A McDonald’s doorman was cleared on Wednesday of inflicting grievous bodily harm on a customer who was ejected from the premises.
It took the jury of nine men and three women less than half an hour to reach a unanimous ‘not guilty’ verdict against Dylan Getty, 24, at Belfast Crown Court.
During the two-day trial, the jury was shown CCTV footage of a customer being ejected from the McDonald’s branch on Belfast’s Donegall Place in the early hours of December 14, 2019.
Read more: Belfast McDonald's security guard accused of assault on man who suffered brain bleed
The footage captured the customer standing at the front door eating food before being approached by Getty.
Although the footage had no sound, the two men can be seen talking briefly before Getty pushed him out the front door backwards.
The customer fell on the pavement outside, was rendered unconscious and was rushed to the Royal Victoria Hospital where he spent ten days being treated for injuries including a bleed on the brain.
When he gave evidence on Tuesday, the customer said that before going to McDonald’s for food, he had been out with colleagues for a Christmas party.
Saying he had no recollection of the evening, the customer accepted he’d been drinking but said: “At the end of the day, he should never have put his hands on me and pushed me out the door.”
Getty was called to the witness box on Wednesday and described what happened as “heartbreaking”.
The Newtownabbey man said that prior to the push, the customer had been in the restaurant, had ordered food and after being aggressive he was asked to leave.
Getty said that after initially leaving, the customer returned and stood inside at the door eating his food.
The doorman was shown the CCTV and when asked about the push, Getty said this happened after the customer was asked to leave a second time - but refused.
Getty said the customer stopped eating, licked his fingers then “squared up” to him. He said: “I took a step back, he stepped into my personal space and I noticed his arm raised so I anticipated a punch or something coming in.
“I thought he was going to hit me or headbutt me. I reacted in a split second. I wanted to put some distance between us.
“I stepped back, he stepped in my space, so I pushed him.”
Getty denied pushing with full force, and said that as soon as he realised the customer had fallen and hit his head, he administered First Aid and waited with him until an ambulance arrived.
He told the jury: “I really didn’t wish any injuries on the man. I just didn’t want to be injured myself.
“It’s very unfortunate that the man fell and I did everything in my power to help him afterwards.”
After listening to all the evidence, the jury retired to deliberate before returning a ‘not guilty’ verdict on a charge of inflicting grievous bodily harm.
Judge Patricia Smyth thanked the 12 members for their time before telling Getty he was free to leave the dock.
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