Winston-Salem bar owners react to the city’s “plan” to crack down on rowdy clubs and bars in the wake of the Red Rooster incident. Part of the plan involved releasing a list of places that have triggered the most calls for police. The problem is Burke Street Pub, right in the heart of the city’s downtown nightlife, was second on the list.
But guess what? The police department encouraged Burke Street owner Mike Prince to call them if someone looked cross-eyed:
Prince, whose Burke Street Pub ranked second on the list based on number of calls to police, said that he and other bar owners on Burke Street feel betrayed at being placed on the list.
Last year, police asked him and the other bar owners for help, he said, and the owners agreed. The city program was called “Zero Tolerance.” Police wanted bar owners to call them about any infraction so that police could root out the “usual suspects.” Police were called about anything from panhandling to urinating in public, Prince said, but few of them turned out to be serious infractions, such as assault charges.
“We were always worried about them using this as an abatement against us,” he said. “They’re hanging us out to dry.”
Gee, it seems like I’ve seen this before: A city releases selective information to cover its ass, embarassing others in the process. I’m also marveling at the way Winston-Salem is scratching its head over how to provide police protection for the bar crowd. That’s part of the price for having the thriving nightlife that city leaders so desperately want, isn’t it?
