PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) – The brother of a man who was fatally shot outside the Acropolis Steakhouse strip club in Southeast Portland has filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the company and its owner.
According to the lawsuit, Tyson Custer was with his brother William “Billy” Peters and their friends Adam Arrambide and Arrambide’s brother in the parking lot of the Acropolis on Feb. 27, 2021, when two men approached the group.
The two men drove into the parking lot at around 11 p.m. and the Acropolis was closed at the time, the lawsuit said.
In the parking lot, Peters was highly intoxicated and engaged with the men, the lawsuit said. Their interaction escalated before one of the men who arrived pulled out a gun and began shooting.
The lawsuit said Arrambide was shot first and then Peters was shot four times.
Police said Peters died at the scene and Arrambide died of his injuries the following morning.
The suspects have not been identified.
Custer filed the lawsuit against the Acropolis and the owner of the property the business is located on, Diane Polizos, on Monday, Feb. 27, 2023, two years after his brother was killed.
The lawsuit said the businesses and Polizos are partially responsible for Peters’ death.
It accuses the Acropolis of negligence in failing to provide adequate security for patrons in the parking lot, for failing to properly train its staff to identify threats to its patrons, and for failing to properly train its staff to follow the Oregon Liquor and Cannabis Commission’s rules about serving alcohol, and for failing to warn its patrons about the risk of being assaulted in the parking lot.
The lawsuit cites several other occasions when the OLCC cited the Acropolis for violating various regulations, including serving patrons too much alcohol.
It goes on to say that the Acropolis should be held accountable for what happened to Peters because its employee served Peters alcohol when he was visibly intoxicated.
The lawsuit said Peters had “liquid courage” when he engaged with the two men in the parking lot and that contributed to his death.
Custer and Peters’ estate is suing for damages that total more than $27.7 million. The lawsuit asks for $1.5 million for Custer’s mental and emotional distress, $1.2 million for the pain and suffering Peters experienced between the time he was shot and his death, $25 million for Peters’ mother, father and daughter, and $5,730 for burial and funeral expenses.
KOIN 6 News contacted Polizos about the lawsuit. She said she had no comment and that the case is still under investigation.