Falmouth man says he was assaulted at Old Orchard Beach bar
The Pier in Old Orchard Beach in July 2025. A Falmouth man says he was attacked at the Pier Patio Pub's club last weekend and is disappointed with the response from the bar and local police. (Gregory Rec/Staff Photographer)
A Falmouth man says he was assaulted by three people at the Pier Patio Pub’s club in Old Orchard Beach last weekend.
Caleb Driscoll, 29, said the incident on the night of Aug. 15 started after he accidentally bumped into a woman he didn’t know at the bar inside the Top of the Pier Nightclub. Moments after, he says he was attacked by the woman and two other strangers, leaving him with two black eyes, a split lip and bruises all over his body. Driscoll is also unable to speak due to facial swelling and jaw pain; because of this, he answered questions via text message.
Driscoll wants to press charges, but because he can’t identify the three people, Old Orchard Beach police told him it’s unlikely that they will be charged — which he finds deeply disappointing.
“In my mind, this is just a very clear-cut case,” Driscoll said. “And the cops couldn’t figure it out. I’m just very confused and frustrated with the entire situation.”
Old Orchard Beach police say the incident remains under investigation. Pier Patio Pub did not respond to multiple calls this week seeking comment.
‘AND THEN I GET HIT’
Driscoll says it was around 11:30 p.m. on Aug. 15 when he accidentally bumped into the woman at the bar. The woman swore at him, at which point Driscoll scoffed, turned away and went to rejoin his friends.
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“And then I get hit,” he said. “I turn around and get hit again.”
Driscoll’s friend Peter Wright said he saw Driscoll get into a verbal argument over a misunderstanding — likely him bumping into the woman — and then the group she was with escalated the situation.
“One of the guys went from 0 to 100 and, out of nowhere, threw a right-hand sucker punch to Caleb’s face,” Wright said.
The woman and two other people began punching Driscoll repeatedly, he said, striking him from multiple angles as he tried to defend himself. When bar security personnel arrived, they tackled Driscoll to the floor, and his head hit the floor.
“I remember getting tackled, but not hitting the floor,” he said. “My face hitting the wood probably did a number.”
After that, Driscoll said, everything goes blank until he found himself in the bar bathroom, bent over the sink, with blood “everywhere.”
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“I never saw the guy until after I was hit from behind and turned around,” he said. “In between the first hit and being on the ground, there isn’t much I remember.”
The trio that allegedly attacked Driscoll left almost immediately, Wright said.
“It happened pretty quickly,” he said.
SEEKING RESOLUTION
Old Orchard Beach police Chief Elise Chard said uniformed officers did not respond to the fight, but security staff provided by the department did.
Driscoll later gave a statement to an officer after leaving the bar, Chard said. Police said reports on the incident weren’t immediately available for release because the incident remains under investigation.
Driscoll recalls being unsure who was police and who was security staff at the bar. He urged police to review security footage, hoping it could help identify his alleged attackers. It’s unclear if that happened. Driscoll doesn’t believe it did.
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Driscoll’s brother, Kevin — who wasn’t at the bar that night but posted about the incident on social media — says he thinks his brother was tackled by security personnel because when a group fights a single person, it’s usually because that person is the aggressor. He said that could explain why the three alleged attackers were gone by the time the officer arrived to take Driscoll’s statement.
Driscoll says police called him at roughly 3:30 a.m. — about four hours later — and told him that because neither he nor they could identify the perpetrators, they would not be able to pursue charges.
“I haven’t heard from the police since then,” he said. “I told them I want to prosecute and press charges.”
Driscoll has two black eyes, and the left side of his face is bruised and swollen. He also has a split upper lip, cuts and bruising on the inside of his lips, and scratches and bruises all over his body.
Driscoll and his family are in the process of reaching out to lawyers to explore their legal options.
But even if the police can’t identify the perpetrators, Driscoll said, he hopes the incident will shed light on what he feels was a disappointing response from both the bar and police.
“I just want to understand what happened and why things happened the way they did,” he said. “This was a very eye-opening experience for me. I didn’t feel very protected or served that night from the police.”
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Tagged: crime, maine crime, police
Sydney is a community reporter for Biddeford, Saco, Old Orchard Beach, Kennebunk, Kennebunkport and Arundel and previously reporter for the Courier and Post. Sydney grew up in Kennebunk and is a graduate. More by Sydney Richelieu
