The Boston Licensing Board decides Thursday whether the Pour House on Boylston Street deserves any punishment for a minor argument inside on Aug. 3 that blossomed into an all-out melee on the sidewalk outside featuring a burly guy yelling he'd killed people in Afghanistan and challenging people to fights and a couple of spikey-haired guys wielding skateboards as weapons.
In the end, Lt. Stephen Meade told the board, they found only one injured person - a guy with human bite marks on his right forearm. But, Meade added, they'll never know exactly what happened because most of the roughly 50 people scattered at the sight of approaching blue lights and the few who remained proved too drunk and too recalcitrant to provide any useful information.
Pour House manager Aaron Goldman said the incident began as an argument and "small pushing match" on the first floor, around 12:20 a.m. He said he escorted some of the participants outside and thought that was that, but then one of two "very large men who claimed military backgrounds" ripped his shirt off, began bellowing he'd killed people in Afghanistan, challenged people to fights and tried to bull his way back into the bar. Goldman said he had his bar staff call 911.
Meade said that in addition to the bitten combatant, one Pour House patron found his mother's car, parked nearby, vandalized.
The board votes Thursday on what to do about the incident - its options range from finding no violation to suspending the bar's liquor license for a set number of days.