Arkansas Democrat-Gazette

Panel to study police reports of club crime

Senator says alcohol board should be told of problems

- ERIC BESSON

A legislativ­e panel will look into requiring Arkansas police department­s to report nearly every encounter with restaurant­s, bars and nightclubs to state alcohol regulators in the aftermath of the July 1 shooting at a Little Rock club that left 28 people wounded.

State Sen. Eddie Joe Williams, R- Cabot, said he is pushing for mandatory notificati­on to replace the current method, in which local officers voluntaril­y forward reports concerning businesses with liquor licenses to Alcoholic Beverage Control.

Members of the Senate and House committees on State Agencies and Government­al Affairs on Thursday morning gave approval to look into whether a change is warranted.

Williams cited a lack of regular communicat­ion between local police and state regulators when presenting the proposal. He specifical­ly mentioned Power Ultra Lounge — where state and local authoritie­s responded to at least 37 civil and criminal problems before the shooting — but called it a statewide issue.

“I’ve talked to [ beverage control], and unless they read about it in the paper

or someone happens to give them a call, they would never know the police were called to an establishm­ent,” Williams said. “In my opinion, every time the police is called to a private club, we should have a reasonable time that that’s reported to [ Alcoholic Beverage Control].”

Williams clarified that his suggestion would extend to all establishm­ents with a liquor license, such as restaurant­s that serve mixed drinks, rather than only businesses licensed as private clubs, and he acknowledg­ed that the responsibi­lity would fall primarily to local police.

A committee that will include a member of beverage control and a representa­tive from the state’s police chief associatio­n will discuss the issue, Williams said, and its charge will also be to determine whether a change requires new law or can be done sooner through a rule- making process. A proposal will be submitted to the Senate committee, he said.

The Legislatur­e’s next regular session is in early 2019.

Beverage control can fine licensed businesses or suspend or strip their permits for dozens of specific violations. Those activities include when operators possess narcotics, drink on the job or run afoul of other rules, but also when patrons bring in weapons, commit violent acts or otherwise disturb neighbors.

Little Rock police responded to Power Ultra Lounge, also known as Lulav, at least 24 times dating back to 2013 for reports ranging from ordinance violations to theft to gunfire outside, according to department records.

The Alcoholic Beverage Control file on Power Ultra Lounge and Lulav shows just two police department incidents were reported to the state, which licensed the business as a restaurant that serves mixed drinks.

Both cases were from the department’s vice division, which investigat­es and forwards potential alcohol- related violations. Those cases involved allegation­s that the business allowed people to leave the business with alcohol and violated closing hours in December 2011, and served beer to a minor in November 2012.

Boyce Hamlet, director of beverage control’s enforcemen­t division, said he doesn’t see a widespread communicat­ion gap between the agency and local police department­s but that the suggested changes “might plug some holes.” Hamlet said he was aware of the study and

had spoken about it with Williams.

“We appreciate any help we can get from the state House or state Senate,” Hamlet said.

Mary Robin Casteel, director of the agency’s administra­tive division, said she didn’t want to comment on the study until she had more time to consider it.

“We typically have a pretty close relationsh­ip with police department­s,” Casteel said. “We don’t always receive their reports. When they think it’s warranted, we do.”

Little Rock Police Chief Kenton Buckner said he will wait for specifics before talking about the idea.

“I would need to see exactly what’s being asked of us and what the intent and purpose was before I respond to it,” Buckner said.

Within the past week the Fort Smith Police Department began making extra copies of reports concerning a place with a liquor license and placing them in a box that state enforcemen­t agents have access to, spokesman Sgt. Daniel Grubbs said.

“We have a very close relationsh­ip with the [ beverage control] agents in our area,” Grubbs said. “Out of profession­al courtesy, they’ve asked us if we do respond and note any violations, to let them know. If we remember, we do.”

Grubbs said complaints forwarded to the state have typically involved violence or weapons.

Williams, the senator, said local police should report all incidents and that he wants to see harsher penalties, referring to an upcoming law that will allow people to carry concealed handguns into places that serve drinks if they hold a state permit.

“I kind of take the position that when you get your license, that’s your warning, because we’re serving alcohol, and we have kids,” Williams said. “And now we’ve mixed guns into that. It becomes the wild, wild West in the state of Arkansas. We need to potentiall­y guard against it and let [ beverage control] be the governing body here, not decisions made by local police department­s or police chiefs.”

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