EAST WILLIAMSBURG — A man was brutally beaten outside a local strip club after getting thrown out for trying to buy cocaine from customers inside, police and an employee said.
The man, 31, was asked to leave Pumps Exotic Dancing, at 1089 Grand St., on July 31 just before 2:30 a.m. after his attempt to buy drugs from patrons ended in an argument, according to a police report and an employee who was there at the time.
The man was "wasted" and approached a group of African-American patrons asking to buy cocaine, said Kes, a Pumps employee who only wished to be identified by her first name.
The customers became "incredibly offended" and eventually pushed the man, she said.
"He wouldn't stop. He [said], 'No, I know you guys sell coke,'" Kes recounted. "They [said], 'No, we actually don't. You're being horribly racist.'"
Pumps employees separated the man from the group but ultimately made him leave the club, she said.
"He was bringing so much trouble," added Kes, who's worked at the club for four years and said it lacks the fights that many other strip clubs experience. "And so rude."
Once outside, the man accidentally brushed his shoulder against another man, police said.
He said he apologized, but the unknown attacker punched him in the face and knocked him to the ground, police said. Several other men then jumped in and kicked the man while he was on the ground, police added.
The group then fled in an unknown direction, police said.
The man suffered broken ribs, a broken right ankle, a broken right wrist, and bruising and swelling to his face and body from the encounter, police said.
He walked home, where his wife called 911, police said. He was "highly intoxicated" at the time, police noted.
No one has been arrested for the assault, according to police.
Kes said it was unclear who beat the man up, but added it was not the people from whom he tried to buy cocaine.
They were "respectful" and agreed to "keep the peace" inside as long as the bar kicked the man out, she said.
"I don’t know if he continued to purchase illegal drugs from strangers," she said, "but I guess he ended up getting beaten up by somebody."
