A night out on the town quickly became a topic of conversation for the Kelowna online community over the last couple of days.
On Wednesday, April 23, the British-based band Bush was playing a show at Prospera Place and throughout the night people in attendance took to social media to voice their displeasure with the security team, claiming over-aggressiveness. Securiguard, which is recently under new ownership in Kelowna, is the company hired for events at the arena.
In a response to Black Press Media, GSL Group said it was aware of recent incidents that allegedly occurred.
"The safety and well-being of all patrons and staff at Prospera Place is our top priority," said the GSL Group's Prospera Place management. "We are aware of recent incidents involving the Securiguard personnel and the RCMP, and we are conducting internal reviews to understand the circumstances fully."
The Kelowna RCMP said officers responded to "multiple reports of altercations during the concert," and added, "Some individuals spent the night in cells due to the level of their intoxication."
Some of the posts by concert-goers on social media claimed security guards "assaulted" people at the show.
"The concert was half full, 50+ and there were multiple people getting kicked out with force," said Katie Funk on Kelowna Rant and Rave. "There was a girl beside me that the security guard knocked a drink out of her hand and thought she purposely threw it at the security guard. There were multiple guards that grabbed her, twisted her arm behind her back and took her out. It was unbelievable to witness."
Many people echoed these claims, including Kimberly Nicole Knight, who posted a video of a security guard knocking her phone out of her hand.
However, Sean Newmin posted in support of the security guards defending them, claiming he witnessed guards being assaulted by patrons.
"Multiple guards were assaulted last night. Multiple!!" claimed Newmin. "Between getting punched, grabbed by the throat, spit on, kicked and scratched. It was one hell of a night!"
Black Press Media also reached out to Securiguard but hasn't received a response.
