A boozy night out in a northern Arizona bar ended with blood dripping from a bouncer's head while South Sydney captain John Sutton and teammate Luke Burgess, both the worse for wear, sat handcuffed on the side of the road.
Fairfax Media has obtained the police report issued by Flagstaff police which details the behaviour that led to Sutton and Burgess being detained for eight hours and contributed to the former being stood down as captain. Both players were charged with "disorderly conduct, fighting", a misdemeanour offence, while Burgess was also hit with an assault charge. All charges were subsequently dropped. Police also noted the pair had "bloodshot red watery eyes and smelled strongly of intoxicating beverage".
The other man involved in the incident was Patrick Scruggs, a 21-year-old local security guard.
Flagstaff police had responded to reports of a fight in Monsoons Chinese Bistro and Sushi at 12.50am on November 30. The report says trouble arose when an intoxicated Sutton was asked by Scruggs to leave the restaurant, which doubles as a late-night club on weekends.
"[Sutton] was asked to leave the bar," the police statement read. "After being asked to leave, he slammed his fist on the bar and said something to the effect of 'f--- this' and began telling bar staff to come outside with him."
A supplementary police report indicated that Scruggs had been told by his manager that Sutton had spat on the bar counter and staff were "afraid of them causing an altercation".
"The male subject wearing a black shirt [Sutton] then started yelling and 'acting like an asshole'," the police report quoted Scruggs as saying.
It is alleged that while Sutton was yelling, bouncers came inside the establishment and asked him to leave. This is where Burgess became involved.
"Burgess grabbed the victim and threw him to the ground causing his forehead to bleed," the police statement read.
A supplementary document, written by a second police officer, added: "Patrick stated that the other male subject [Burgess], wearing a white shirt then started pushing him and took him to the ground and began fighting.
"Patrick stated that he put his male subject in a 'head lock'. Patrick stated that he was hit during the altercation and had a big bruised cut on his right forehead."
The police detained the two players as soon as they arrived on the scene. Scruggs declined medical attention but stated he wanted to pursue charges.
"Upon arrival I observed a white male wearing a Monsoons t-shirt bleeding from his head and pointing towards to (sic) male subjects standing in the street," the Flagstaff police officer noted. "I exited my patrol vehicle and was immediately told by several people the two males standing in the street had been causing problems inside the bar. Due to the information I had at the time, I detained both males into handcuffs and secured [their hands] behind their back and instructed them to sit on the curb.
"I spoke with John and Luke, both of whom had bloodshot red watery eyes and smelled strongly of intoxicating beverage. Both males were adamant they had done nothing wrong and kept asking why they had been detained.
"It should be noted that John Sutton had no photo identification and stated he is an Australian citizen."
Fairfax Media understands Scruggs quit his job shortly after the incident.
Sutton and Burgess were then driven to the Coconino County Detention Facility, where they had an eight-hour wait before the charges were withdrawn.
