A security guard testified Monday that he squirted the pepper spray that sparked the deadly stampede at the E2 nightclub in 2003 because he was trying to break up a fight.
The pepper spray discharge caused many of the estimated 1,152 patrons to flee down a narrow stairway in a frenzy, killing 21 people in the crush.
The guard, Samuel Bone, was testifying at the bench trial of E2 owner Calvin Hollins Jr., floor manager Calvin “Nicky” Hollins III and promoter Marco Flores, each charged with involuntary manslaughter in the Feb. 17, 2003, stampede at the nightclub at 2347 S. Michigan Ave.
Bone, 35, testified that he had worked about four times at the club and was working that evening as a bouncer near the dance floor.
Under questioning from Assistant Cook County State’s Atty. Patrick McGuire, Bone said the crowd was the biggest he had seen.
Bone said at one point, he had to confront a 300-pound man waving a glass beer bottle. He said another man weighing about 350 pounds pushed about a dozen people who were lined up for drinks at a bar.
Then a fight broke out with about 15 people near the DJ booth, and he and other bouncers tried to break it up when another fight broke out nearby, Bone said.
Prosecutors put Bone, who was never charged with a crime, on the stand in an attempt to show that the crowd was unruly and that the owners failed to properly train and supervise their employees.
But under cross-examination from Hollins Jr.’s lawyer, Thomas Breen, Bone testified that in his training, he knew that a single spray of the substance could have caused people to choke and lead to temporary blindness.
Another security guard testified Monday that she had bouncers working the entry to close the front doors because the crowd was getting out of hand.
Sheila Kizer, 51 said that while she was never told to limit the number of people in the club or told the capacity, she said Nicky Hollins trained her to keep the doorways clear.
“Nicky always told me to try to keep the stairs clear and the doorways open. But it was also part of my training,” Kizer said.
