Police: Guy smashes bottle across man's head at one bar, calmly walks down street to another bar
The Boston Licensing Board decides Thursday whether the Playwright, 658 E. Broadway in South Boston, could have done anything to prevent a Feb. 6 incident in which a patron decided it was a good idea to beat another man in the head with a beer bottle - and to keep beating him in the head with the bottle even after it broke, opening a gash that required both staples and stitches to close.
A Boston Police detective told the board this morning that after the incident, the man and his wife walked down Broadway to the Boston Beer Garden. He said police knew that because one of the victim's friends made a point of following the guy - and calling 911 to let police know where to find him.
The detective said that when an officer interviewed the man, he acted as if he had no idea what the officer was inquiring about. Nope, he said, he didn't smash anybody in the head with a beer bottle, let alone a green one at the Playwright. His wife backed him up, saying nope, nothing happened.
Unfortunately for the man, a Playwright manager, on hearing what happened and after offering assistance to the victim, immediately went to his bar's video system, which he testified showed pretty clearly the guy smashing the victim in the head with the bottle. Now the guy faces criminal charges of assault and battery with a dangerous weapon, the detective said, adding the Playwright was fully cooperative with police.
Police say the attack began after the victim went to get his girlfriend's jacket from a chair near the guy, which for some reason triggered a bottle-smashing rage.
The manager, who said he knows the victim, said the man declined an offer for an ambulance Instead, he got a cab for a trip up to the Tufts Medical Center ER, police said.
On Thursday, the board will consider what to do about two citations: One for patron-on-patron violence, the other for failing to call police about the incident. At this morning's hearing, the manager said he didn't call police at the time because he knew the victim's friend had called police.
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Comments
Man oh man
Could've maybe seen this happening at Tom English's or Murphy's Law, but The Playwright?? Gotta watch out for those Southie kids.
Stop labeling southie kids.
Stop labeling southie kids. It clearly states man and wife. No reference where they are from. So tired of naive people labeling all southie natives as punks.
Tom English's Cottage and Murphy's Law seem a lot tamer
these days than they used to. I can still see this kind of thing happening at Whitey's, though.
I agree
When a townie commits a crime its:
"he just made a wrong decision or he was mentally ill or not all southie kids are like that"
when a yuppie throws a loud party its or recommends bike lanes:
"outsiders are ruining the neighborhood!"
its funny how assault and murder don't spark outrage from the townies but a yuppie throwing a party will get the whole townie population up in arms.
sigh.....
I agree- sobo yuppie
Southie people are not called Townies, thats reserved for people that grew up in Charlestown, and its a term thats been around for along time, and they are fond of it, as in proud to be a townie, - people from Southie laugh when a self described yuppie such as yourself refer to them as a "townie". You probably do not care, i know, but judt wanted ti put it out there. Fondly, a Rossie Rat who lives in Southie and respects the unique culture of each Boston neighborhood
We are not "townies" townies
We are not "townies" townies are from Charlestown ...why do u assume he was from southie ? Why are u assuming the victim isn't ...get the facts pls...and funny how we can't stereotype newbies but it's perfectly ok for them to stereotype us ..so one sided..tsk tisk
No
No - townies are not just from Charlestown.. Townies is a generic term used by many people inside and outside of Boston. Many people use the word to describe someone who has never left the town they grew up in. I've heard it hundreds of times regarding towns outside of Boston. So no Charlestown doesn't own the rights to the word "townie".
Everyone except for us in
Everyone except for us in Southie.
Sad. Really Sad.
you read my post and decide to comment on the term "townies" and not the violent assaults and murders committed by life long south boston residents and the lack of outrage from townie residents.
You watch too many of those
You watch too many of those damn movies.
You sound like a jealous
You sound like a jealous person. Very very negative too.
Oh. Do we know that this guy
Oh. Do we know that this guy is a life long resident??? I didn't hear that part.
Perhaps the Licensing Board should require
that applications for bartender include the following under "Minimum qualifications":
Must be mind reader, with abiilty to predict when patrons will suddenly decide to attack others.
This "let's threaten to punish the bar for the idiotic actions of ADULT individuals" bit is getting old.
Yes!
Couldn't agree more, the licensing boards ridiculous.
Licensing board review based
Licensing board review based on the fact the bar did not call authorities although required to after such incidents. Without the friend of the victim, suspect would not have been found that evening.
Where does it say that?
What I read, it said the bar was fully cooperative with police and the reason the cops knew he was after he left the bar was because the friend followed him when he left. Half the cases put in front of the licensing board are an absolute joke, this one included.
So it boils down to this
Incident between adult individuals other than bar employees happens, bar chooses not to call police, bar gets hauled before the Licensing Board to explain themselves.
Or: Incident between adult individuals other than bar employees happens, bar decides to call the police, and the bar is still hauled before the Licensing Board to explain themselves.
In other words - a no win situation for the bar.
How about this instead - if NO bar employees involved - no need to haul the bar before the Licensing Board. Leave it between the police and the actual perps.
Ah, sounds like somebody familiar with the case
Thanks for pointing that out. I've added something to the original post about that: The manager said he didn't call police because he knew the victim's friend had called police. In hindsight, he said, he should have made a second call.
possible Licensing Board issue
might be whether the assailant was over-served.
A Good Friend
Good on the friend to follow the guy to the other bar.
nightclub scuffles
what nerve of that guy to grab his GF's jacket!!! just be glad nobody bumped into Aaron Hernandez.
Both the license hearing and explanation justified
While I agree that some of these hearings are frivolous, this one seems more than justified. One or more felonies with permanent disfigurement and no call from the manager, needs a follow up.
That said, if the manager knew the police were already enroute, it would seem reasonable that he would wait for them while tending to the situation. Providing the video was also crucial.
Either way, these bottle attacks usually result in big settlements against the bar's liquor liability carrier and the attacker, so the board should know.