NORTHAMPTON — Moments before his arrest Tuesday, an unruly patron removed several socks from his pocket and hurled them to the ground outside a city bar, tossed his T-shirt in the face of an officer and then threatened the bar manager, police said.
Authorities responded to the Deck Bar, 125 Pleasant St., shortly after midnight when the bar’s manager, William Barbeau, told police a man was refusing to leave after being told he could not smoke there. Officers approached John T. Rodgers, 45, of Thorndike, who was arguing with Barbeau.
After providing multiple false names, according to a police report, Rodgers finally gave officer Jeffrey L. Staples his license. But while retrieving it from his pocket, Rodgers also took out several socks and threw them to the ground, police said.
Staples told the man to pick up his belongings and move along, according to the report.
Rodgers responded by throwing his T-shirt in Staples’ face before scooping up his socks. Rodgers was then given a formal notice to stay off the bar’s property, according to the report.
Rodgers backed away slowly, police said, and threw the notice to the ground.
“I’ll see you again,” Rodgers told Barbeau, adding that he would kill him the next time they came across each other, according to the report. But before Rodgers could leave, police placed him under arrest.
“In reading the report and speaking with officers on the scene, he was given numerous opportunities to leave the scene without being arrested,” Northampton Police Capt. John Cartledge said.
Rodgers pleaded guilty in Northampton District Court on Tuesday to disorderly conduct and was ordered to pay $150 in fees, court staff said.
Neither he nor Barbeau could be reached for comment.
On Wednesday afternoon, barely 24 hours after his arraignment, Rodgers was spotted again at the Deck Bar, and police were called, Cartledge said. He was gone by the time officers arrived.
Michael Majchrowicz can be reached at mmajchrowicz@gazettenet.com.