Michael Sapp's Assault Outside Williamsburg Bar Was Murder, Police Say

After a drunken and aggressive night out in Williamsburg, Bed-Stuy resident Michael Sapp, 32, was found braindead at 1:30 a.m. in front of the Charleston, a local dive bar, on Sunday, June 14.

Sapp was taken off life support and died the next day, June 15.

Family and friends have worried that police wouldn’t consider his death a homicide, as he had a reputation for bar brawling in the area.

But now, the NYPD and the medical examiner agree: Sapp was murdered.

His death “has been ruled a homicide and the investigation is ongoing along with the Brooklyn DA,” says police spokesman John Grimpel.

“There is a person of interest,” he adds.

According to news reports at the time of the incident, NYPD officers had arrived at the Charleston earlier in the night to find Sapp fighting with a bouncer and other patrons. But when Sapp agreed to leave the bar, a little bloodied, officers went on their way. Sapp was found braindead an hour later.

Via Gothamist:

Sapp’s Facebook postings show a man in turmoil, at once a loving dad who refers to his daughter as “my hero,” a sharp dresser, a proud worker, and a cracker of jokes—and someone grappling with substance abuse problems and depression. In some posts, he boasts about working 18 hour days or achieving seven days of sobriety. In others, he displays his bloody knuckles and talks about wanting to get hammered. In one, written in September 2012, he writes: “I need to fuck really hard or get really high rite now. & then theres the ol tyme favorite drink really hard till Im really fucked!” Family and friends regularly wrote to ask where he was, or express concern for his wellbeing.

Going forward, pending the NYPD and DA investigation, they might find some relief.

HT Brooklyn Paper