Hamilton bouncer left unconscious after attack by pub patrons

A doorman at Local Bar in Te Rapa, Hamilton was left unconscious after a vicious attack in March last year by a group of men that included Tuumanako Tawha. Photo / Facebook

The doorman of a Hamilton bar was beaten to the point of unconsciousness and stomped on as he lay prone on the ground after trying to break up a fight.

The victim, who worked at Local Bar in Te Rapa, Hamilton, was left with extensive bruising, a fractured bone near his eyes, a concussion and a cut to his forehead.

Now, Tuumanako Zaviar Tawha, one of the men responsible for the doorman’s injuries, has been sentenced for his role in the violent attack.

The 28-year-old and his associates were drinking at the bar late on the night of March 18 last year. A fight broke out between Tawha’s crew and other patrons and the doorman went over to try to break it up.

One of Tawha’s associates pushed the doorman before punching him twice in the head. The victim then threw a punch at one of the associates, with the blow sending him to the ground.

Another associate then tackled him to the ground, knelt on him and began punching him in the head as he held him down.

Tawha then got involved and also began punching the doorman in the head as he tried to use his arms to protect himself. Tawha began kicking his head, before stomping on it.

A fellow patron intervened but by then the doorman had been rendered unconscious. As the patron pulled him away by his jacket while on the ground, Tawha kicked the victim in the torso.

Tawha earlier accepted a sentence indication and was up for sentencing in the Hamilton District Court this week on a charge of wounding with intent to injure.

His counsel Jesse Lang urged Judge Denise Clark to hand down a home detention sentence to be served at his mother’s address.

He said Tawha, who was supported in court by a large number of whānau members, knew what he did was wrong, that the victim was only doing his job and that “his reaction was completely out of proportion and not justified”. His remorse was also genuine.

Crown prosecutor Scarlett Hartstone disagreed and said Tawha’s associates were in a fight “and out of nowhere, this defendant becomes involved once the victim is neutralised ... even to the point where [the victim] is on the ground and he continues to stomp on his head”.

A doorman at The Local bar, Hamilton, was left unconscious after a vicious attack in March last year by a group of men that included Tuumanako Tawha. Photo / Facebook

She said prison should be the only outcome.

While Tawha had written a letter of remorse, he had told a pre-sentence report writer it was “just a bar fight”.

“I think he fails to appreciate the effect this has had on the victim’s life ... I don’t see how anything less than prison will be appropriate.”

Judge Clark told Tawha the level of violence in his life was not abating.

“That simply cannot continue ... if you continue [to refuse to focus] on positive pathways, it’s not going to work.”

She noted Tawha, who is a young father, had served a home detention sentence successfully before and acknowledged his remorse letter.

“I think you’re beginning to see how significant your behaviour was,” she told him.

“I know you have apologised to the victim and his family, but what you have to do now is really show that you mean it [through] your actions.”

The fact he’d offered to engage in restorative justice - which didn’t eventuate - and had apologised was enough to see him avoid jail, the judge said.

He was sentenced to seven and a half months’ home detention, which would be judicially monitored.

“I expect to see that you will be doing really, really well,” Judge Clark told him.

Belinda Feek is an Open Justice reporter based in Waikato. She has worked at NZME for nine years and been a journalist for 20.