A man accidentally fell 7 stories to his death from a hotel balcony in Poland after being pepper-sprayed earlier that night, according to a coroner. The 25-year-old soldier was reported to have been out drinking in a club that night with army friends and was chastised with pepper spray, thus, leaving him visually impaired that evening.
The soldier identified as Corporal Ryan Lovatt went on an Army-organized trip to Warsaw to learn more about World War II and lay a wreath on its 75th anniversary while on a six-month deployment in Poland.
On July 31, 2019, the Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineer arrived in Warsaw for a two-day excursion and strolled through the old town with his Army colleagues before taking a guided tour of the palace in the old town, Warsaw castle, and the museum.
Apparently, the military folks broke the "four-can rule" when they went to a cocktail bar that night and drinking beers and Jagerbombs before heading to the Golden Moon strip club, according to the court.
Following an altercation with the bouncers, the club guards pulled out pepper spray and started striking the men. After avoiding the initial round of pepper spray, Lance Corporal Tommy Jackson and Lovatt returned to the strip club for karaoke and drank a couple of tequila shots.
The bouncers quickly turned on the men, blasting Lovatt in the eyes with the "powerful" spray, blinding him, according to the coroner.
“If I am honest, it messed us up,” Staff Sgt. Gary Horsburgh told the court. “The Polish pepper spray physically burned our skin and it was put in our eyes, we were struggling,” he added.
Meanwhile, Jackson said, “These bouncers were not your average UK bouncers with licenses; they were normal guys outside of the bar.”
He went on to say that the bouncers did not show their IDs, and were dressed in civilian clothes. Jackson also stated that Lovatt said his eyes were stinging.
The lance corporal helped Lovatt into the taxi, guided him into his room, and laid him on his bed.
“He was still holding his eyes. We hugged each other and said good night, he thanked me for helping him and that was the last time I saw him,” Jackson said.
Lovatt was then caught on CCTV falling from the seventh-floor balcony of the City Comfort hotel past 4 a.m., the court was told.
Sgt. Stephen Cook said, “We surmised that he had gone out to get some air, leaned against the netting, which has given way and he has fallen through.”
Following the fall, Lovatt died of injuries to his chest, belly, and pelvis, as well as fractures to his spine, arm, and ribs.
Doctors discovered that Lovatt had consumed three times the legal drink-drive limit, impairing his balance, coordination, and judgment.
Coroner Darren Salter affirmed an accidental death judgment.
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