guess that exempts Harry Reid from being an otherwise "white elitist democrat"? Funny how bigotry begets bigotry.
Oh, no! I have friends who work/have worked for Opus 22. It's hard to believe a night at Opus could go so wrong. All of the bouncers there are big and surly, but I think I remember Sakai's face.
I went to the opus22 site and noticed their prices are pretty reasonable for a drink.
do they stack parties nightly? maybe if they had a VIP area this wouldn't of happened.
What the fuck was he doing with a gun to begin with?
Oh yeah, a VIP area would have made things so much better. Ooh ooh, and bottle service! Yeah! Then, riff-raff that deserves to be shot point blank wouldn't deign to patronize such an exclusive place.
In response to Dave H., who commented:
"The bouncer who shot four people is obviously an aberration. So give your next bouncer a break."
So now we're at the point where we're so vehemently defending the Bouncer Virtue that we need to start acting nicer to the group that shoots us? Circling the wagons is one thing, and maybe there's logic in sucking up to whoever's got the biggest gun, but being nice to bouncers because one of them shot 4 people is a pretty sadistic rewards system. Maybe September 12th should be known as "Give Terrorists a Break Day" too.
to all that agree with the bouncer please join him on that trip to hell the immagrent u making fun of was my best freind al he wanted to was his music
the the one kid that the bouncer started with was waitin on his girl who was in the bathroom. and they only a-hole is u girad it's easy to talk tuff typin that man as a sick bastard and will pay one way or another
gus
i will protect your name till i join u
I JUST WANT TO TELL ALL THE BOUNCERS OUT THERE ...AND ALL EX-BOUNCERS .IF YOU CAN'T TAKE THE HEAT, STAY TF OUT THE KITCHEN. WHEN YOU GET A JOB , YOU SHOULD KNOW WHAT YOUR GETTING INTO..THERE IS ABSOLUTELY NO REASON FOR ANY ONE TO SHOOT/KILL ANOTHER PERSON ESPECIALLY OVER A COURSE OF WORDS OR BECAUSE THEY DIDN'T WANT TO LEAVE. THE POLICE SHOULD HAVE BEEN CALLED IN THAT CASE AND THEN THE LAW WOULD HAVE TAKEN OVER.. NO ONE HAD TO BE KILLED/SHOT. NO ONE HAS THE RIGHT TO PLAY GOD AND TAKE ANOTHER PERSONS LIFE. SO FUCK ALL WHO DIS-AGREES WITH ME!