Puyallup police: Bar assault wasn’t a hate crime
A fight Wednesday in a Puyallup bar, initially reported as a possible hate crime, did not meet that definition, Puyallup police said Friday, but it could lead to formal charges next week.
The incident happened at the Big Whiskey Saloon, 1200 Fourth St. NW, police spokesman Capt. Scott Engle said, giving this account:
A 23-year-old man who had been dancing at the bar fought with two or three other men in a bathroom. The man lost two teeth, possibly after being punched.
The alleged assailants left the bar, and the man was asked to leave as well. He punched a glass door on the way out, and hurt his hand.
When police later spoke to the man at a local hospital he said his attackers used racial slurs.
Police subsequently spoke to the others involved in the incident, and concluded it was not a hate crime.
“Racial slurs may have been uttered, but the assault was not as a result of a hate crime,” Engle said.
Why did the assault occur?
“From our perspective, it sounds like some bar stuff that goes on in bars,” Engle said.
Engle added that no one has been arrested as a result of the investigation, but police will forward the results of their investigation to county prosecutors next week for a charging decision.
Sean Robinson: 253-597-8486, @seanrobinsonTNT
This story was originally published February 5, 2016 at 4:44 PM with the headline "Puyallup police: Bar assault wasn’t a hate crime."