Airlie Beach push on drunk tourist lands former security guard Jordan Carl Reeve in court, unemployed

An Airlie Beach security guard who shoved a drunk tourist trying to pull a fast one on him has lost his job, security licence and been charged with assault. Do you agree with the police’s actions?

Jordan Carl Reeve, 26, was working at a venue at Beaches Bar and Grill when he pushed an intoxicated tourist, causing the man to fall back onto concrete.

An Airlie Beach security guard who used two hands to push back a drunk tourists has lost his job, security licence and been charged with assault occasioning bodily harm over the shove.

Jordan Carl Reeve, 26, was working at Beaches Bar and Grill in the Airlie Beach safe district in October 2023 when he pushed an intoxicated tourist, causing the man to fall back onto concrete.

Reeve appeared in Proserpine Magistrates Court with his defence lawyer Elizabeth Smith on Monday, September 30, and pleaded guilty to one count of assault occasioning bodily harm.

Ms Smith said her client was employed as a crowd control worker on the night and had earlier in the night removed the tourist from the pub because he was highly intoxicated.

The court heard the drunk tourist – a man visiting from Townsville – went back to his hotel after being removed from the pub, changed his shirt, and came back, going up to Reeve who was standing at the door of the pub asking to come inside again.

Jordan Carl Reeve, 26, was working at a venue at Beaches Bar and Grill when he pushed an intoxicated tourist, causing the man to fall back onto concrete.

According to testimony Reeve gave police, the tourist got “more hostile” and took a “big step” towards him, prompting the security guard to push him with both hands “hard enough to get him away from me, as he was pretty intoxicated”.

This shove caused the tourist to fall backwards onto concrete and fracture his wrist.

The 52-year-old tourist required medical treatment and later underwent surgery in Townsville University Hospital.

Police prosecutor senior constable S. Roe said it was concerning Reeve did this while employed to look after intoxicated people and in a position of power.

Jordan Carl Reeve, 26, was working at a venue at Beaches Bar and Grill when he pushed an intoxicated tourist, causing the man to fall back onto concrete.

Ms Smith said this was not an unprovoked assault as the tourist had been trying to get into a pub he knew fully well he’d been evicted from.

“This is definitely an assault on the lower end of the scale… the assault itself is a push,” Ms Smith said.

“He’s lost his job as a consequence of this.”

Ms Smith said Reeve was from Ipswich, had moved to Airlie in 2022 to pick up security work, and now wished to leave the Whitsundays once the court matter was dealt with and move to Brisbane, chasing construction work.

The court heard that Whitsunday Police initially charged Reeve with the very serious crime of grievous bodily harm, and Reeve was contesting that and prepared to take it to a jury trial on Friday, October 4.

The grievous bodily harm charge was downgraded by police prosecutions on Monday to assault occasioning bodily harm.

Magistrate Michelle Howard said had the tourist not been so intoxicated, he may not have fallen from the shove.

She described Reeve as being of “excellent character” with no criminal record or even traffic record – not even a speeding ticket – to his name.

Magistrate Howard fined Reeve $1250 and no conviction was recorded.