Sarasota Commissioner Involved In Christmas Eve Bar Fight: Police

SARASOTA, FL — A Sarasota city commissioner who was involved in a bar fight told police he was attacked while trying to help a friend, but others say he was the aggressor.

Patch received a heavily redacted version of the Sarasota police report from this incident in early January but refrained from reporting on it because not all of the parties' names were released at that time. A police spokesperson said there were no charges in the incident.

The report now identifies Sarasota City Commissioner Kyle Battie as being part of downtown bar fight outside Café Epicure on Christmas Eve.

According to the police report, the 52-year-old commissioner and two friends, Guy Jensen and Rajah Brazda, were walking past the restaurant on Christmas Eve night as a large family, consisting of four men, two women and at least two small children, left the building. One of the men with the family said, “Make room for the Smurf,” a comment directed at Jensen, according to Jensen’s witness statement.

Brazda also told police the men “began taunting them for no reason.”

At this point, Battie said, “This is my city. Let me see how I can fix this,” and suggested speaking with the restaurant’s owner, Jensen said.

The situation escalated after Battie asked the family “why they were being disrespectful to Jensen,” according to witness statements. Three men punched the commissioner and a fourth jumped in when Jensen tried to intervene, he said.

Brazda also said she saw two men attack Battie, knocking him to the ground.

Jensen told police he was also pushed to the ground during the fight. After this, the family left the scene, he said.

Battie didn’t make any statements at the scene, but spoke to police at the hospital. He told officers he got into “a verbal altercation” with a man outside the restaurant and “removed his jacket because he was unsure what was about to occur,” according to the police report.

The commissioner told police that was all he remembered from the incident. He was also unable to locate his personal and city-issued cell phones after the fight, police said.

According to the police report, Café Epicure owner Giovanni Migliorini said “a few guys that were eating at his restaurant started a fight” with Battie.

“They began punching him. When Battie fell to the ground, they started kicking him and punching him even when he was unconscious,” Migliorini told police.

He provided police with the receipt from the dinner bill of one of the men, James Destasio.

Destasio told Sarasota police that Battie was the aggressor in the situation. According to his witness statement, as he and his family left the restaurant, Battie approached him saying, “I’m city councilman. I’ll f*** you up!”

He told police that Battie “appeared extremely intoxicated” and despite asking the commissioner to leave their family alone, he kept making statements like, “I’m city council. I will knock you the f*** out. Let’s go,” and, “You’re going to sleep tonight. I’m city council. I do what I want.”

As Destasio approached his car in an attempt to leave, he said Battie removed his jacket, took “a defensive stance” and wouldn’t allow the family to get into their vehicle. He said he punched the commissioner and the two tussled. At one point, Battie put him in a headlock.

Unable to breath during the fight, Destasio told police he pulled on Battie’s tie and struck him until he fell to the floor. Scared for his family and fearing being attacked again, he left the scene.

Patch has reached out to Battie and Café Epicure for comment.

Battie unseated incumbent Willie Shaw to win the District 1 Sarasota City Commission seat in November. Battie earned 3,475 votes, while Shaw received 2,971.