Bouncer Punches Man Outside Gay Bar; Man Dies A Week Later

Authorities are expected to bring criminal charges against a bouncer who allegedly punched a man outside of a Philadelphia gay bar earlier this month, knocking the man unconscious. He died a week later.

Police told local TV station WTXF that a security video from April 16 shows Eric Pope, 41, being escorted out of Tabu Lounge at about 1:00 a.m. Authorities said Pope was intoxicated. While outside the bar, police said a bouncer punched him and he was knocked to the ground.  

Pope died of his injuries on April 23.

A reporter with the outlet, Kelly Rule, shared footage of the attack on Twitter.

(Editor’s note: The following video may be difficult for some to watch.)

Philadelphia police are still investigating what happened.

“Violence is unacceptable,” District Attorney Larry Krasner told local TV station WCAU. He added that his office is waiting for additional evidence before determining if charges will be filed.

“We look at these situations very, very carefully to make sure that we are not excessively and unfairly using our power,” he said. “And we will do that with this case as we would for any other homicide case especially one that has this peculiar aspect of it which is a punch that results in death.”

Krasner told WTXF, “It is stunning to think of someone whose job it is to try to prevent unsafe situations causing severe injury or in this case even causing death, as always we look at these situations very carefully.”

An owner of Tabu said, “The bouncer involved was not an employee of Tabu and the incident in question did not occur on our property,” according to CBS affiliate KYW. The owner added that management called 911 as soon as they learned about what happened.