ST. AUGUSTINE, Fla. — A St. Augustine bouncer who was hit over the head with a bottle during a New Year’s Eve fight is speaking out to Action News Jax.
It happened at the White Lion just about an hour before the ball dropped to ring in the new year and it all started over impatience outside a bar.
Jeff Parmenter says he’s been a bouncer there for about 5 years, but he’s never had to leave a shift this way.
“I felt more bad I had to leave my team behind on such a crazy night,” he said.
The St. Augustine Police Department said a New Year’s Eve fight led to him getting almost ten stitches and staples in his head. Someone hit him at least twice over the head with a bottle while he tried to remove someone else from the property.
“He (one of the subjects) got right nose to nose he pushed his face into my face and said, ‘I’ll blow your head off’ and at that point, you’re threatening me, so I’m going to grab you and take you out of here,” he said. “As I try to drag him out of there, a guy came from behind and hit me with a bottle and next thing I know I hear smashing of glass against my head.”
The police report says the incident started when two people didn’t want to wait in line. Parmenter said they originally left and when they came back and were told that they had to wait in line, they weren’t happy and refused.
“Next thing you know I feel the warmth of blood running down my head and I literally couldn’t see out of my left eye from all the blood,” he said. “They’re down to the bone it sliced open pretty good. They stitched it up and stapled it.”
Police posted a picture on their Facebook page of someone they say is wanted for questioning in the fight, telling Action News Jax that the security video they were given isn’t clear so they’re waiting on another angle to see what exactly happened and everyone’s involvement.
Parmenter says one video might make it look like he’s the aggressor, but he believed there was a real threat.
“At the point when he said he was going to take my head off, I probably could’ve downplayed it a little more but at that point, it’s a threat on my life and there’s a possibility he could have a gun on him,” he said.
Parmenter said physical altercations happen as a bouncer but said this was a bad situation all around. He’s now hoping there’s some accountability.
“I’d like to see him caught, at least pay some fines or something. I don’t want this to ruin his life I’m not out to ruin anybody’s life,” he said.
Action News Jax did walk into the White Lion and nobody else wanted to comment citing the ongoing investigation.
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