Self-Employed Musician Wants to Know Who'll Pay for Finger Surgery Following Bathroom Line Bar Brawl

A 34-year-old self-employed musician from West Des Moines wants to know who’s going to pay for surgery to repair a torn ligament to his left ring finger.

He told West Des Moines police it shouldn’t be him because he wasn’t “the problem” at Sully’s bar on Jan. 3

The “problem” was an alleged brawl that ensued after one of the patrons knocked on the men’s restroom door while it was occupied, according to Officer Kraig Kincaid’s report.

The victim reportedly said he and another man were waiting in line to use the restroom when the other man knocked and asked, “Is anyone in there?” and then attempted to push open the door.

This apparently angered the occupant, a 39-year-old Des Moines man, who reportedly opened the door forcefully and grabbed the victim by the throat. The victim said he hadn’t provoked the attack and had never seen his assailant before, according to the report.

At that point, other patrons became involved. The victim told police he thought the others were “trying to separate people and not actively fight,” but he nevertheless fell over some tables and chairs in the melee and hurt his left ring finger.

A trip to the hospital confirmed the torn ligament, according to the police report.

“He’s not sure when the injury took place, but thought the suspect should be charged with assault because he’s not the one who started it,” Kincaid wrote in his report. “The victim said someone needed to pay for the surgery and that it should not be him [because] he was not the problem in the fight.”