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Mar 24, 2008 5:55 am US/Central
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5 Tossed Out Of South Loop Restaurant, 1 Hits Cop
CHICAGO (STNG) ―
Four men and a woman were arrested, including an allegedly drunken man who punched a Chicago Police officer in the nose, after they were thrown out of a restaurant early Monday in the South Loop.
A 275-pound man who was arrested after a brief foot chase is expected to be charged with aggravated battery to a police officer for allegedly punching a police officer in the face, according to a Central District police lieutenant.
A woman and the three other men are expected to be charged with misdemeanor obstructing justice, the lieutenant said. Exact charges and the identities of the suspects were not available at 5 a.m.
The officer who was hit was taken to Northwestern Memorial Hospital with a possibly fractured nose, the lieutenant said.
The incident occurred about 1:25 a.m. at the White Palace Grill, 1159 S. Canal St., according to on-duty restaurant manager William Gold.
Police were called to the restaurant for an "assault call," and during the commission of that job an officer was struck, according to police News Affairs Officer David Banks.
Gold said two "drunken gentlemen" were with several other people and one of the two men "pushed my waitress and we asked them to leave." Gold said one of the men also threatened to punch him.
"They were making remarks, but they left. We called 911 because we felt threatened," Gold said.
"I was called I n-----, and I am white, a b----, and many other things," Gold said. "My waitresses were called hoes."
During the brief foot chase, the man who allegedly punched the officer may have climbed onto the roof of a nearby building and then jumped off, according to the lieutenant. That man suffered a scratch to his head, according to a Central District police officer.
The restaurant was the scene of at least one another violent outburst, a 2005 shooting involving Boston Celtics guard and former Crane High School basketball star Tony Allen.
Allen was found not guilty of aggravated battery on Tuesday, April 24, 2007 after being charged for an altercation that escalated into a shooting on Aug. 28, 2005, at the White Palace Grill.
The incident was caught on videotape, which Allen's attorney said helped his client. Allen was not considered a suspect in the shooting.
(Source: Sun-Times News Group Wire © Chicago Sun-Times 2006. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)
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