A Mesa Pizza bouncer allegedly assaulted a couple early Sunday morning, according to a Minneapolis police report.
The 24-year-old man was standing in line outside of Mesa with his girlfriend when he said the suspect approached them and told them to move, the report said. After he refused, the suspect allegedly threw him to the ground and sprayed the couple with pepper spray.
When police arrived at the scene, the suspect had already left, according to the report. The victim refused medical treatment but alleged that the suspect worked as a bouncer for Mesa.
Minneapolis police Sgt. Steve McCarty said police have not located the suspect and cannot be sure if he is really a bouncer. But if a bouncer is at fault, McCarty said police will have to examine the case closely to determine whether he crossed the line in his treatment of the victim.
“These things have to be examined on a case-by-case basis,” he said. “There really is no definitive line to be crossed.”
He added that police consider criteria like the level of intoxication and any size discrepancy between the bouncer and patron to determine whether the bouncer actually committed a crime or if he was just doing his job.
Man robbed near Central Avenue bus stop
A man was robbed near the Marcy-Holmes intersection of Central Avenue and Fourth Street Southeast early Friday morning, according to a Minneapolis police report.
The robbery is the 10th to occur near the University of Minnesota in the past five weeks.
Because of the recent robberies, police have increased the number of patrols in neighborhoods around the University, McCarty said.
Two male suspects allegedly assaulted the 23-year-old victim Friday after they all got off a city bus around 3:30 a.m. The first suspect missed, but the second knocked the victim to the ground with his punch.
The suspects stole the victim’s wallet, which contained about $200, a social security card and a credit card, according to the report. The suspects fled the scene before police arrived.
The victim, who was not injured by the punch, said the suspects were on the same bus as him before the incident.
McCarty said the number of robberies in University neighborhoods tends to fluctuate throughout the year, so students and residents should constantly pay attention to their surroundings.
“It’s an awareness thing,” he said.
McCarty added that police are continuing to encourage Dinkytown businesses to hire off-duty police officers so that on-duty officers can focus on these neighborhoods.
