Fans allege security at a Bush concert in Kelowna were using ‘excessive force’

Multiple attendees have alleged that security at Prospera Place used excessive force on fans during the show’s opening act.

What was supposed to be a nostalgic night of ’90s rock quickly turned chaotic for some concertgoers at the Bush concert at Prospera Place in Kelowna, B.C., on Wednesday night.

Multiple attendees have alleged that security at Prospera Place used excessive force on fans during the show’s opening act. Videos and social media posts describe scenes of drinks and phones being knocked out of hands and fans being dragged out of the venue — some, they say, without clear cause.

Jaymz Harker, a witness at the concert, says he was stunned by what he saw.

“Two young girls were just dancing when security suddenly jumped over the barricade and pulled them out,” Harker told Global News. “They dragged them out aggressively, so we followed because we didn’t think it was right.

“When we caught up, we saw multiple security guards swing one girl around with her hands behind her back and slam her face-first into the pavement.”

Harker also claims he was threatened with removal for trying to intervene.

“I was calling out the way they were handling it, it was dangerous and they didn’t have a right to do that. Another guard approached me and told me if I took another step forward I would be removed as well,” he said.

But not everyone is blaming security. In Facebook posts and comment threads, other concertgoers shared a different perspective — some claiming that security guards were themselves assaulted during the chaos.