Cut off at the Bar, Father and Son Pull Out Security Guard's Hair: Prosecutor

ORLAND PARK, IL -- A father and son were arrested for pulling out a 22-year-old security guard’s hair by the roots during an altercation at an Orland Park bar last month, prosecutors said Tuesday in court.

Larry McPolin, 47, and his son, Patrick McPolin, 23, both of Orland Park, appeared before Cook County Judge Peter Felice on a charge of felony aggravated battery.

The McPolins were at the Square Celt Ale House and Grill, 39 Orland Square Drive, around 11 p.m. March 12, when Patrick McPolin was cut off by the bartender, the prosecutor said.

When the 22-year-old security guard tried to tell Patrick McPolin to finish his beer the prosecutor said the younger McPolin pushed him in the chest, causing them both to land on the floor.

Larry McPolin, seeing the security guard on top of his son, allegedly grabbed the guard by his dreads, tearing the hair out by the roots. The prosecutor said the older McPolin called the security guard, who is African-American, a racial slur. The McPolins are both white.

“The dreads are extensions?” Judge Felice asked.

“No, it is his actual hair,” the prosecutor said.

The father and son left the bar. The security guard was able to identify both men in a police photo array. They were each charged Monday with felony aggravated battery.

During the bond hearing, the security guard’s father, Charles Gaines, told the judge there was a surveillance video of the alleged hair pulling.

According to the prosecutor, Larry McPolin is currently on supervision in Will County on a 2015 battery conviction. Patrick has a prior arrest for domestic battery but no criminal convictions.

Judge Felice set the father’s bail at $30,000; Patrick McPolin was given a $30,000 I-bond.

“Don’t do anything foolish, Patrick, or I’ll revoke your bond in a New York minute,” the judge said.

After the bond hearing, the security guard’s father, Gaines described his son as “a kid with long hair.” Gaines said his son worked for an outside firm that was hired to provide security for Square Celt. His son still works for the security firm, but no longer at the bar.

“They pulled out his hair because he was doing his job,” Gaines said, whose son was not present in court because of prior scheduled commitments.

“The Orland Park detective called an hour before saying there would be a bond hearing,” Gaines said. “It was a spur of the moment thing. I wanted to be here for my son.”

The security guard did not want his name used because of the ongoing case. He said that after the altercation, employees at the bar held him back from the McPolins and moved him to a separate room by himself.

“They said the police were on the way and to wait,” said the security guard, who was asked by the bar’s manager to tell the younger McPolin that he had been cut off at the bar. “He called me a ‘nigger’ multiple times.”

The security guard claims he was eventually told by the bar owner, Kevin Vaughan, that the police wouldn’t be coming “because he didn’t want to get a ticket.” The security guard went to the Orland Park police station himself to file a police report, but by then, he said, the McPolins had left.

About 20 of his dreads were pulled out by the roots; the security guard was able to gather eight or 10 of the dread locks, but the rest of his hair disappeared.

The security guard’s father claims the scene was “cleaned up.”

“I watched the [surveillance] video of them pulling my son’s hair out,” Gaines said. “It made me sick. My son did not throw a punch back. In my opinion, my son was passive to a fault.”

Sam Izguerra, manager of the Square Celt, corroborated the security guard’s version of events. Izguerra, too, said the security guard never hit back, but was grabbing his hair, trying to keep it from getting pulled out.

“I was trying to get [Larry McPolin’s] fingers off the [security guard’s] hair,” the bar manager said in a phone conversation with Patch. "When I saw the son coming I pushed him away. The father had [the security guard's] hair and was getting ready to punch him."

After separating the men, Izquerra claims the older McPolin was pleading with the owner to just let him take his son home.

“[Larry McPolin] was just telling the owner to calm down, ‘We’re leaving,’” Izquerra said. “The owner told him to get out. I went back to see if [the security guard] was okay. I wanted him to understand I did the best I could to resolve the situation.”

The bar manager alleges that the younger McPolin was outside the bar and still “running off at the mouth,” using racial slurs.

“We were mostly trying to diffuse the situation,” Izquerra said. “We wanted them out of there as quickly and efficiently as possible because other customers were coming in and we didn’t want another fight.”

Izquerra said he picked up two or three long braids of the security guard's hair and disposed of them. He saw the security guard putting some of his own hair back into his pocket.

The security guard left and came back an hour later with Orland Park police. Both Izquerra and Vaughan spoke with police. The bar manager said he handed the security video to police. Izquerra said police briefed him on Monday that an arrest had been made.

Prior to March 12, Izquerra said he had never before seen the McPolins at the bar.

Meanwhile, Gaines isn’t satisfied with the low bail for his son’s alleged attackers. He described his son as a churchgoing young man who plays drums in the church choir.

“They shouldn’t have walked away with a low bond,” Gaines said. “What if it were a black patron and his son, and the security guard was a white guy? People don’t know how to empathize with other people’s situation.”