This question is based on this video of Lady Gaga’s bodyguards hitting a fan after the fan tried to run up to Gaga.
What are the legalities concerning the level of force that bodyguards of non-government officials may use? I no only interested in US answers. For example, in the video linked above, would the man likely win in a civil lawsuit? Would this be considered assault? What if the bodyguards just grabbed and pushed the man back, but did not strike him?
I can’t really speak for that, but in the US a third party can use whatever force is necessary to stop an attacker as if they were being attacked themselves and using self defense. IOW if someone put a gun up to your head, I can shot him. If that guy had hit Gaga, the body guard could have launched him across the room (but not shot him). (I’ll dig up a cite, but it’ll take a few minutes)
To me, it looks like he went overboard, but they probably have insurance and lawyers to deal with that and he’s probably willing to do a little bit of time here and there to take in the big bucks and make sure no one can get near the celebrity he’s defending.
From here, in Wisconsin (because I’ve had to look it up before).
"Self-defense and defense of others.
A person is privileged to threaten or intentionally use force against another for the purpose of preventing or terminating what the person reasonably believes to be an unlawful interference with his or her person by such other person. The actor may intentionally use only such force or threat thereof as the actor reasonably believes is necessary to prevent or terminate the interference. The actor may not intentionally use force which is intended or likely to cause death or great bodily harm unless the actor reasonably believes that such force is necessary to prevent imminent death or great bodily harm to himself or herself.
<snip>
(4) A person is privileged to defend a 3rd person from real or apparent unlawful interference by another under the same conditions and by the same means as those under and by which the person is privileged to defend himself or herself from real or apparent unlawful interference, provided that the person reasonably believes that the facts are such that the 3rd person would be privileged to act in self-defense and that the person’s intervention is necessary for the protection of the 3rd person
My bolding to make one nice sentence. Again, I can defend you from an attack as if I was the one being attacked. The tricky part is knowing who’s being attacked and who’s the attacker. If you walk in on the middle of a scuffle and crack someone over the head with a frying pan only to find out you put the cashier in the hospital and the robber just made off the with till you’re going to want to get a lawyer before you say a word to anyone.
Any bodyguard, bouncer or security guard is a private citizen and has no more expectation of priviledge in the use of force than any other citizen. Now that being said, the police will often take no action against them when they do use force, having an understanding that it is sometimes necessary in the performance of their jobs. But that forebearance is not unlimited.
In the absence of Law Enforcement involvement, the best remedy to the over-reaction of any bodyguard or security agent is a lawsuit.
I watched the relevant bit of that video several times. I didn’t see any overwhelming use of force. I saw they intercepted and grabbed the guy and he kept trying to push forward, at which point they put him down. Unless he suffered some legitimate injury, I don’t think he has much of a case.
I’m sure they operate on the same principle we operated when I worked armored. “You get your charge to where it’s going, and if someone gets ‘jostled’ in the process, we’ll deal with that later.” In other words, their goal is to make sure Lady Gaga gets safely wherever she is going. That doesn’t involve standing there holding the guy or trying to block him while their charge keeps walking or is forced to stand there and wait for them not to have to deal with the guy anymore. Therefore their duty is to ensure that the ‘assailant’ is dealt with sufficiently to stop presenting a threat, and that is precisely what they did.
Alot of celeb security types also ARE ex police officers, making them well versed in force escalation as well as more prone to benefit of the doubt by current LEO’s
At about the 13 second mark, I think the left bodyguard hit the man with his left arm.
Yes. The bodyguard on the left strikes him with his left hand. The response seems to be “so?”
Yup, “so?”
The man basically ignores that he’s being intercepted, concentrating on reaching his target. He got tagged to change his point of attention to the people in his face who are trying to tell him no. Did not look like a blow meant to cause much harm - it’s not like the guy wound up and plastered the fuck out of him or anything.
Huh. Ok. Thank you everyone for the answers.
Quite true.
I had a friend years ago who spent some time in jail, for actions done when he was a bouncer in a bar. The local police felt that his response to the situation escalated the level of force beyond what was ‘reasonable’. And the Judge agreed, apparently.
And so did I, when he explained it to me. (At that time, he was, in my opinion, a young punk who thought he was tougher than anybody else, and liked to prove it. That’s probably why he took a bouncer job in the first place.)