Hubbard Inn security guard died of 'traumatic arrest' after being pushed down stairs, records show

A security guard died of “traumatic arrest” after he was allegedly pushed down the stairs of a River North nightclub while breaking up a fight earlier this week, the Chicago Sun-Times has learned.

Bryan Christopher Watson was able to get up after falling down the stairs early Monday at Hubbard Inn and “possibly” hitting his head, according to police reports. Afterward, he walked into another room, grabbed his chest and collapsed.

Paramedics treated Watson at the club for up to 40 minutes before taking him to Northwestern Memorial Hospital, the reports show. Police said a doctor determined he died of “traumatic arrest,” though the Cook County medical examiner’s office hasn’t ruled on the cause and manner of his death. Traumatic arrest occurs when the heart stops due to penetrating or blunt trauma.  

Responding officers arrested the couple involved in the fight, including the 32-year-old man who’d allegedly pushed Watson, according to the reports. Police sought to charge the man with first-degree murder, but prosecutors declined, citing the need for a toxicology report. The man has since been released from custody.

The fight broke out about 1:20 a.m. Monday inside the club at 110 W. Hubbard St., one of many businesses owned by lobbyist, lawyer and city contractor Carmen Rossi. Shootings have previously happened in and around other clubs owned by the politically connected entrepreneur.

A spokesperson for Hubbard Inn said the bar would temporarily close this week to allow staffers time to process Watson’s death. The club is expected to reopen this weekend, in time for its St. Patrick’s Day events.

Watson had been a security guard at the bar since August, while also working as a driver for his suburban church and an assistant manager at a dollar store. Stepping in to stop a fight wouldn’t have been out of the ordinary for the 35-year-old Garfield Park resident, according to his family.

“He was a peacemaker," his younger sister, Aleshya Brister, told the Sun-Times. "And so for him to leave here while trying to make peace, it’s very heartbreaking."

His family has launched a GoFundMe campaign to help pay for funeral services scheduled for next week.