Dunning “shut down”

FERNTREE Gully man Anthony Dunning suffered a cardiac arrest while Crown Casino bouncers held him in the “shut down” position, Melbourne Magistrates’ Court heard last week.
The Upwey Tecoma Cricket Club member, 40, died in The Alfred hospital four days after an altercation with security staff at the casino on 3 July last year.
A committal hearing into the incident started on 18 June. Security guard Matthew Lawson is answering manslaughter charges while colleagues Quoc Tran, Benjamin Vigo, Cameron Sanderson, Nicholas Levchenko, and Jacques Fucile face assault charges.
Witnesses told Magistrate Peter Reardon that Mr Dunning and two friends, Mathew Anderson and Olivia Ferguson, had gone to the casino after a day at the football.
Mr Dunning was asked to leave about 10.45pm because he was drunk, and was heading towards the door when he turned to see Ms Ferguson on the ground and tried to get back to her.
Witnesses said Tran had violently thrown her there after she slapped him for making a remark about Mr Dunning. The court heard that Mr Anderson suffered a broken nose and an injured left arm when guards also threw him to the floor.
Lawson then “crash-tackled” Mr Dunning, straddled him, and placed his arms around his head and neck – known as the “shut down” position – for about 70 seconds.
Forensic pathologist Noel Woodford told the court he believed Mr Dunning suffered a cardiac arrest on the gaming floor and never regained consciousness.
Witness Phillip Edwards told the court the security guards had used excessive force.
An ambulance took Mr Dunning to The Alfred where he died in intensive care four days later. Ms Ferguson and Mr Anderson went to the police the next morning. No casino staff member reported the incident to police.
The hearing continues this week.