Bars punished after more brawls
It burned.
His eyes, his lungs, his face -- Keith House's entire head felt like it was ablaze.
"I started gagging," he said. "Stuff was coming out of my nose, and I started vomiting. I would rather be kicked in the groin by an elephant than be pepper-sprayed again."
A little more than a week ago, the bouncer landed in the wrong place at the wrong time, and, unfortunately, such scenarios threaten to become the norm if East Dubuque nightlife safety does not change, officials say.
On April 17-18, drunken brawls translated into a temporary prohibition for two East Dubuque establishments. Tonight, Joe Mama's and Diamond Girls LLC will ask the city to reinstate their rights to serve alcohol.
East Dubuque Police say that on Friday, April 17, a fight broke out at Joe Mama's, sending two people to the hospital -- one suffering injuries after being struck over the head by a pool stick. The next night, a fight started at Diamond Girls LLC, with no injuries reported.
Police Chief Steve O'Connell said somewhere between 50 and 80 people were involved in the altercation, including patrons trying to stop the fight.
"I wish I could tell you this was uncommon," he said.
O'Connell estimates that one such fight took place per month last year.
"We couldn't set our clock by it, but they were regular," he said. "We're talking big fights, not one where it was two or three guys upset over a game of pool."
This year, four fights required police intervention.That's four too many, said Mayor Geoff Barklow, who doubles as the liquor commissioner. He decided to suspend the liquor licences.
"It's a safety issue," he said. "Hopefully this will serve as a notice to the owners and operators."
Such comments anger House, who has worked as a bouncer at Diamond Girls for about two months.
"We had things under control before the police came in," he said.
According to House and Diamond Girls LLC bartender Ashley White, the fight broke out when patrons from Florida began "mouthing off" to customers from the Chicago area. Both say only five or six were involved.
"When you get their buddies in there trying to stop it, it looks like there is a lot more going on than there is," White said.
House says he was escorting a fighting patron outside when police began pepper-spraying. He said the police were aiming for the patron but the man ducked, leaving House vulnerable.
"This is the first fight here that I know of," House said. "And the police used an excessive amount of force. I understand they have their jobs to do, but I think they did it too much."
House said Diamond Girls
uses several doormen to mon-
itor patrons, and the staff has a signal for if a fight begins.
Not enough, police say.
When fights of that magnitude do break out, about 20 officers should respond. The force usually only has four on the weekends, meaning outside help also responds.
"We're over there occasionally," said Dubuque Police Department assistant chief Terry Tobin. "But two nights in a row is certainly not common for us."
(Photo Credit: Steve Kaiser)
