June 04, 2026
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Former Tabu Lounge & Sports Bar bouncer Kenneth Frye, 29, has been convicted of involuntary manslaughter for throwing a punch that caused fatal injuries to club patron Eric Pope, 41, in April 2022. The bar in Philadelphia's Gayborhood closed in 2024 and was rebranded under new ownership.
The bouncer who punched a man outside the former Tabu Lounge and Sports Bar four years ago, causing injuries that led to the club patron's death, was convicted of involuntary manslaughter on Thursday, the Philadelphia District Attorney's Office said.
Kenneth Frye, 28, was a private security contractor for the Gayborhood bar when he escorted 41-year-old Eric Pope out on April 16, 2022. Pope was intoxicated and had been kicked out of the bar on 12th Street between Locust and Spruce streets. Pope lingered on the street outside the bar after his removal.
At around 1 a.m., security footage showed Frye approach Pope from the sidewalk and strike him in the head, knocking him unconscious. Pope fell backward, hitting his head on the ground.
Pope remained unresponsive before bouncers moved him to the sidewalk. A crowd of people then gathered around Pope before medics arrived and took him to Thomas Jefferson University Hospital. Pope was in a coma on life support for a week before he died. His cause of death was ruled blunt force trauma, the DA's office said.
“This is a tragic incident that resulted in the loss of life," District Attorney Larry Krasner said in a statement. "A Philadelphia jury held Defendant Frye accountable for his crimes in no small part due to the expert prosecution of Assistant District Attorney Ashley Toczylowski of our Homicide and Non-Fatal Shooting Unit and the hard work of our law enforcement partners."
After Pope's death, Frye initially was charged with third-degree murder (a felony) and involuntary manslaughter (a misdemeanor). The DA's office argued the charges were warranted because Pope had been punched without provocation, but a Common Pleas Court judge later dismissed the third-degree murder charge in December 2022.
Krasner appealed the court's decision to Pennsylvania Superior Court, where a judicial panel reversed the lower-court ruling in August 2024 and reinstated the dropped charge. The court's decision noted Frye's much bigger physique compared to Pope was an important factor in the case.
The jury found Frye not guilty of third-degree murder, court records show.
Tabu closed two years ago and rebranded under new ownership.
Pope was a Massachusetts native who had spent time in Washington, D.C., working for the Obama administration and the city's health department before moving to Philadelphia, where he was employed by the Federal Reserve System.
Two years ago, Pope's parents filed a wrongful death lawsuit against Tabu, Frye and his employer, Mainline Private Security. The lawsuit alleged Pope struck his head on the ground after he was punched and that it took Tabu personnel 11 minutes to call 911.
"This conviction is a vital step towards healing and sends a message that violence against (the LGBTQIA+) community will not be tolerated," Kelly Burkhardt, a liaison and and victim witness coordinator for the DA's office, said in a statement.
Frye is scheduled to be sentenced July 31.
