Watch: Ex-Coyotes player Paul Bissonnette fends off gang of attackers

Bissonnette was attacked by at least six men inside the Scottsdale restaurant Houston’s on Nov. 24.

December 10, 2024

Image: a man in a red hockey jersey and helmet with blood trickling down his face

Former Arizona Coyotes player Paul Bissonnette was attacked by a group of men at a Scottsdale restaurant on Nov. 24. Christian Petersen/Getty Images

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On Tuesday, Scottsdale police released video of the attack by at least six men of former Arizona Coyotes player Paul Bissonnette at a Scottsdale restaurant. Surveillance video captured the first punches being thrown inside Houston's on Nov. 24, as well as the resulting melee that spilled into the parking lot.

According to Scottsdale police, the fight began at about 7:30 p.m. when Bissonnette tried to intervene during an altercation between one of the men and a restaurant staffer. That sparked a melee that spilled into the parking lot and that didn't end until Bissonnette retreated into a nearby pharmacy.

In the process, Bissonnette wound up shirtless and shoeless, though he kept rising to his feet and throwing punches even as the group of men repeatedly kicked, punched and shoved him to the ground.

FOOTAGE HAS BEEN RELEASED OF THE SCUMBAGS WHO TRIED JUMPING @BizNasty2point0 AT HOUSTON’S RESTAURANT
pic.twitter.com/m4WODqTdD5
— Spittin' Chiclets (@spittinchiclets) December 10, 2024

PARKING LOT CAMERAS CAPTURED SOME OF THE OUTSIDE FOOTAGE OF THE SCUMBAGS pic.twitter.com/ICOVxBflTO
— Spittin' Chiclets (@spittinchiclets) December 10, 2024

🧵: New video from @ScottsdalePD shows the moments @BizNasty2point0 took on six men in the parking lot of a Scottsdale restaurant. More angles to come below. @12News pic.twitter.com/s4vgnhxqLw
— Sean Rice (@SeanRiceTV) December 10, 2024

The video was released at the same time that the Maricopa County Attorney's Office announced that one of the men in the video has been charged with aggravated assault. Last week, a grand jury indicted 29-year-old Sean Michael Daley on aggravated assault, a class 6 felony, as well as one count of disorderly conduct, which is a misdemeanor. An aggravated class 6 felony carries a maximum penalty of two years in prison.

click to enlarge

Sean Michael Daley's mugshot.

Scottsdale Police Department

Daley was one of six people arrested by Scottsdale police for ganging up to attack Bissonnette at Houston's restaurant on Nov. 24. The other five — identified as Henry Mesker, John G. Carroll, William J. Carroll, Danny Bradley and Edward J. Jennings — were initially charged with misdemeanors by Scottsdale city prosecutors.

The county attorney's office said it is now considering felony charges Mesker, John Carroll and Bradley, whose misdemeanor charges were dismissed by Scottsdale prosecutors.

Zach Buchanan has been the news editor for the Phoenix New Times since April 2024. He's worked as a journalist in Phoenix for more than a decade, and is an alum of both The Athletic and the Arizona Republic. He's a graduate of the Medill School of Journalism at Northwestern University, and has taught as an associate professor at ASU's Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication.

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