Bouncer Killed in Nightclub Shooting
Derek Pernell Melton recently picked up a job as a bouncer at a troubled Savannah nightclub to make ends meet for his family.
Early Saturday morning, Melton, 39, a husband and father of six children, was fatally shot while trying to stop a drunken, gun-wielding patron from firing his weapon outside Club Exclusive at the corner of Bull and 41st streets.
Bouncers and nightclub security guards are frequently involved in altercations and violence with customers. Clubs should create reasonable policy and procedure for these foreseeable events. Training should coincide with the club’s policies. The use of force should be used only to protect themselves. In occasions where a patron is to be ejected, if physical redirection to the door is not effective, the police should be called.