Our View: Weekend death raises questions for community
Alcohol-fueled violence at closing time is no minor matter, as this event makes clear.
Family and friends of Eric Benson, the University of Maine at Farmington student who was senselessly killed last weekend in Monument Square, must be torturing themselves, wondering "what if."
What if Benson hadn't gone out that night? What if he made his way to his car a few minutes earlier and had not run into William Googins, the 20-year-old Gray man who had allegedly been drinking in an Old Port bar despite being underage?
But those things happened, and now instead of Benson's family and friends getting ready to celebrate his college graduation next December, they are mourning his death, his life needlessly cut short.
The rest of us should be asking ourselves a few "what ifs" as well. What if everything unfolded as it did, but Benson hadn't hit his head on a hard surface? What if instead of dying, he had just suffered a minor injury?
Would it have been front-page news? Or would we have just written it off as another fight? Would we have listened to the voices of people calling for tighter controls on drinking and fighting in and around the city's bars?
The answer is probably not.
Police Chief James Craig may have called a news conference to support better communication between police and bar managers, but it would not likely have drawn the same level of attention that Thursday's event did. And that's too bad.
Closing-time violence in and around the Old Port is an old story, and one that many residents of Greater Portland think doesn't affect them. If a few people wake up with bruises as well as a hangover, what's the big deal?
But Benson's death shows what's at stake.
Craig is trying to make sure that everyone involved does what they can to help police do their jobs.
That means bartenders who don't serve minors or over-serve anyone, and bouncers who don't let already-drunk patrons through the doors and take steps to let the police know about them. It also means that the City Council takes a firm stand on liquor license applications and renewals, and letting businesses that don't follow the rules know that they have a lot to lose.
And the rest of us should stop thinking that a few punches after closing time is just a problem for the people in the Old Port. Then maybe another family could be spared what Eric Benson's family is now going through.
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17 COMMENTS
Felix said...
THE PEOPLES' REPUBLIC OF PORTLAND MAKES IT A PRACTICE TO PROVIDE REFUGE TO SOCIETY'S DREGS, MISFITS, AND ILLEGALS, AND THAT TAKES IN THE RAPIDLY DECLINING STATE OF THE OLD PORT. THERE SIMPLY ARE NOT ENOUGH COPS TO PATROL THE WHOLE PLACE, ESPECIALLY WITH THIS BEING THE PRIME SEASON FOR GRIFTERS AND EX-CONS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------AND WAIT UNTIL SOME POOR CRUISE PASSENGER GETS HURT, THEN THE TOWN GOVERNMENT WILL WAKE UP, BUT TOO FREEKING LATE!.......................................IMAGINE WHEN PORTLAND GETS RATED FOR CRUISE LINE SAFETY SOMEWHERE AROUND THE 3RD WORLD PORTS.
May 28, 2010 at 1:50 AM Report abuse
otisslee said...
Bensons assault and death is a ghastly tragedy, but responsibility lies squarely on the shoulders of Googins and the people who raised and shaped him -his parents, family, and teachers. Parents of angry violent losers, please demonsrate adult leadership and pull your young runaway train(s) back onto the track.
May 28, 2010 at 6:31 AM Report abuse
Taxpayer101 said...
News Flash - its not just in the Old Port. The dreg's of society are multiplying everywhere and will slowly take over. We cant afford to stop them. We are already paying them room and board and now we scratch our heads and wonder why this is happening(; Its scum breeding scum. This will never go away, we the bill paying public will die out first.
May 28, 2010 at 7:05 AM Report abuse
GURRY70 said...
Good Morning Maine just had a segment encouraging folks to go to the Old Port/Portland this weekend and drink. otisslee is correct!!
May 28, 2010 at 7:50 AM Report abuse
MainelyJack said...
The Old Port bar scene is a festering problem that gets dealt with after the fact of tragedy and then things go back to normal after a few weeks. If this moron was served, I hope the bar pays a heavy price. If he is convicted of manslaughter, Googins should also. This was not a freak happening. Googins was spoiling for a fight and now he shall pay the consequences. Meanwhile, Portland's Old Port bar scene will continue to be an accident waiting to happen.
May 28, 2010 at 8:42 AM Report abuse
TheCaptain said...
I'm with Mainly Jack on this one. The Old Port bar scene has a financial incentive to sell as much liquor as possible, which attracts many people with drinking problems. Some get foolish or violent when they drink. The whole situation is set for failure.
May 28, 2010 at 9:20 AM Report abuse
henryelm said...
The thing is it was NOT an isolated incident. MOST people do not consider the violence, that has become centrailized in the old PORT on the weekend to be "fun". It's become a dangerous DEADLY rite of passage. It's a problem that keeps getting swept under the rug instead of solved BECAUSE CITY leaders are MORE interested in "accommodating business" ( even the BAD ones) then protecting citizens!! That "mindset" needs to STOP!!UNTIL it does, nothing will change.
May 28, 2010 at 10:01 AM Report abuse
henryelm said...
There are many responsible bar owners.They seem to have figured out the right balance of making a living and acting responsibly.YES it can be done. The bad actors don't want to do it. SHUT THEM DOWN
May 28, 2010 at 10:08 AM Report abuse
b3dvbGZlMDA3 said...
The PPH "Our View" section demonstrates a real stranglehold on the obvious. 20 years ago the Old Port had evolved into a charming, tourist-friendly destination point. And even though it had it's after hours drinking-related problems, those have multiplied over the years and the area has decayed as a result. Wise up, City "leaders". The short term financial gain you perceive by implicitly condoning this environment will be the long-term demise of this nice little community. Do something NOW. And P.S., for those posters who foster racial bias by advocating his race was the cause, you're part of the PROBLEM, not the solution. Concord Railways has great one-way fares to anywhere else.
May 28, 2010 at 10:12 AM Report abuse
henryelm said...
The city needs to have the courage to shut them down A few bad apples ruin it for everyone else. The POLICE NEED THE SUPPORT OF THE COUNCIL TO DO THEIR JOB. The council continuously disregards the police recommendation on liquor licenses. They continuously, defiantly and foolishly IGNORE past police record at bars.STOP re-licensing the bad actors The council ALONE creates the OLD PORT"S BAD reputation.
May 28, 2010 at 10:14 AM Report abuse
LarrySellers said...
Fist fights and violence happens with AND without alcohol. It sucks Benson died, but the answer is NOT some government solution. Use this as a lesson to teach kids that simply punching someone out could indeed kill them! THAT's what we should be focusing on here. Prohibition didn't work and it won't work now.
May 28, 2010 at 12:33 PM Report abuse
otisslee said...
b3, Nobody said Googins race was the cause of this crime......but some did use his published description as "hispanic or middle eastern in appearance' as an entirely appropriate opportunity to speak against ILLEGAL immigration IF the killer was found to be an illegal immigrant.
May 28, 2010 at 12:39 PM Report abuse
stpdmrn said...
People who think the downtown area was safer 20 years ago must be nuts. The Old Port is leaps and bounds ahead of where it was in the 80's thanks to increased police presence and cooperation between restaurant, bar, and business owners. The Old Port is not an accident waiting to happen and it is, in general, not a violent place at any hour of the day or night. The city does not have an Old Port problem. Our society has an alcohol and violence problem. This just happens to be the latest and most high profile incident... The fact that it happened after people were in the Old Port is a coincidence. (And also note that Monument Square is not in the Old Port - that's Downtown/Congress St)
May 28, 2010 at 1:17 PM Report abuse
taxpayer said...
I agree with Otisslee on this one. These kids are basically allowed to run wild and grow up to be punks by their family, who then cries about how their tough upbringing caused the problem. Well, there are other families who have challenges but they take the responibility to raise their children well instead of making excuses after the fact.
May 28, 2010 at 1:21 PM Report abuse
hermana said...
I lived in Portland back in the late 60's when the Old Port was first created. There was a health food store called The Good Day Market, a semi-upscale resturant called I can't even remember what it was called Old Port Tavern maybe, and a really cool loft-type place called the Seaman's Chapel, where live music was played, spaghetti dinners served, and you could bring your own bottle of wine. That was the entire Old Port, 3 little places.. Not many people drank in those days, they just smoked the evil ole pot an' did their little lsd an' mescaline trips. How ironic that these substances are still illegal, and booze is there for anyone who has the price of a drink, whether they're old enough or not. And no-one killed each other in the Old Port then, or rarely even had a fight. Who woulda thunk it would come to this? Sad, really.
May 28, 2010 at 4:19 PM Report abuse
NH said...
Is there a PD in Portland anymore? Wouldn't know it. Say what you will about Michael Chitwood, he handled things in a way you knew the PD was actually out there trying to prevent criminals from running wild.
May 28, 2010 at 5:41 PM Report abuse
null said...
Sadly, the Old Port has declined tremendously. As a small business owner, many of my customers feel threatened by the grunge down in Tommy's Park and on the streets. Two days ago, I was asked by 3 different people for money. Yesterday, by two people. In fact, yesterday a young woman with multiple piercings and tatoos came up to me, in front of my wife, and said: "For 5 dollars I will take care of you." OK: TIME TO GET REAL. First, pass a no-panhandling and loitering ordinance and enforce it. Second, have a real 24 hour police prescence. Third, stop promoting Portland (and Maine) as a place for drug addicts, homeless, and mentally ill to move to from out of state. Control costs, and manage the budget by limiting excessive entitlement programs which provide free food, housing, and health care. Enough is enough.
May 30, 2010 at 1:04 PM Report abuse