BOULDER, Colo. — Cell phone footage that captures a knockout punch on Boulder's University Hill will serve as evidence in a civil case against a fraternity with a troubled past.
The video begins with a man in a white tank top and another man chasing down a student from the Chicken on the Hill bar. The video shows the two men fighting with the student and then a knockout punch, causing the student to fall backwards and unconscious.
“And he fractured his skull and suffered a brain hemorrhage. So it was an extremely violent attack,” said attorney Jonathan Stine of the incident that occurred on Feb. 17 this year.
Stine filed a lawsuit on behalf of student Kai Pelleriti against Sigma Pi, the bar Chicken on the Hill, Garrick Patterson and another man named Daniel Sosin in June. The lawsuit alleges the fraternity and bar failed to train the bouncer.
Stine compared his client’s permanent brain damage to that of a football player with multiple concussions, adding his cognition may be impacted for life.
Stine has named Garrick Patterson as the bouncer in the video who is also facing a felony assault charge for the incident.
Daniel Sosin is also named as a defendant in the lawsuit and is currently facing a misdemeanor assault charge. Sosin said he had no time to comment about the allegations.
Court records indicate Pelleriti was also charged with misdemeanor assault, however he has entered into a court diversion program that could eventually get the case dismissed.
Stine told 9NEWS Sigma Pi and the Chicken on the Hill bar are at fault because they hired Patterson as a bouncer with no training. The bouncer should have stayed at his post and not chased down Pelleriti, Stine said.
“And it led to this horrific event. So that fraternity has responsibility for what happened here for hosting that event, and for permitting its members to act in such a horrible manner. “
Stine acknowledged his client was drinking and got into some sort of altercation with the bouncer at the bar before the foot chase and fight, but couldn’t go into exact detail on what the altercation was about.
Jason Sharman, an attorney for Garrick at CU Student Legal Services, said in a statement that multiple witnesses in police reports accused Pelleriti of being intoxicated and starting fights.
“Witnesses reported Mr. Pelleriti “was the instigator for the whole night at Chicken on the Hill, for approximately one hour or more,’” Sharman wrote in a statement sent to 9NEWS.
9NEWS requested narratives and police reports in the cases against all three individuals, but a clerk at the Boulder District Court said the case files did not contain any written narratives nor any police reports.
Sigma Pi has made the news several times over the past 20 years with behavior issues on campus. In 2004, a student was found dead after alcohol poisoning at a party.
In 2018, several women came forward, claiming they may have been drugged at the Sigma Pi house, prompting the national chapter to suspend the Boulder fraternity.
As of this publication, the national Sigma Pi office still lists the Boulder chapter as active, however a spokesperson for the office would not comment on the status of the fraternity and would not comment on the lawsuit.
The owner for Chicken on the Hill was also unreachable for comment. Attorneys for the establishment also did not return phone calls and emails seeking comment.
A spokeswoman for CU Boulder said in a statement Sigma Pi is not affiliated with the university.
“Sigma Pi is not affiliated with CU Boulder and hasn’t been since 2005. Only organizations that have signed and upheld an agreement, which includes provisions to follow all university policies and oversight aimed to increase safety and accountability, are recognized by the university,” Nicole Mueksch said in a statement for CU Boulder.
If you have any information about this story or would like to send a news tip, you can contact jeremy@9news.com.
SUGGESTED VIDEOS: Investigations & Crime