Gabriel Gordon, an employee of Bahamas Power and Light (BPL), said yesterday he was surprised when he was attacked by a customer earlier this week during a routine disconnection on Paradise Island.
“I was really, honestly taken aback by it,” Gordon said.
“I was really, truly surprised. I’ve been in BPL since September 2011 and, of course, you’re going to get in contact with persons who may have a lot going on in life.
“But to be physically attacked by someone, that is something that has never happened to me out there in the field, so it really surprised me. I’m just glad that the situation basically happened the way it did and that police were able to come quickly.”
A photo of the incident was widely shared on social media. It showed Gordon holding the man, Stephen Acres, 58, in a headlock with his legs.
Gordon’s right eye was noticeably bruised yesterday.
When The Nassau Guardian asked about it, he replied, “I was hit in my eye during the process by Mr. Acres and, as a result of that, I received some bruising but I’m getting it sorted out at the doctor.”
Gordon said he was talking with Acres and his wife before the incident.
“After that discussion, she left visibly upset and I immediately just began to do my work when I was attacked by Mr. Acres,” Gordon recalled.
“I avoided contact with him for as long as I could — for about 50 feet — and when I could not, I just simply wrestled him to the ground and I held him for about seven minutes until the police came.”
Gordon said he was able to defend himself because of his more than 20 years of marital arts training.
When he appeared in a Magistrates Court on Wednesday, Acres, a foreigner, pleaded guilty to causing harm.
He paid a $1,200 fine to the court and $500 in compensation to his victim, resulting in his release from custody.
Acres was given 24 hours to leave the country at his own expense.
