Licensing board hear of police investigation into alleged 'overdose' at new Falkirk venue

Members heard that on March 8, shortly after 10 pm, officers were called to The Rock Bottom, a new beer hall and live music venue in Falkirk’s old bus station.

As a young man lay on the floor having a seizure, staff were concerned at the length of time an ambulance was taking to arrive and called the police.

According to the police report, officers arrived to find “two people pinned to the person overdosing on the floor, with one sitting on the top of the person”, and the music continuing on stage while this happened.

The police report from the evening was read to the board as Police Scotland and Falkirk Council’s licensing standards officers felt it raised several issues.

The report stated: “On arrival it was clear that there was a smell of cannabis and everyone was intoxicated.

“There was a male overdosing on the bar floor, however, people were still buying drinks and there was a lack of care for this person overdosing on the floor.”

As it was clear there was a medical emergency ongoing, the police closed the bar.

Director Ondrej Rafaj denied there had been a lack of care and said he “fully stood by his decisions on that night”.

He told members that he and other staff had restrained the man as he kept lashing out then calmed him down as he moved from having hallucinations into having a seizure.

Throughout the incident he said he continued to monitor the man’s temperature and pulse and called an ambulance promptly.

Mr Rafaj said that earlier in the evening he had noticed the man’s “unusual behaviour” and was going to ask him to leave when he had been informed that the man was “highly autistic”.

He allowed him into the bar, where he had a cup of tea but no alcohol.

As the incident unfolded, Mr Rafaj said he had instructed the music to keep playing as they believed the person to be autistic and thought he would react badly to any change in the environment.

“We told the artist to carry on because we didn’t want to trigger another episode,” he said.

He denied, however, that people were continuing to buy drinks.

According to the police report, when officers arrived, they were informed that the man had taken ketamine, although this was not confirmed.

The incident came to light when Mr Rafaj and his fellow director, Vojtech Hrdina, appeared before the board this week to request an occasional licence for the venue.

Members were told that the building warrant for the new venue has not yet been granted and Falkirk Council’s building standards officers were reluctant to extend the temporary occupation certificate beyond three months, so it will expire on March 31.

Mr Rafaj assured the board that the outstanding issues would be resolved by then.

Police Scotland also raised concerns about an incident later on the same night – the morning of March 9 – when police on patrol heard loud music playing and found the venue with the fire door open and no-one there, while alcohol was unsecured.

Mr Rafaj told the board that he had had a few drinks after the “difficult night” and had forgotten to lock up properly, but he assured councillors that he has now installed a new alarm system to make sure it won’t happen again.

“I don’t know if anyone has almost died in your hands. It’s not an experience I would wish anyone to go through,” he said.

Police Scotland and the licensing standards officers told members that they were particularly concerned that the licence holder, Mr Hrdina, had not been on the premises at the time of the incident.

They were also concerned that the event appeared to have started before stewards arrived and that there was no trained first aider.

While Mr Rafaj was present and took charge, he does not have a personal licence although he told the board he intends to get it soon.

He added that he has done First Aid courses but did not realise you needed a certificate.

He told members that he had learned several lessons from the experience and said he is unlikely to hold another rap festival.

“We’ve found out that the more rock the music, the more polite the crowd,” he said.

The board was told investigations are continuing and while a further occasional licence was granted, extra conditions were attached, which means a personal licence holder, a qualified first aider and authorised stewards must all be present during all events and and on Friday and Saturday evenings.

The licence is also subject to the grant of completion certificate from March 31.

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