Calgary police have laid several assault charges against two patrons, after a chef and a bartender were injured during a bar fight at a downtown establishment earlier this month.
Richard McLaren, who is the chef at Shelter Cocktail Bar on 1st Street SW, says around 6:30 p.m. on May 15th, bartenders noticed a man and a woman walk in who may have been “too far to be served.”
“They came over to me, and they said, ‘Hey just a heads up, we’re not going to serve these people, but in case anything happens, just be aware,’” says McLaren.
Paulina Arteaga was one of the bartenders working and was the manager that night.
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She says there were no issues when they advised the woman she wasn’t being served. It wasn’t until the woman told the man — who was outside at the time — that everything went sideways.
“I was standing in the corner where I could see the doors, (and) she’s talking to him already,” says Arteaga, who described seeing the man flailing his arms and noticeably angry, “so I knew something was going to happen.”
McLaren says the man confronted Arteaga and after a brief conversation between her and the man, he punched her in the face.
“It went from him swearing at Paulina to him swinging at the guest at the bar and, you know, hitting Paulina, so I immediately ran over (to) try and get just de-escalate the situation, like I really didn’t want to get into a fight,” says McLaren.
McLaren suffered a hairline fracture to his jaw and needed several stitches in his mouth. He has been off work since.
In a statement, police say they were called to the scene just before 7 p.m. after getting reports of the assault at the bar. They say officers arrested the woman upon arrival. The man however damaged the bar’s door and fled on foot.
Police say he then “assaulted the officers attempting to take him into custody,” but was taken into custody.
He now faces charges of assault by choking, common assault, assault with intent to resist arrest and one count of mischief, while she has been charged with assault.
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