DEERFIELD — Following review of a January incident in which a bartender allegedly over-served a customer, the Selectboard voted unanimously to suspend The Tavern Sports Bar’s liquor license for seven days if the business is deemed responsible for another violation in the next two years.
Robert Petrizzi, the owner of the business at 2C Elm St., came before the board on March 9 for a license suspension hearing following accusations that a bartender over-served a customer on Jan. 21, leading to a domestic assault and battery arrest. Selectboard Chair David Wolfram and members Carolyn Shores Ness and Trevor McDaniel said they have no interest in harming a local small business, but they also want to incentivize compliance with state statutes. They read three police narratives, heard oral testimony from one officer and viewed surveillance footage before taking their vote.
“In my opinion, I think it’s clear something happened,” Shores Ness said.
Attorney Brian Winner, Deerfield’s town counsel, explained the Selectboard, as the licensing authority, was obligated by law to serve as the hearing’s judge and jury, for lack of better terms. He said he filled the role of a prosecutor of sorts and referred to the hearing as “essentially a mini-trial.” He first questioned Deerfield Police Officer Timothy Boland, who said he took a report from a concerned woman on Jan. 22.
Boland recounted the woman reported that patron Eric Reed had been grossly over-served alcoholic beverages at The Tavern Sports Bar the day prior. When she went to the bar to retrieve Reed at around 7:30 p.m., he allegedly shoved her twice. According to Boland, Reed was arrested at 9:30 p.m. after causing a disturbance. Boland added he later viewed video evidence that corroborated the woman’s statements.
Boland said he read two other officers’ narratives that reported Reed fought with staff and police “for several minutes until he was taken into custody and removed from the establishment.”
Attorney Kristi Bodin, representing The Tavern Sports Bar, then introduced herself to the Selectboard and said Nick Aldrich, a bouncer working on the evening in question, and Petrizzi, the bar’s owner, were seated next to her. She started by saying she and her clients were not provided with copies of the reports from the two other officers, the staff’s statements to police or the video footage.
“So I really don’t feel completely prepared right now to defend my client’s position, missing that information and not having had time to review it,” Bodin said.
Bodin confirmed with Boland that the footage was provided voluntarily by the bar and that Boland had no independent knowledge of whether Reed was over-served. Boland said the video shows Reed consuming one shot of what was presumed to be alcohol, but confirmed for Bodin that he has no other evidence of the bar serving Reed alcohol besides that one shot.
Aldrich testified that after he arrived to work on Jan. 21, he told the manager Reed had had enough to drink and to not serve him anymore.
“I was keeping an eye on him because he started going up to other patrons and just being really rude,” he said.
Aldrich said Reed allegedly attacked him after being asked to leave. He testified he was pushing Reed toward the door, and eventually had him in a headlock on the floor, when an officer arrived and assisted in restraining Reed.
Petrizzi, who drove to the bar after being contacted about the altercation, said the bartender was fired following this incident. He also said he and his staff have since revisited TIPS (Training for Intervention ProcedureS) training, designed to prevent intoxication, drunk driving and underage drinking
Bodin asked Selectboard members “to use your best judgment and consider the track record of this place and its owner. Consider the steps that they’ve taken since this has happened to prevent anything like this from happening in the future.”
After Bodin had concluded, Winner advised Selectboard members they needed to determine through evidence if the individual was intoxicated on the bar’s premises, if the employee involved knew or should have known the customer was intoxicated, and if that employee sold or provided alcohol to the intoxicated individual. The Selectboard voted unanimously in favor of consensus in the affirmative. They also voted unanimously that a violation of laws had occurred at the bar.
Shores Ness said she is particularly concerned because police officers could have been injured that evening. Wolfram agreed, but admitted he has a bias, having served as an officer in Deerfield for 14 years.
When reached by phone Friday, Petrizzi declined to comment further.