A curious thing happened at Tuesday’s City Council meeting. The Greenwood police were criticized for upholding the law.
Self-described community activist Jelani Barr criticized the police for enforcing the city’s 1 a.m. closing time. Barr charged that police are bullying and harassing business owners.
Barr called for an investigation of the arrests of nine people who were inside the Hot Gizzard Shack after 1 a.m. on Feb. 17.
I doubt if the City Council is going to be conducting an investigation. Barr got into an argument with Ward 6 Councilman David Jordan. Jordan told Barr to shut up.
Barr insisted that the city’s ordinance requiring businesses that sell alcohol to close by 1 a.m. doesn’t apply to restaurants like the Hot Gizzard Shack.
Not true, Police Chief Henry Purnell said, adding that even a restaurant has to close by 1 a.m. unless it has a state resort license. Hot Gizzard owner Willie B. Nason Jr. doesn’t have a resort license, Purnell said.
Nason and the police are longtime antagonists dating back to 2010, when the Hot Gizzard Express rolled through the streets of Greenwood bringing gizzards to the masses. Purnell kept shutting the Express down, even though Nason had a permit. It took a meeting with Mayor Carolyn McAdams to settle that dispute.
According to police, Nason had been warned numerous times about keeping the Hot Gizzard Shack open after 1 a.m. Last Friday, when Lt. Roosevelt Roach saw several cars still in the lot, he stopped and knocked on the door.
The people inside refused to open the door. Roach said he heard Nason say, “I’m not opening the (expletive) door until morning. Roach can stay out there until morning.”
Roach was not amused by Nason’s response. He stayed outside and even got on a public address system and ordered those inside the restaurant to come out.
It’s been my experience that it’s best to do what a law enforcement officer says to do, when he or she tells you to do it. If an officer has to tell you something over a loudspeaker, you can bet trouble will soon follow.
The nine people inside the Hot Gizzard Shack finally opened the door. Their reward was a trip to the police station.
Nason said he didn’t open the door when Roach knocked because “I was just tired of him harassing me.” Nason also accused Roach of engaging in a “personal vendetta” against him.
Barr might have an ax to grind with Roach, too. The officer arrested Barr on domestic violence charges on Dec. 27.
Nason insisted that his business wasn’t open when Roach came knocking. He said he lives in the building and only friends and family were present.
“We were closed to the public. It was just some friends. ... I’m pretty sure I can have family and friends at my house with my door locked. We weren’t disturbing the public,” Nason said.
Whoa. Is it legal to have a restaurant in your residence in Greenwood?
Several months ago, a man claiming to be a club owner called me complaining that the police were being selective in their enforcement of closing time, especially on Saturday nights. He ticked off the names of a couple of clubs.
I said that might be a story. But when I asked him for his name and the name of his place, the conversation came to an abrupt end. It’s too bad I didn’t have caller ID in those days.
Closing times are tricky things. No matter how late the law lets a bar stay open, there’s always somebody who wants to stay open later.
I’m sorry to say that I have been in numerous place after closing time. This is not something I list on my resumé.
A year or so ago, the owners of some Greenwood lounges asked the City Council to extend drinking hours until 2 a.m. because county bars can stay open that late. The council said no.
That was the right decision for Greenwood. An extra hour of drinking won’t enhance our city’s quality of life or sales tax revenues, even if you can get everybody to shut down at 2 a.m.
And you won’t.
• Contact Charles Corder at 581-7241 or ccorder@gwcommonwealth.com.
