February 23. 2011
The
Portland Observer Black History Month
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B lack H istory
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Crackdown on Problem Bars
Proposal would give police new powers
C liff P fenning
T he P ortland O bserver
In the wake of a New Year’s
Eve shooting at a downtown
Portland club that resulted in a
bouncer s death, lawmakers are
proposing a bill that would give
police the power to immediately
close a bar or tavern
with a history of vio
lence, something both
law enforcement and
community officials
have d e sire d for
years.
Rep. Tina Kotek,
a D em o crat from
north Portland, joined
her counterpart Sen.
Jackie Dingfelder of
Jackie
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C alendar
C lassifieds
L aw
J ustice
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H ealth
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O pinion
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F o o d *
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scene, 19 times in the 12 previ-
ous months due to incidents of
violence.
A week following the shoot-
ing, the City of Portland sue-
cessfully petitioned to the OLCC
to revoke the club’s ability to sell
alcoholic beverages. Lacking a
Dingfelder
Rep. Tina Kotek
also represents north and north-
east Portland, said expanding the
power of police and civic offi-
cials to close a business will
attract legitimate concerns from
businesses, especially those that
might cater to patrons involved
in a more socially adventurous
culture such as Hip Hop.
But those e s ta b lis h
ments, he said, have a
responsibility to fit within
their community.
“I can see a reason
for concern that an eth
nic com m unity might
have w ith this bill putting
some undue pressure on
places that service their
sp e c ific a u d ie n c e ,”
Frederick said Monday. “But the
broad backing from a bi-partisan
group of legislators seems to go
beyond ethnic concerns to the
ability of a bar or restaurant to fit
within a community,
“If your bar is attracting a lot
of, say, skinheads, and you don’t
northeast Portland and Republi-
can Sen. Jason Atkinson ol Cen-
tral Point and Rep. Sal Esquivel,
a Democrat from Medlord, last
week to promote the specifics of
House Bill 3295, which they hope
will address community con-
cerns relating to establishments
prone to attracting violent be-
strong, costly legal defense, the
club closed shortly thereafter.
Kotek said HB 3295 would
have allowed Portland police,
the City of Portland or even the
OLCC to close Club 915 imme-
diately after the New Y ear’s
Eve shooting, not six days later,
havior
/ can see a reason for concern that
.
.
cm ethnic community might have with
this bil1 PuttinS ™me undue pressure
on places that service their
Along with immediate closure
of a business for up to 72 hours
s h o S t h e b n i l o X 'h e 3
Oregon Liquor control com m is-
sion more authority to revoke
the liquor license of such an S p e C l J l C
establishment.
“M ost establishm ents that
serve alcohol are responsible
members of their communities,”
Kotek said Tuesday. “This bill is
about protecting public safety in
the limited cases where there
are serious problems. It gives
both law enforcement and the
OLCC the ability to respond
quicker to problem bars or res-
ta u ra n ts, w h ich is in the
com m unity’s best interest.”
The bill used the New Year’s
Eve shooting at Club 915, down-
town, as the graphic example for
its creation of the law. Police
were called to the club, which
catered to the Hip Hop music
a u d ie n c e .
-R e p . Lew Frederick
Along with the ability to im-
mediately close a business for
72 hours, the bill also designates
one of the five members of the
OLCC Board of Commission-
ers to have a background in law
enforcement. And it provides a
list of benchmarks for perma-
nent closure of problem busi-
nesses. Currently, the OLCC
does not have a list of bench-
marks and must use an often
lengthy process to revoke a li-
cense.
Rep. Lew Frederick, a local
African-American activist and
Democratic Party leader who
have the abil-
ity to control
those patrons,
then the community around you
should have the right to have its
concerns addressed with some
impact.”
The bill is the second attempt
from legislators to create a stron-
ger set of boundaries that both
law enforce me nl’and the OLCC
can use to regulate problem bars.
K o tek ,
E sq u iv e l
and
Dingfelder were among a group
of four legislators that co-spon-
continued
on page 14