Thomas Bruso

Thomas Bruso (also known as "Epic Beard Man" and "Tom Slick") is a 67 year-old male, a resident of Oakland, California, and a possible Vietnam veteran who has gained international fame for two separate, but equally violent, videos posted on numerous website such as YouTube.

Oakland Athletics Game Tasing
Bruso was tasered by members of the Oakland Police Department during an Oakland A's baseball game at Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum in 2009. Bruso was allegedly intoxicated and was refusing to leave the stadium when police decided to taser him and remove him by force. The video was posted on YouTube and received a large number of viewers. Some critics of the Oakland Police claimed the video demonstrated excessive force was used.

AC Transit Bus fight
On Monday, February 15, 2010 close to 3 P.M. local time, Bruso was taped as he engaged in a violent beating of a man on an Oakland AC Transit Bus. Bruso, who is white and is seen wearing a t-shirt that reads "Tom Slick" on the front and "I am a Motherfucker" on the back, and an unidentified black male exchange words before Bruso is seen leaving the back of the bus and moving to a seat in the front. The verbal sparring continues however and the black male proceeds to move to the front of the bus to confront Bruso. Riders on the bus encourage the black male to "beat his white ass" as he grabs for the seated Bruso. Bruso then stands and throws seven or eight quick blows to the man's face and head, leaving the man bloodied and with a broken nose. Bruso then yells that he was acting in self-defense and tells the man that he warned him not mess with him. The posted video on YouTube soon went "viral" and was seen by millions of people around the world on various blogs and websites. Bruso was soon labeled as the "Epic Beard Man" because of his prominent white beard. Various parodies have since emerged that portray the fight as part of the video game Mortal Kombat. The event follows a number of previous incidents involving violence on the public transport system in Oakland.

On February 17, 2010 Iyanna Washington, the lady that filmed the bus fight video, posted her response on YouTube as to what occured and refutes charges that she stole Bruso's bag after the altercation.