By Jim Bloch
Security personnel at nightclubs, bars, concerts, theatres, sports facilities and other entertainment venues in the city of Port Huron will likely soon have to be fingerprinted and have a criminal background check. They will require training in de-escalation techniques, crowd control, and proper and safe restraint techniques, including the dangers of positional asphyxia. They will need to complete a first aid and cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) training course, with retraining every two years.
Those were the main components of the Joshua Conant Ordinance, introduced by unanimously by the Port Huron City Council at its regular meeting March 24. The council expects final adoption of the ordinance at its April 14 meeting.
Conant, 26, died outside the Roche Bar in the early morning hours of Nov. 4, 2023, following a struggle with bouncers employed by the bar. At the council’s March 10 meeting, Conant’s mother, Sandy Schultz, requested that the city draft and adopt the ordinance.
“I asked Mr. Shoudy to draft this ordinance, which he has done,” said City Manager James Freed, as heard on the recording of the March 24 meeting posted on YouTube.
Todd Shoudy is the city attorney.
“I believe he has done so at the request of the family,” said Freed. “Mr. Shoudy is here to answer any questions about the ordinance. It was reviewed by the family attorney. Mr. Fletcher advised that the family attorney has cleared the language as well.”
Gary Fletcher is the principal attorney at Fletcher, Fealko, Shoudy and Francis. The council members did not ask any questions.
“If you pass this tonight, it will have a second reading at the following meeting,” said Freed. “I will work with the state representative and the senate as well to have bill text drafted and then work with the family to get a hearing in Lansing to get this adopted.”
State Representative Joe Pavlov attended the meeting and promised to help draft the language for the new law.
“I’ve been asked to write legislation to help this from happening to others,” Pavlov said. “To die of situational asphyxiation is a terrible thing. As a new lawmaker, this may be the first bill I get passed.”
The ordinance defines security personnel as people “employed by an Entertainment Establishment to prevent individuals who may or are disturbing the peace from entering or to remove them from the premises, including such duties as crowd control, prevention or detection, or both, of abuse, fighting, instigating, intrusion, unauthorized entry, larceny, vandalism, fire or trespass on private property.”
The council voted 7-0 to introduce the ordinance.
Jim Bloch is a freelance writer based in St. Clair, Michigan. Contact him at bloch.jim@gmail.com.
