Officers' simple show of force often elicits 'voluntary compliance'
Even on a relatively quiet night, the unpredictable nature of the club scene keeps officers on alert.
By Matt Wickenheiser mwickenheiser@mainetoday.com
Staff Writer
PORTLAND — It’s just after 1 a.m. and the nightlife is flowing from Old Port clubs onto Wharf Street.
Portland Police Officer Evan Bomba fills out an inventory report after he and Officer Vincent Rozzi arrested a suspect on an OUI charge and ordered his car towed. The officers were patrolling the Old Port entertainment district Friday night.
Shawn Patrick Ouellette/Staff Photographer
A crowd builds just outside Oasis on Wharf Street in the Old Port as patrons flow into the streets after closing time early Saturday morning.
Shawn Patrick Ouellette/Staff Photographer
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Last call’s at 12:45. The bars close at 1. And then Old Port’s streets become the scene.
Young people at varying levels of intoxication linger on the cobblestones. Friends find missing friends. There are hugs – sometimes sloppy ones.
The reggae music that has been playing on the patio outside the Oasis has stopped. Excited, often slurred chatter instead fills the brick canyon of buildings.
Bouncers try to move them along. They don’t want problems inside – or directly outside – their clubs.
“Let’s go – there’s got to be someplace better to hang out,” one yells.
Watching it all are nine Portland police officers, standing together, a dark blue deterrent against any problems as the largely drunken crowd grows.
It’s been a quiet night for a warm Friday, now Saturday morning. Bouncers and bartenders have commented about it, noting that their bars and nightclubs weren’t as packed as normal.
Where there’s maybe 300, 350 people on Wharf Street now, there could be many more on a busy night. It doesn’t feel like anything will happen tonight.
Until Sgt. Bob Doherty suddenly says “there’s something” and moves into the crowd, officers following.
About 10 feet away, there was a back and forth between a few men in the crowd, shoves that threaten to become more. Officers separate the group. Bouncers from the Oasis help. One of the men at the heart of the problem says he’ll go, and moves about a dozen feet away. He’s still causing problems, so the police move him farther away, up against a wall.
As he talks to police, becoming increasingly upset, his friends yell at him – “Shut up. Just shut up.”
The officers tell them to move on, but they linger, still yelling. Some try to talk with the officers, get their friend out of trouble. The police are patient, but don’t give. Their friend is at the point where he’s going to jail on disorderly conduct charges.
The mood has shifted abruptly. Some in the crowd snap at the officers. There are still hugs, people still come up and say “hello” to the police, but there’s an underlying tension.
The crowd slowly moves off Wharf, down Union, up to Fore, down Commercial toward Bill’s Pizza – like toothpaste being squeezed down the tube.
Even on a quiet night there’s an unpredictability to the Old Port.
The police try to mitigate that with increased presence. Earlier on Fore Street, as last call approached, there were two police cars parked across from the bars with an officer standing nearby, three police officers across the street and another cruiser making swings through the streets.
In the wake of an attack last Sunday in Portland that left a 24-year-old Westbrook man dead and a 20-year-old Gray man charged with manslaughter, Police Chief James Craig has doubled the resources in the Old Port on traditionally busy nights. On this Friday night, Saturday morning, there were 12 officers walking the cobblestones.
Doherty says the increased number of police on the ground “generates voluntary compliance.”
“We’re not here to scare folks,” he says.
Instead, the officers watch the crowd, wave to people, catch the eyes of people that might be trouble. They talk, using “verbal judo” to defuse situations, says Doherty. But when they have to, they arrest people.
“If somebody looks like they’re flaring up, we try to put them out,” he says.
Doherty says people who get in trouble in the Old Port will have bail conditions put on them barring them from the neighborhood. It’s part of the zero-tolerance policy that Craig is advocating.
It includes an initiative Craig unveiled last week, in cooperation with local bar owners, that went into use this weekend: Bouncers, bartenders, bar owners and others will text message their counterparts at other clubs and bars and officers on patrol when they run into someone who’s causing problems.
When a patron is thrown out of one bar for causing problems, other bars will deny that person entry, and police will be on the lookout for them.
Two bars, 51 Wharf and the Oasis, have also begun using scanning devices that read the bar codes on driver’s licenses. The devices display all the license data, and also detail any past problems the owner has had at the bar.
The Old Port has long represented a sometimes-tenuous balancing act for the city. On one hand, an active night life can be an attractive quality for a city and an economic engine. On the other, it has to be safe. Otherwise, it can actually crimp business.
“For the most part, the night life is good for us in general – it’s good to give our guests options,” says Gerard Kiladjian, general manager of the upscale Portland Harbor Hotel, which is right in the Old Port.
“But when they can see fights from their hotel window, that makes them uncomfortable. Late night, you get all these drunk people – it makes people feel uneasy.”
In general, says Kiladjian, hotel guests feel safe. But some have said they don’t feel safe, and that deters them from returning, he says.
One guest a few months ago, he said, was followed by a drunk in the Old Port. The guest accessed the outer doors with his room key, and the person following couldn’t. So the guy punched the glass and broke the door.
“That person was completely drunk,” Kiladjian said. “I think (responsibility) just goes back a step further – don’t get them that drunk.”
Earlier in the evening in the Old Port, it was quiet. Around 10:30 p.m., the streets had some people, and the bars and clubs were busy, but not packed. The evolution over the night goes from an older, quieter crowd earlier to a younger, rowdier crowd later in the evening.
Officers Vincent Rozzi and Evan Bomba walk the streets, popping into various clubs. They stroll through, checking the bar licences to make sure they’ve not expired and generally providing a presence – letting people know they’re around.
A group of young ladies watches as the two walk by.
What’s a night in the Old Port like for the group? “Creepy, scary weirdos – all the time,” says Kendra Cummings.
“Having these guys here makes you feel better,” she says.
Melissa Sullivan says she walked from the Old Port up to Geno’s on Congress Street a few weekends ago. She says she’ll think twice about it after the assault that left Eric Benson dead.
Meghan Zachary says she feels safer seeing Rozzi and Bomba on the beat.
“I don’t feel afraid walking to my car because I see them around,” she says.
The evening picks up, heading toward last call. Bomba and Rozzi watch as Sean Burnell, 26, of Windham takes a turn too short and winds up on the sidewalk, almost hitting a lamppost and garbage can with his car. After interviewing him and doing some field sobriety tests, they charge him with operating under the influence and carrying a concealed weapon.
After breaking up the fight on Wharf Street, they respond to a call of a woman in a nearby alleyway who has had too much to drink and can’t stand. The Fire Department’s emergency medical staff show up to evaluate her. As the crowd thins, Bomba and Rozzi walk down Dana Street. A man stumbles up against a wall and pauses with intent.
“You better not be (urinating) on the sidewalk,” Rozzi yells at the man, as the two officers head over.
He was, and Rozzi and Bomba charge him accordingly. The man is handcuffed and has a hard time standing. His friend yells advice as Bomba repeatedly asks him to keep moving.
That’s a scene that happens over and over again – police aren’t just dealing with someone who’s done something wrong, but often with their friends, as well. And those friends have sometimes had something to drink, as well.
Rozzi says you can tell who’s going to be a problem in the bars. The guys who are mouthing off to bouncers, who have been overserved with too much alcohol.
“They’re going to be a problem – they’re too drunk to realize what they’re doing,” Rozzi says.
About 45 minutes after the bar close, the streets are empty. The sounds of bottles clinking as cases of empties are stacked by bars and the sweeping of outside patios replace the sound of the crowd.
And the Old Port patrons are replaced by sea gulls that swoop in to find any leftover food.
Staff Writer Matt Wickenheiser can be contacted at 791-6316 or at:
mwickenheiser@pressherald.com
Were you interviewed for this story? If so, please fill out our accuracy form
Additional Photos
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Portland Police Officer Evan Bomba watches the action in the Old Port on Friday night from his perch on Fore Street. “Having these guys here makes you feel better,” said one young woman as she walked by. Shawn Patrick Ouellette/Staff Photographer |
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Officers Evan Bomba and Vincent Rozzi arrest a man who was apparently intoxicated and urinating in public on Wharf Street. Shawn Patrick Ouellette/Staff Photographer |
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Portland Police Officers Evan Bomba, left, and Vincent Rozzi confer with a doorman at a Fore Street establishment in the Old Port on Friday night. Shawn Patrick Ouellette/Staff Photographer |
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30 COMMENTS
Adam180 said...
I guess you can't control punks and alkies already looking for a brawl, just kick them out? But half the problem is the early closing at 1am! Things close so early in Maine that people have to go out and drink fast because just when they're starting to get a buzz, dance, get into the band and have a good time, it's closing time! On Fri. and Sat. things don't even stay open long enough to have fun! I bar tended in Germany for three years, Nobody even went out until midnight or later on the weekend, and they stayed out until 6 or 7 am when the bar closed. There was never any fights either! People handled their alcohol, and didn't drink too much too fast because they had all night. Not just a few short hours to let loose after a long week.
May 30, 2010 at 2:34 AM Report abuse
PortlandRock said...
The bouncers are wrong. There isn't someplace else to go hang out. The attack happened in Monument Square, not Old Port. I don't think the answer is to kick everyone who's drunk out of Old Port. People need a place to go. I think the Chief's from L.A. (Cali NOT Lewiston/Auburn) How does it work out there?
May 30, 2010 at 3:11 AM Report abuse
MemereDi said...
It's 1 o'clock in the morning,FFS! You have had all evening already to hang out. You are either drunk or have had enough, how about going home and going to bed and staying out of trouble like decent people?
May 30, 2010 at 5:28 AM Report abuse
Cartman said...
Do they still line up the street sweepers at closing time and HEAVILY spray the sidewalks,essentially clearing out all the drunks who don't want an involuntary bath ? I thought that was a good idea.Also Adam 180 might have the best idea yet for this decades old problem,let them stay open until 6 A.M.! Good point about eliminating the need to get buzzed in a few short hours,and it could actually work in reducing the amount of problems.At this point,anything is worth a try !
May 30, 2010 at 5:54 AM Report abuse
justducky said...
As I hear "last call for alcohol" at 1:45 AM, panic mode set's in. I jump and head for the bar, leaving my full drink and friends at the table, only to find that I'm a bit slow. A line has already formed. The nights busiest time of the of the evening shift has arrived. 10 minutes later, after the whole dam bar has gotten their drinks, it's my turn.after ordering getting and paying for a round of drinks, I head back.Time now 12:58 as I sit down to enjoy last call drink W/friends. All of a sudden the music stops and I hear, Hotel, Motel time, use'em or loose'em. Paid good money for those drinks, ain't bout to give'em back. Chances are, I'll bump into ya on the street! Last call @ 12:30, last drink served @ 12:40. Give me time to enjoy last drink!
May 30, 2010 at 6:38 AM Report abuse
Boo said...
I don't think staying open later is truly the answer. I think anyone who would give a bouncer, or a cop a problem when drunk is just indicative of a person who is just a troublemaker when sober anyway. I have left the old port pleanty of times with plenty of alcohol...and did everything I could to avoid the cops! Why would stayiing open later encourage the troublemaker to not be an idiot at 4am versus 1 am? I just will never understand anyone who thinks their going to win a verbal battle with a bouncer or a cop - I don't care how drunk you are...common sense. I am disappointed that the cops have to be babysitting the Old Port, while some doestic disturbance is probably happening, or better yet, a drug deal or drunk driver...meanwhile, they are babysitting the guy who needs to urinate on the street. Maybe the bartenders and bar owners need to be more responsible about cutting people off earlier.
May 30, 2010 at 6:38 AM Report abuse
UofA said...
PortlandRock- Blame the punks that are looking for trouble when they wake up and then can't hold their booze and try to act tough. Those of us that "hack the program" can get liquored up and still have a ball, be sweet to our lady and wake up the next morning or maybe early afternoon and get ready to do it again without bothering the "boys/girls in blue"! Grow up!
May 30, 2010 at 6:57 AM Report abuse
jake007 said...
Keeping bars open later in my opmion is not the answer. One bar in Ft Lauderdale that I worked in was open till 4 am because it was in an "unincorporated" part of Broward county. So with all the bars on the beach closing at 2 am we got the sloopy seconds if you will from them along with a lot of bar workers for the last two hours. Closing was a goat screw for the most part every weekend. Want more,OK many of them at that point were now trying to locate "bottle clubs"to hang out in till 6 am when Riptide and some other bars opened on the beach area. The real key is overserving or not and shutting off or just refusing entry to already drunk "patrons". And becoming "known" in the bar world for enforcing that rule. And world to those who want bars to stay open late. Does anyone remember the "MAX" after hours bottle club. One of the most violent bars the city every had. Mores hours to drink = trouble way to often.
May 30, 2010 at 7:04 AM Report abuse
MudDoctor said...
Alcohol: the most destructive drug in the country.
May 30, 2010 at 7:12 AM Report abuse
jude said...
Good job Portland PD. Close the bars earlier, not later.
May 30, 2010 at 7:25 AM Report abuse
mutt said...
Same nonsense differnt decade. Omg the max was great!!
May 30, 2010 at 7:40 AM Report abuse
Player said...
Jake is right. Plus, local hotels like Harbor don't need drunks bothering their guests all night. 1:00 - 2:00 a.m. can be bad enough. The answer is the change the behavior of the idiots, not the hours of the bars. Good work Chief and PPD. This zero tolerance policy is exactly what New Orleans PD does during Mardi Gras, with a large show of force and immediate action for those who get totally out of control. Works there.
May 30, 2010 at 7:50 AM Report abuse
jude said...
Just returned from a stroll down Exchange St. You'll find urine stains in most doorways and all parking lots. Thanks to Portland PD for busting people peeing in public.
May 30, 2010 at 8:01 AM Report abuse
jude said...
Just returned from a stroll down Exchange St. You'll find urine stains in most doorways and all parking lots. Thanks to Portland PD for busting people peeing in public.
May 30, 2010 at 8:16 AM Report abuse
MM said...
This sounds more like a novel than a news piece.
May 30, 2010 at 8:26 AM Report abuse
MM said...
Adam180, I think the difference is the people not the hours that an establishment closes. Some people don't have respect for the laws, rules an other people. Add alcohol to the mix and you've got unrulely people
May 30, 2010 at 8:30 AM Report abuse
HM2 said...
Why would any sane adult ever be in the old port area after 8:00PM? I can think of two answers: 1) To get drunk/stoned or obtain a prostitute. 2) To make money selling alcohol, drugs, your body or any combination thereof. My question is this. Is this the reputation Portland wishes to offer to visitors? Is this the kind of tourism Portland and Maine which to promote? Is this what the travelers on tour boats which come to Portland by the thousands each year wish to encounter? Portland you must make a decision. To allow the further degradation of this potentially beautiful city by 'children'. Or, clean up your act and encourage responsible 'adults' to come here for quality experiences of good shopping, diverse restaurants, and varied cultural entertainment. Make the choice now before it is too late.
May 30, 2010 at 8:33 AM Report abuse
nikonwilly said...
I've been in Bars,Taverns and Clubs around the globe and many do stay open until late morning, some never close. The patrons leave at will rather than being forced out the door. Some New Orleans bars do this and it works out fine....London Bars on the other hand close way before midnight and it's bedlam at 8.00pm As others mention, some patrons are simply looking for trouble regardless of the drinking laws. I must admit there is something sobering about leaving a club at 6:00am.....
May 30, 2010 at 9:17 AM Report abuse
jude said...
HM2--bravo! Well said! Bingo! Nailed it! Exactly! City leaders, listen up. I can hardly wait for a mayoral campaign where the successful candidate HAS to promise a crack down on quality of life issues--motorcycle noise, graffiti, panhandling, public urination, skateboarders and other ganstas.
May 30, 2010 at 9:20 AM Report abuse
Iwatch said...
I agree with MudDoctor. Try staying open all night and my guess is that problems with only multiply. I still say, Youth and booze are a dangerous, deadly mix. There are always those with little to no self control.
May 30, 2010 at 9:26 AM Report abuse
null said...
It has been like this forever. Many who are now among the civil group of older folks who leave the Old Port early were once among the idiots at closing time. Many of them tell their kids to get out of the Old Port by 12:30 AM.
May 30, 2010 at 10:07 AM Report abuse
Tall said...
I, too, went to the Max years ago and it was a place that I should have avoided. I worked nights and I lived right around the corner. I was young and stupid! I saw a young man having his head bashed into the pavement...it's an image I wish I had never seen. BTW...love the toothpaste analogy!
May 30, 2010 at 10:24 AM Report abuse
GURRY70 said...
Never did understand why someone had to be buzzed or drunk to have a good time. Having fun and remembering it in the morning is much better than a hangover.
May 30, 2010 at 10:41 AM Report abuse
SacoSam said...
It seems to me the issue is putting a bunch of drunks in the street all at once. How about an ordinance requiring all bars to stop serving alcohol an hour before they close? This would minimize the 'crowd' mentality AND give folks a place to hang while they sober up a bit. Of course the bar owners probably won't be for this because they are only interested in getting your money and protecting their investment. The current system is beneficial because they can serve right up to closing time and then kick everybody out and push them away from their business to minimize their responsibility.
May 30, 2010 at 11:08 AM Report abuse
TheTruth74 said...
Did I miss something? With all of these drunk people spilling onto the streets how does the Chief think they get home? Most patrons don't live in the Old Port. Where are the roadblocks every weekend if the city has all this $ to spend? This article is a non-story, so basically the cops broke up a shoving match and arrested a drunk driver who practically ran then over. If the PPH wants to do a story why not walk up and down Commercial Street and take pictures of all the drunks stumbling to the wheel with five people in the car. Out of all of the people driving out of the Old Port between 12 and 2 am how many of the drivers are pulled over on suspicion of drunk driving. Lets see those numbers? Another subjective endorsement of the PPD masquerading as journalism. Why is the PPH so afraid to question the PPD's focus? Did they let the writer play with the lights and the siren too?
May 30, 2010 at 1:31 PM Report abuse
laloo said...
As if the trouble makers are passively "over-served". Victims of the bartenders. Why do people (usually young guys) have to act like suck D@@$#^@&s?
May 30, 2010 at 1:32 PM Report abuse
noneleft said...
@Adam180: "Things close so early in Maine that people have to go out and drink fast because just when they're starting to get a buzz, dance, get into the band and have a good time, it's closing time!" Wait... are you saying that to have a good time, you have to drink a specific amount of alcohol regardless of the amount of time? That's just absurd. The alcohol will take about the same time to be absorbed; the same time to be metabolized regardless of how quickly you consume it. So rather than getting you buzzed more quickly, drinking fast just gets you more hammered. I don't think the "speed-drinking" is caused by time (7PM-1AM is 6 hours, just like 12AM-6AM) as much as cultural factors. @justducky: If you HAVE to get a drink just because it's "last call", and you HAVE to drink every last drop, you have a problem. Use your willpower to make 30 minutes before close your personal last call, for the sake of everyone, please.
May 30, 2010 at 2:13 PM Report abuse
rushme said...
is it me of does this reporter like the Sports Bar "Foreplay" of what? First it was Nappi the Bartender in the story a few days ago and now Daigle their Bouncer in this story's pictures. BTW, PPD if you read this, ASK a REAL BOUNCER what you can do to change the OP......Daigle will set you straight!....not that there is anything with being gay!.....to each their own! lol
May 30, 2010 at 4:42 PM Report abuse
backwrdstate said...
I don't know what you're all talking about. This is the greatest country in the world with the very best people, the very best laws, and the way everyone in the whole world should live. Everything will be fine once we export our culture to all of humanity. We all know that the only problems in Maine are caused by Somalis or Democrats. No right wing, wannabe skinhead tattoed losers could have anything to do with any problems here. Just give everyone a handgun when they leave the Oasis, that will solve the problem.
May 30, 2010 at 9:47 PM Report abuse
Citizen said...
1) Those cops can't possibly be paid enough to put up with all those drunks. Thanks you guys, and thanks Chief Craig for putting them out there. 2) Girls, if the guys in the Old Port creep you out, stay home or go somewhere else. Whenever you feel scared, don't go there. You will not be sorry in the long run. 3) Nicely written item, Mr. Wickenheiser!
May 30, 2010 at 10:58 PM Report abuse