A gay couple was attacked while escorting a patron out of the bar they own in Connecticut, resulting in serious injuries, over what they said was an anti-gay assault.
Casey Fitzpatrick and his husband, Nicholas Ruiz, who own Troupe429, a popular gay bar in Norwalk, said in a statement Tuesday that they were attacked on Sept. 23 while trying to get the patron to leave the venue.
The man used "derogatory and anti-LGBTQ words" to disparage the bar and its customers, they said, accusing him of a hate crime.
Norwalk police said they arrested the suspect, Carmen Everett Parisi, on Wednesday on two counts of assault in the third degree. He is being held in lieu of a $75,000 bond.
Fitzpatrick wrote that the suspect was at the bar during a drag show and was harassing women and making the staff uncomfortable. He was "respectfully escorted outside," but refused to leave the doorway. When Ruiz approached to deescalate the situation and get the man to leave, he "repeatedly made disparaging statements about the bar and the people inside it, and use[d] derogatory and anti-LGBTQ words," the couple said in their statement.
The suspect then became violent, allegedly punching Ruiz and striking Fitzpatrick in the throat. At one point, he punched Ruiz repeatedly on the right side of his face, tearing his cheek open and injuring his eye, the couple said.
Ruiz was taken to the emergency room and required "surgery of over 50 stitches across his face and eye totaling $20,000 in plastic surgery," Fitzpatrick wrote. The statement included a graphic photo of Ruiz's injury.
Fitzpatrick said he had not been given any updates on the case despite cooperating with investigators and visiting the police station multiple times. They also pleaded with the public to contact Norwalk police, who, at the time the statement was published, had not yet arrested the suspect.
Police, however, said that they had been investigating the incident since it happened and initially suggested that the couple had not been cooperative.
Norwalk Police Chief Thomas Kulhawik told BuzzFeed News on Thursday that there was "some miscommunication" between officers and the couple. Kulhawik said he met with their attorney that morning and they were "remedying any issues" moving forward.
The day Fitzpatrick's statement was published, the Norwalk Police Department tweeted that it was "aware" of people's concerns about the incident.
"The patron assaulted the victim and a fight ensured [sic], leaving the patron injured as well," police tweeted, adding that they had made "multiple attempts" to contact the couple. They also said that the bar owners declined to give sworn statements.
"There were no written statements from the victims prior to the [arrest] warrant but we went forward with the other information including reviewing the security footage from the front of the bar to obtain the warrant," Kulhawik said.
Police also said they have no evidence so far that the attack was motivated by anti-gay sentiment, despite the couple's statement.
"Video footage from the body-worn, on-the-scene body cameras show no findings of any racial, religious, ethnic, or sexual orientation (RRES) language or indication of any anti-LGBTQ motivation associated with the assault," they said.
videos from the body-worn, on-the-scene body cameras, in which there was no mention of any racial, religious, ethnic, or sexual orientation (RRES) language or indication of any anti-LGBTQ motivation behind the assault. However, we ask any witnesses who may have further
Kulhawik said the couple is scheduled to provide written statements to police on Thursday.
"If any new evidence leads to additional charges, we will contact the State’s Attorney who can adjust them," he added.
Fitzpatrick and Ruiz did not respond to requests for comment.