Widow of Arizona fireman wants law to require training for bouncers
Jul 27, 2017, 4:11 PM | Updated: Jul 28, 2017, 12:43 pm
Luke Jones is shown with his wife, Heather, and their daughter, Lila. (Fennemore Craig Photo)
(Fennemore Craig Photo)
PHOENIX — The widow of an Arizona firefighter who was killed in a nightclub altercation has demanded a new state law that would require bouncers to receive special training.
“As much as I wish that [Luke] would have come home that night, instead of extending the evening, what happened to him at Centerfold should have never happened to anybody,” Heather Jones said.
Her husband, Luke, was at Centerfolds Cabaret near 19th and Peoria avenues on Jan. 21 when he was involved in an altercation with bouncer Brandon Draper.
It is unknown what led up to the incident, but at the end of it, the 37-year-old Jones was hospitalized. After he died the following day, Draper was charged with second-degree murder.
“He was my everything and we had just celebrated our 15th wedding anniversary,” Jones said of her husband, a 12-year veteran of the Daisy Mountain Fire Department.
During a Thursday press conference, attorney James Goodnow said he knew Luke personally and his death hit him very hard.
“This isn’t just another case for us,” he said. “This is personal.”
Jones said she wants to see the state Legislature create Luke’s Law, which would require training and licensing for all bouncers hired in Arizona. There are no laws or regulations on bouncer hiring.
Further specifics on the law were not released.
Jones has not filed a lawsuit yet. She said she planned to do so soon.
