After hearing the sixth violation charged against The Blue Light, 43 Station St. in the Chattanooga Choo Choo complex, the Chattanooga Beer Board on Thursday revoked the bar’s beer permit. All the violations occurred in a matter of just four months since the business opened. The four violations that were heard at the Nov. 4 meeting resulted in the beer permit being suspended until mid-December. On Thursday morning, the board heard testimony on two additional violations that had been carried over from that last meeting.
One was for the failure to report a disorder and another was for operating a disorderly place.
Both incidents happened Halloween night, Oct. 31, around 2 a.m. Two Chattanooga police officers were contracting as security guards for Woodlot Property Management on behalf of the owners of a property neighboring the Chattanooga Choo Choo. That night, they observed activity outside The Blue Light bar that they recognized as “something that was about to happen.” Videos from both officers’ body cameras verified their detailed police reports describing what happened that night and showed the chaos that broke out.
Officer Joseph Goulet said he saw six to seven males talking to security guards at the door of The Blue Light. That group was out on the patio, arguing to get back inside, but were not allowed to re-enter because of an altercation that had happened earlier inside. The patio has a short, wrought iron fence separating it from Station Street. Video showed men pushing and shoving each other on the crowded patio. It was stated that people routinely jumped over the fence to get in, by-passing any security or ID checks or clickers that count capacity before people are allowed to enter. The officers recognized what is known as stacking, where people “pump each other up and don’t listen to anybody,” said Officer Goulet. Not leaving after being asked to is considered to be disorderly conduct, said the officer. The activity escalated and at 1:55 a.m., Officer Goulet and Officer Luke Simon decided to call for additional police units.
At that point the security personnel at the door was heard stating that they were closing the business early because they did not want to have a fight start inside. A group of black males that gathered on the street joined in with those on the patio starting a large fight with about 15-25 people involved. One female brushed up against Officer Simon’s arm and said, “They’re talking about shooting.” That prompted him to tell the bar to clear the patio, he said. Then, at 2:03, the two Chattanooga police officers called for all available units to come and assist breaking up the melee. Officer Goulet witnessed a man drawing a firearm and he drew his own. He said he heard people asking not to shoot them. A second individual with a gun was running away and tossed it into a truck. The tossed gun was later found. The fight spilled out of The Blue Light’s patio area onto the patio of the Comedy Catch next door and into the street. When it was under control, the police shut down Station Street. Both the people pushing each other on the patio and the individuals carrying guns had come from inside the bar, testified both officers.
With the call for all units to respond and help stop the fighting on Station Street, it involved every available officer across all of Chattanooga, said Chattanooga Police Officer and Beer Inspector John Collins. This resulted in leaving other areas throughout the city with no police being available for calls on Halloween, one of the busiest nights of the year, he said.
Despite instructions and warnings from Officer Collins, the owners of the bar, Brian Joyce and Joseph Burns, had hired security for their business from an unlicensed security company, it was stated. Some but not all 11 that were working that night had not been trained in that capacity. The trouble would definitely have been shut down sooner if the guards had been licensed and trained, said Officer Goulet.
Owner of The Comedy Catch, Michael Alfano, told the beer board members that “This is not what they had in mind when they started Station Street.” It is a shame, he said, because it could be a beautiful place. Now his concern is for public safety and he now considers it dangerous. He said activity surrounding The Blue Light is affecting his business both monetarily and physically. He has concerns about customers and employees leaving his business and routinely escorts them to their cars. Things on Station Street were peaceful for the first five years, he said. The trouble began after the first weekend that Blue Light opened, he said. “What he represented to the beer board was a nice Irish pub, but it has turned into a hip-hop dance club,” said Mr. Alfano.
The club failed to notify police immediately when the altercation began, the board was told. The city code specifies that a place serving beer must notify police even when things start getting rowdy, not just when the physical fight begins, said Beer Board Attorney Melinda Foster. She told the board that they should also be considering the culture of the club including an overall pattern indicating that the owner was operating a disorderly place, which would could include not having licensed security and finding guns on the premises.
As the number of violations before the board continued to climb, the severity of the penalties increased for each. The fifth violation, for the failure to report a disorder to police, received a penalty of a 30- day suspension of the beer license with an option to pay a $1,000 fine.
The sixth violation was the charge of operating a disorderly place. Both the people pushing each other on the patio and the individuals carrying guns had come from inside the bar, testified both officers. Board Member Vince Butler said that since he had been on the board, he had never seen so many violations in such a short amount of time. "We’ve revoked a license for nowhere close to this.”
Board Member Cynthia Coleman said, for the record, the revocation has nothing to do with a hip-hop culture. Member Brooke King said it is the owner’s responsibility to be sure all patrons are safe and that pertains also to the patio and to public streets.
A motion to revoke the license, starting immediately, was passed on a vote of six for and two against, for the sixth violation of operating a disorderly place.