Man Charged In Assault Of Norwalk LGBTQ Bar Owners: Police

NORWALK, CT — A customer accused of assaulting the owners of an LGBTQ bar in Norwalk late last month was arrested Wednesday, according to police.

In a Facebook post, police said Carmen Everett Parisi was arrested Wednesday around 12:30 p.m. He was charged with two counts of third-degree assault and held on a court-set bond of $75,000.

Parisi's age and residence were not released by police.

In a news release Tuesday, Police Lt. Terry Blake said the disturbance took place at Troupe429, located on Wall Street, the night of Sept. 23 after a customer was asked to leave the bar by management.

The owners, however, claim they were violently attacked in front of their bar in what they believe was a hate crime.

In a detailed post on the bar's website, Casey Fitzpatrick, who co-owns the bar with his husband, Nicholas Ruiz, said the customer came to the bar during a drag show and "repeatedly harassed and made several female patrons and [staff] uncomfortable."

After being escorted outside, the customer refused to leave the doorway despite requests from Ruiz to peacefully leave the area, according to the post.

"The suspect repeatedly made disparaging statements about the bar and the people inside it, and used derogatory and anti-LGBTQ words," the post reads.

According to Fitzpatrick, the customer suddenly became violent and attacked Ruiz and punched both owners, which resulted in Ruiz being brought to an emergency room and needing "over 50 stitches across his face and eye totaling $20,000."

A photo of Ruiz in a hospital bed with a large, bloody cut under his eye was also posted to the bar's website.

According to Blake, the customer was also injured in the altercation.

"Since the date of the incident, the department has been conducting all the necessary steps within the investigative process, including obtaining video evidence from inside the bar and attempting to get sworn statements from the two victims," Blake said in a news release.

Blake said the department is in the process of obtaining an arrest warrant related to the incident. He referred to the altercation as an isolated incident.

"We also want to address the claim that the patron allegedly yelled anti-LGBTQ words at the management of Troupe429 during the incident," Blake said. "Our department watched several videos from the body-worn, on-the-scene body cameras, in which there was no mention of any racial, religious, ethnic, or sexual orientation language or indication of any anti-LGBTQ motivation behind the assault."

Police ask any witnesses who may have further information about the incident to contact the Norwalk Police Department at 203-854-3111.

Patch has reached out to the city of Norwalk for comment.