Charges expected in deadly assault outside Philadelphia bar, sources say

PHILADELPHIA - Law enforcement sources tell FOX 29 that criminal charges are expected in a deadly assault that happened outside a Philadelphia bar earlier this month.

Police say surveillance video from April 16 shows 41-year-old Eric Pope being escorted out of Tabu Lounge and Sports bar in Center City around 1 a.m. for being overly intoxicated. While standing along South 12th Street, police say the bouncer punched him, knocking him to the ground unconscious.

The video shows Pope lying on the ground for a minute. The bouncers move him to the sidewalk where he stays for several more minutes. A crowd eventually forms around him and the video ends.

Police say Pope died at the hospital one week later, Saturday, April 23.

Tabu’s owner told FOX 29, in an email, the bouncer involved is not an employee of Tabu and the incident did not happen on their property. When it was reported to them, they immediately called 911 and are cooperating with the police investigation.

More than a week after the deadly incident, law enforcement sources told FOX 29's Kelly Rule that criminal charges expect in the case. Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner on Monday said it's a situation his office is taking "very seriously." 

"It is stunning to think of someone whose job it is to try to prevent unsafe situations causing severe injury or in this case even causing death, as always we look at these situations very carefully," Krasner said.

Pope's family told FOX 29 that he was from Washington D.C. and was visiting friends in Philadelphia when the deadly assault happened. They are working with the District Attorney's Office of the Victim Advocate.