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A Wellington janitor who was filmed stomping on a man’s head while lying on the ground says he regrets his actions but acted in self-defense and now fears for his life after receiving death threats.
Pavali Logovae was punched in the face and chest early Sunday morning by a man he had turned away from Boston at the Blair Bar on Blair St in the city center.
Then a fight broke out between the man and a group of gorillas, including Logovae, who knocked the man to the ground.
Video footage of part of the altercation posted on social media showed Logovae stomping on the man’s head while he was on the ground and pushing a patio-style heater on top of him.
Passerby Kate Te Tau posted the video and was injured by the fall of the heater, which split her lip and required stitches.
Full video of the incident from CCTV footage has now also been posted online, showing the man first hitting Logovae in the face while not looking and then continuing to hit him.
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Pavali Logovae said he needed about 17 points after receiving a cut during the altercation.
The man was subsequently transferred to Wellington Hospital in moderate condition. A police spokeswoman said no arrests have yet been made.
Talking to ThingsLogovae said he regretted the way he responded to the assault, but said he feared for his life after being punched in the chest as he underwent heart surgery late last year.
Logovae suffers from kidney and heart failure and is currently on dialysis.
“I was afraid for my life. I tried to defend myself, I was afraid if someone would hit me in the chest, since I had just finished heart surgery. If I hadn’t handled it I would have been on the ground and he would have stomped on my head, I know.
“I was angry and scared at the same time. If it happened like this again, would what happened change? Yes, I definitely would. I feel bad for what I did, but the only reason I did it was to defend myself, nothing more ”.
Logovae said he is praying for the man’s recovery.
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Passerby Kate Te Tau was injured after being struck by the falling heater during the altercation and posted the original video on social media.
Since the incident was published on social media, Logovae said he has been the target of death threats and racist attacks and now fears for his life, after receiving messages saying that people would “shoot” at the bar and stab him. You have experienced suicidal thoughts after seeing the abuse.
“People have threatened me online, saying, ‘Watch your back.’ Saying they’ll come back, shoot and stab me They say I’m worth nothing, things like that. I have to stay low for a while. “
In his 14 years as a goalkeeper in Wellington, Logovae said he has been “hit a couple of times” and has attacked another person in retaliation once before.
They have shot him with knives, spit on him, received death threats, racial insults and told him to “go back to your own country.”
“We experience a lot of abuse. It happens every night. They spat on us and insulted us … all kinds of names, whatever. I wish everyone could work on the door and find out what it’s like. “
“It comes with work. Everybody wants to have a good time, but they get drunk and they don’t like us telling them they can’t come in. They want to exaggerate and they don’t like us telling them they’ve had enough.”
“I’m just trying to work, that’s my only job to feed my two children,” she said.
Logovae echoed the concerns of others in the hospitality industry that the central city environment has changed, with an increase in crime and a higher prevalence of violence.
“There has definitely been an increase in gang members. All kinds of gangs are entering Wellington. You can tell from the way they represent themselves, sometimes they go around with patches, doing their marches, wearing their colors, throwing up gang posters, everything. “
Another assault in the city center last weekend left a man, who Things understands that he is an associate of the Rebels MC gang, in serious condition.
Police were alerted to two groups of people, some of whom were gang associates, fighting in the middle of Courtney Place, outside McDonald’s, around 2:45 a.m. M.
A police spokeswoman said investigations were ongoing and charges had not yet been filed.
