Earlier this month, a bouncer was caught on video punching a man outside a Center City bar. According to Philadelphia police, he will be charged with third-degree murder following an investigation into the deadly incident.
24-year-old Kenneth Frye was identified as the security guard who punched 41-year-old man Eric Pope outside Tabu Lounge & Sports Bar on the 200 block of South 12th Street.
On Thursday, 24-year-old Kenneth Frye turned himself in to authorities after police issued a warrant for his arrest. Frye punched 41-year-old Eric Pope outside Tabu Lounge & Sports Bar on April 16, resulting in serious injuries that left him in a coma.
In surveillance footage shared with police, Pope could be seen dancing outside the club on 12th Street, between Locust and Spruce streets in the Gayborhood. When Pope approached the curb, Frye walked up to him and punched him in the face, instantly dropping Pope to the ground.
For nearly two minutes, Pope remained unconscious on the street before Frye and another person moved him to the sidewalk. A small crowd then gathered around Pope before medics arrived. A condensed version of the surveillance footage was released by FOX29.
Watch it here: Fox29/Youtube
More details of this incident from the Scallywag and Vagabond report:
Tabu Lounge & Sports Bar said Frye was not an actual employee of theirs but was on contract and worked for a private security company.
Of note, Frye was employed by Main Line Private Security, a security company that police have received at least five about in the past month according to FOX29.
Activists are calling for justice and accountability for Pope, a Massachusetts native who was visiting Philadelphia from Washington D.C. when the deadly assault happened.
“He’s one of the kindest people I know, and I can tell you from New Bedford to Washington to Philly, there’s a going to be a void in a lot of lives because every person that Eric touched he really made his place in this heart,” close friend Kathy Dehner said.
District Attorney Larry Krasner’s victim-witness coordinator as well as a member of his LGBTQ+ Advisory Committee have been in contact with Pope’s family and offering supportive services, Krasner spokesperson Jane Roh said in a statement according to the Philadelphia Inquirer.
The District Attorney’s Office said they were aware of reports of ‘troubling interactions’ involving private security workers at gay establishments.
Pope, of Washington, D.C., died last Saturday after spending a week on life support at Thomas Jefferson University Hospital.
Source: scallywagandvagabond