Boston Bouncer Pleads Not Guilty to Assault Charge

(NECN: Ally Donnelly) - Prosecutors say a cell phone video says it all, showing Boston bar bouncer Sidney Phillips unleashing his fury on customer Tyler Schemack outside the Grand Canal pub around closing time Sunday morning.

The Suffolk County assistant district attorney said, "He does have swelling. The inside of his lip is shredded, your honor."

Four alleged victims told Boston Police they were inside the bar, having fun, when someone in their group bumped into a woman at the bar. Words were exchanged, things escalated and they say Phillips rushed them out the door, allegedly punching Schemack’s girlfriend in the stomach and throwing her against a car.

They say when Schemack came to her defense, one bouncer tackled him and held him down while Phillips kicked him three times and then stomped on his head.

Phillips’ attorney, Patrick Reddington, says the dramatic video doesn’t tell the whole story.

"I’d rather not get into specifics about the case, but he’s a good man with a lot of support," Reddington said.

He says Phillips, a 31-year-old father of two from Avon, Mass., was trying to get two women from the group out of the bar because they were drunk and unruly.

"They were spitting on anyone with a staff shirt and started scratching and clawing," Reddington said. He says Phillips wasn’t stomping on Schemack’s head, but rather his hand, because he thought he was holding a weapon. He claims Schemack threatened to stab him when they were inside the bar.

This is not the first alleged assault tied to Phillips. Grand Canal owner David Murray, coincidentally, went before the city Licensing Board for a Dec. 30, 2012 incident where a customer accuses Phillips of punching him in the face because he was slow to finish his drink and leave the bar at closing time.

Murray had no comment except to say Phillips no longer works for the bar.

For customers, the video is a shock. Christian Meyers, who works nearby, says Phillips has always seemed pretty docile when he’s seen him in the bar, but he thought his behavior in the video seemed out of control and, "over the top."

Phillips was released on $1,500 cash bail. He is due back in court June 12. NECN reached out to each of the four alleged victims and about 10 witnesses. Few returned our calls and those who did had no comment.

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