A man caught on video sucker-punching comedian Andy Dick in New Orleans has been arrested, police said Wednesday.
David Hale, 46, was booked on charges of second-degree battery and simple battery after the controversial comedian and musician said he was knocked unconscious for 15 minutes early Saturday by a man outside One Eyed Jacks nightclub in the French Quarter.
Hale was taken in custody thanks to a tip from the public, police confirmed on Twitter.
Surveillance video of the unprovoked attack shows a man decking Dick outside the club as people gathered to mingle after the show.
Dick, 53, was about to hop into a car to leave the club at the time, according to his promoter in the Big Easy.
“We walk out the club to Uber and were saying bye to friends,” promoter Robert Couvillion told WVUE. “Andy was standing in front of the club when the guy cold-cocked him while he was talking to someone. Andy’s head fell into the wall, then fell into the motorcycle, then cracked on the cement.”
Dick will likely never perform again in New Orleans, Couvillion said.
The connection between Dick and Hale – if any – is unclear. His Facebook page identifies him as the owner of Killer NOLA Crawfish in New Orleans. He has also previously worked at the New Orleans Fairgrounds, according to the profile.
Dick, meanwhile, told the Times-Picayune/New Orleans Advocate that the vicious blow knocked him out “100 percent for 15 minutes” before he was rushed by ambulance to a hospital, where he was admitted into an intensive care unit for a “possible brain bleed.”
Couvillion and another man chased after the attacker, but the man slipped away, Couvillion said.
A police spokesman declined on Wednesday to provide additional details, including a possible motive for the alleged attack.
If convicted of second-degree battery, Hale could face up to eight years in prison.