"This is not a punishment situation," David Lamarre, commission chairman, said during a special hearing Thursday night. "We have dealt with other establishments in the past and will continue to do so in the future. What we are trying to do is work proactively. One thing that always gets our attention is an escalation of violence. We all must realize that the days of two guys going at it over a girl is over."
Lamarre said the commission would also be calling in the owners of several other city bars in the coming months. A total of 35 police reports for incidents outside of Key West and in the nearby neighborhood have been filed in the last year, he said. Police Director Michael Cozzaglio brought the reports to the commission during its regular meeting last month. He also submitted a list of five items that would help the bar preempt any situation that might violently escalate (see below).
"The incidents have involved threats of guns, brass knuckles, knives and other weapons," Cozzaglio told the commission Thursday. "We're seeing violence spike around the city between the hours of midnight and 1 a.m. It's not just this one location."
Key West owner Michael Bloom, who also serves as a city councilor, said the majority
"At least 12 of those calls were unfounded," Bloom said. "One was for a pocketbook that was stolen from a car in the parking lot across the street, and another was for loud music. The most recent incident that is listed at Key West was four kids across the street at the corner of Christopher Columbus Drive. Part of the problem may be that our establishment and the one next door [the State Street tavern] let out at the same time. We also don't know if someone is waiting outside on the street for one of our patrons."
He said some of the incidents could involve individuals who had been at the "neighbor's bar" but are incorrectly identified as having come from Key West.
"We recognize those facts," Lamarre said. "But a bar is a bar. We're not singling you out, but you are the most popular bar in town. We hear that you're also known as the last stop to get a drink."
Bloom and his main bartender, Michael Cirillo, agreed that the bar is open the latest in the city - until 2 a.m. - but they said "last call" comes much earlier.
"We're very proactive," Cirillo said. "We put the lights up much earlier. We've never seen issues like this before."
Bloom noted that on weekends, the bar has two bartenders, a doorman and at least one other employee working.
"It's not our regular people or the people we know that are the problem," he said. "It's the people we don't know. We've barred people from coming in - we have a list a mile long. I wish we had pictures of these people because my staff has to rely on recognition of faces and names. Just because we bar them from coming in doesn't mean they aren't hanging around outside."
Lamarre said one of the five items suggested by Cozzaglio included the aggressive enforcement and use of "no trespass" orders.
"If you hand out trespass orders legally, then we can help you enforce it," Cozzaglio said. "We can come down and arrest the person."
His other suggestions included having "last call" earlier, making sure patrons were only served one drink at a time, calling the police sooner rather than later for assistance and undergoing TIPS (Training for Intervention Procedures) training.
"I'd rather have you call about an incident before it escalates into violence - no one is going to hold it against you," Cozzaglio said.
Bloom agreed to the measures. Lamarre said the board would continue
to monitor Key West, along with every other bar in the city.
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