-Caveat Lector-
http://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=30288
Monday, January 6, 2003
POLICE STATE, USA
Cops go to bars
to arrest drunks
Gestapo-like tactics prompt outrage, complaints among owners, citizenry
Posted: January 6, 2003
1:00 a.m. Eastern
© 2003 WorldNetDaily.com
In the ongoing effort to keep public places clear of intoxicated
citizens and drunk drivers, some police agencies are using a
controversial tactic - going directly into bars and restaurants in
order to make arrests.
Such is the situation in northern Virginia, where Fairfax County Police are
targeting patrons suspected of having one too many.
"[Officers] were talking to one of the guests, then physically pulled
him off the barstool," Richie Prisco, general manager at Champps bar told the
Reston Times. "They were really aggressive and nasty."
According to the report, police are hauling customers outside of
establishments to conduct sobriety tests, then arresting them for public
drunkenness should they fail.
Tavern owner Jimmy Cirrito says it was intimidating and unnecessary to
have some ten officers show up in SWAT-like attire. He notes police
seemed to be tagging people at random, despite their telling bar owners
they had undercover agents inside, calling in to provide specific
descriptions of certain individuals.
"They tapped one lady on the shoulder - who was on her first drink and
had just eaten dinner - to take her out on the sidewalk and give her a
sobriety test," Cirrito told the paper. "They told her she fit the
description of a woman they had complaints about, and that they heard
she was dancing topless."
Cirrito said the woman passed the test and was allowed back in, but soon
after, police pulled another woman outside who had arrived shortly
before officers did.
"They made her count backward, say the alphabet, tell them where she
lived, how she got there, how she was getting home," he said. "She had
just gotten there five minutes ago in a cab."
Authorities say such methods are not new, despite protests from bar
owners that they've never heard of police coming inside their
establishments to enforce drinking laws.
"I've been an officer for over 17 years, and we've been doing it on and
off over my entire career," police spokeswoman Sophia Grinnan told the
Times. "As much as officers hate to spoil a good time, they hate even
more to go out at 2 a.m. and work a death of anybody that is
alcohol-related."
Virginia statutes say any business with a liquor license is considered a
public place; therefore, police are allowed free access. If they find
someone over the legal alcohol limit of .08, or suspect a customer of
being intoxicated while still being served or present in an
establishment, police can issue a ticket for public intoxication.
In response to complaints the raids were overly aggressive, Grinnan
said, "I've had bar owners come up to me [and] ask what is going on, but
I've also had some approach me aggressively, telling me I couldn't be
there and I was violating their constitutional rights. We love to give
explanations of what we're doing because it has an impact, but officers
don't have to give up their game plan. That is just a courtesy."
In the wake of the published report, citizens appear to be siding with
the bar owners and patrons, gauging from posts in an online
messageboard.
"The way police are handling the drink situation is the biggest B.S. I
have ever heard of," wrote Ray Williams.
"I lost a son (at age 16) a few years ago, and I most certainly support
stopping anyone from drinking and driving. However, this police raid
that seems to take place at some local bars is just totally crazy. ...
Are we now living in a communist environment where we are not allowed to
do anything without being harassed by the military/police?"
Russ Heisinger of Northport, N.Y., asked: "What is next, the alcohol
police entering your home on Super Bowl Sunday, and inviting you outside
to take a breath test? A solution would be for all the bar and
restaurant owners to become 'private clubs,' and charge a very nominal
fee for membership. However, the true solution is for the 'Barney Fifes'
there to uphold the part of the Constitution about unlawful search, and
to remember that we are after all, a free society, unless the cops think
this is Baghdad!"
Others, like Don Armstrong, urged people to reject field sobriety tests,
and request a blood-alcohol test at a local hospital.
"I have a form of arthritis that often affects my speech patterns and
walking abilities," he wrote. "Under their standards of an acceptable
set of motor functions, I would fail even if I never had an alcoholic
drink."
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Venerable elderly ladies were pulled aside for (random, I think)
wand searches. One particular lady - blond, young, heart-breakingly
well-built - received particular attention. She was apparently
considered too dangerous for a mere wand search and needed to be
patted down. ~~Joel Simon
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