Bar Scuffle Leads to Battery Charges

A female bartender at the Cham Tap suffered a broken wrist Feb. 15 after a patron allegedly pushed her so hard she fell.

George B. Taylor, 28, of Racine, was charged Tuesday in Racine County Circuit Court with misdemeanor disorderly conduct, misdemeanor battery and substantial battery. If convicted, he faces up to 4-1/2 years in jail and/or up to $21,000 in fines.

According to the criminal complaint, Mount Pleasant police were called to the tavern at 2511 Durand Avenue at 11:51 a.m. Feb. 15 for a report of a civil disturbance. While en route to the call, dispatch upgraded the call to a fight and told officers that the suspect was no longer on scene.

When they arrived, officers found a female bartender with a broken wrist and another man bleeding from his mouth and possibly suffering from an asthma attack.

Witnesses told officers that Taylor and two other men had been drinking beer and shots since 7:30 that morning, the complaint reads. When Taylor got unruly, the bartender told him he had to settle down, but he refused and got even more belligerent.

The woman came out from behind the bar to confront Taylor about his behavior, and officers say that's when Taylor pushed her, causing her to fall and break her wrist. Other patrons in the bar grabbed Taylor and started hustling him out the door. One man told police the defendant punched him in the mouth and then left the area in a black car shortly before officers arrived.

Reports indicate the man said he might have been suffering from an asthma attack so rescue responded with oxygen. The woman refused transport for her wrist, choosing instead to get there on her own. Police followed her to the emergency room where they learned the woman would need surgery on her wrist and that surveillance video would be prepared for them by one of her co-workers.

Taylor was released on a $2,000 signature bond Tuesday and ordered to not have any contact with the woman or the bar and to abstain from possessing and drinking alcohol. He will next be in court for his preliminary hearing on March 27.