Man repeatedly hurls N-word at bouncer, spits in his mouth; bouncer breaks his mouth, police, employees say

Update: No violation by Lucky's, board rules.

When bouncers at Lucky's on Congress Street in the Seaport say that when they told an out-of-town patron he couldn't smoke in the restaurant vestibule, he unleashed a torrent of N-word-laced expletives at an off-duty bouncer who'd stopped by, then spit in his mouth, which led to a fight that ended with the patron on a gurney in a hallway at Mass. General, his jaw wired shut, police and workers told the Boston Licensing Board this morning.

At a hearing, police and workers say the patron was leaving for the night on Oct. 23 when he started to light up a cigarette in the vestibule as his cousin, also from out of town, went to get their car. One bouncer told him he couldn't smoke in the vestibule. And then, the bouncer told the board, the guy got in the face of another man, a part-time bouncer who'd stopped by that night to see if they needed any extra help and when told no, hung around to chat with the bouncers.

"He immediately started swearing, " another Lucky's bouncer told the board. "He called him the N word several times." Then he spit in the man's mouth, Lucky's General Manager Nicholas Burns added.

At that point, the off-duty bouncer began to tussle with him to get him away, and they started fighting and spilled out onto the street - where, the bouncer said, the smoker's cousin tried to join in, but was blocked by bouncers, who also tried to separate the two.

A BPD officer testified he was sent to Mass. General that morning to get the man's side. He said it was difficult to get much out of the man because he was lying on a gurney in a hallway with his jaw wired shut because of the damage done to it.

Both Burns and the bouncer said the attacked off-duty bouncer started fighting only out of self defense.

"Absolutely," the bouncer said. "I don't know any human being who would not defend themselves under those circumstances," the bouncer said.

Still, Burns acknowledged the man no longer works at Lucky's.

The board could decide at a meeting on Thursday whether Lucky's could have known the fight might have broken out, or done anything to prevent it and, if so, whether the restaurant warrants any sort of penalty.