Police Officers from Baltimore’s Western Police District neglected to attend Thursday’s Liquor Board hearings, resulting in over half the cases being dismissed. According to the officers who did testify before the Board, the operation had been coordinated by a sergeant, whose sudden absence from Western District created yesterday’s situation. The sergeant was recently placed on administrative leave, due to his arrest in Baltimore County for alleged domestic abuse.
While most police districts in the city consistently perform sting operations to make sure liquor establishments are not serving minors, this was the first time in at least two years that the Western District has done so.
On April 8th, police officers and a Community Service Officer (an underaged police cadet) visited bars and package stores in the Western District. Out of the 24 establishments visited by the police, only nine refused to serve the cadet.
Oddly enough, none of the establishments had previous records of selling liquor to minors. “The real issue today,” said Chairman Leonard Skolnik “is not whether this is the first time they sold liquor to a minor, but if this is just the first time they got caught.”
Of the seven cases not dismissed, all were found to have served liquor to a minor. Because none of the businesses faced the Board before, each was given a suspended fine of $500. It is the current Board’s policy to levy $500 fines, but to suspend those fines for firsttime offenders of liquor statutes.
The following businesses were found guilty of serving liquor to a minor: Doc’s Liquors, AMKO Liquors, Casanova, Fox Cut Rate, Bacchus Bar & Liquor, Oxford Tavern, and Ebony Towne Store.