A jury will hear more evidence today in the lawsuit of a Lawrence man who says security guards beat and kicked him while he was in handcuffs outside Coyote’s Dance Hall, 1003 E. 23rd St.

One of the three Mil-Spec Security Group officers involved in the October 13, 2002, incident testified Tuesday that he actually went out of his way not to hurt the plaintiff, Jon Gentry.

“There’s a lot more responsibility to the job than being big and strong and pushing people around,” Mil-Spec officer Zachary Marrs said.

Gentry, 42, Lawrence, is seeking $250,000 in damages from the company that runs Coyote’s and from Mil-Spec, which provides security on contract to local bars.

The Mil-Spec guards removed Gentry from Coyote’s that night after he struck another man in the face with a beer bottle, according to testimony. As the guards stood outside with Gentry waiting for police to arrive, Gentry kept reaching into his pockets and shifting his feet, Marrs testified.

When the guards tried to pat Gentry down for weapons, he began grabbing at the weapons on their equipment belts, Marrs testified. Eventually, Marrs said, he took Gentry to the ground with a foot-sweep maneuver.

Marrs testified he and another Mil-Spec worker then handcuffed Gentry’s hands behind his back. At no time, Marrs testified, did they hit him, kick him or apply pressure to his body as he lay on the ground.

Photos of Gentry taken after the incident show the left side of his was face swollen and bruised. The key question for jurors to decide is when Gentry received those injuries.

Defense attorneys argue Gentry could have received them during the fight inside the bar or could have inflicted them on himself by struggling with the guards.

The trial is scheduled to end today in Douglas County District Court.