A former VIP guest at Beau Rivage Casino Resort wants $2.5 million in damages after security officers handcuffed him, put him under citizen’s arrest for trespassing and, he says, permanently injured his left hand and pride.
The civil lawsuit that Florida resident Brent Nettles filed against the casino is being tried this week before Judge Taylor McNeel in U.S. District Court in Gulfport. Nettles is accusing casino security of intentional battery and false imprisonment.
The Beau Rivage contends the casino had every right to arrest Nettles because he was drunk and refused to leave the casino bar. The casino denies causing Nettles any permanent injury and maintains the arrest was reasonable.
“This all comes down to one bad decision that was made by one individual,” Beau attorney Michael Kelly said during opening arguments. “And that individual was Mr. Nettles.”
Nettles’ attorney David Harris told jurors that security guards used “excessive force” during the arrest. “Think about what was taken from Brent Nettles,” he said, listing the normal use of his hand, his pride and enjoyment of life.
Arrest at South MS casino
Nobody disputes the basic facts.
Nettles, his wife and his parents arrived at the Beau Rivage as VIP guests with complimentary accommodations on March 10, 2022. The next day, Nettles lost $5,000 at the casino. He was drinking that evening with his family at the Beau’s Eight 75 lounge off the casino floor.
Nettles caught a security guard’s attention as he was returning from the bathroom, where accounts begin to diverge. The guard said Nettles had glazed eyes and was staggering, Kelly told the jury.
Harris said the bartender that night will testify that Nettles was not “overly intoxicated” or disturbing anyone.
A security manager was called and Nettles was asked to leave. Their initial interaction, without sound, was caught on surveillance video. Nettles was leaving at one point, but then turned and headed back to the bar. While Harris said his client simply wanted to pay the bar tab, Kelly argued that Nettles told security he was not going to let anyone tell him what to do.
Security officers either tackled him to the ground, as Harris claims, or they all fell in a heap during a struggle, as Kelly says. The security officers restrained Nettles with zip ties and escorted him across the casino floor to a holding room, where they belted him to a bench and called Biloxi police.
Trial expected to wrap this week
Nettles said he complained from the moment he was restrained that the handcuffs were too tight, while security officers say the handcuffs were loosened when he first complained in the back office.
Biloxi police took Nettles into custody before releasing him. The trespassing charge was later dismissed.
The handcuffs left Nettles with a tremor in his left hand, he claims. Nettles is unable to hold a glass in that hand, Harris said. The attorney also said the outgoing Nettles has grown reserved since the incident.
Kelly says no doctor is lined up to verify that the handcuffs caused Nettles’ injury.
The trial is expected to conclude this week.
Source Agencies
