Gay couple attacked at The Whopped Bar, Miami for kissing partner
are reporting that police are looking for one man involved in an attack on a gay couple at a restaurant in Miami Beach.
Recently visiting Miami Beach from Los Angeles, 25-year-old Jordan Schaeffer, was attacked by a man inside the Whopper Bar at 1101 Washington Avenue.
Surveillance video from the incident on March 14th captured the fight as more than a dozen people were waiting in line to order food.
Miami Beach Police said the confrontation happened after Schaeffer and his 25-year-old partner, Eric Danko, engaged in a display of affection. The couple told police that their kiss offended a man who confronted and harassed them “using derogatory words.”
Miami Beach police officer, Ernesto Rodriguez told CBS Miami that “The subjects in this case happen to be gay individuals and that’s part of our investigation to see what provoked that attack.”
After the confrontation, and within minutes, the men were wrestling on the restaurant floor.
Rodriguez said that the man “Had some sort of exchange with victims, a verbal exchange which escalated into a violent physical attack.”
A second man can be seen in the surveillance video as he attempted to keep people from breaking the fight up.
Schaeffer was left with lacerations to his lip and police are now pursuing the case as a felony battery.
“The clear message we wanna give to visitors and residents of Miami Beach and Miami-Dade County for that matter is there is no place for hate here,” Rodriguez said.
You can watch the surveillance video from CBS Miami’s website below: