Madison’s bartenders, owners and bouncers gathered Thursday to learn in more detail how to safely conduct business among one of the most prolific bar scenes in the state.
The Tavern Safety Training session was sponsored by the Central Community Policing Team and provided a crash course on capacity rules, accommodating intoxicated individuals and determing whether something is fake identification.
Sgt. Tony Fiore said the meeting is meant to be a learning tool for bars to operate in the safest way possible. Fiore stressed maintaining a positive working relationship between operators and police – asking employees to exercise due diligence.
“We don’t expect you to be perfect or flawless – neither are we,” Fiore said. “We just ask you to do things in good faith.”
The training was complete with scenarios on how to handle belligerent individuals and bar fights. Handling over-intoxicated customers was one of the major points of the session.
Madison Police Officer Christina Hill reviewed the tell-tale signs of intoxication and discussed why employees should take notice, particularly in regards to over-serving. She said slurred speech and stumbling are often cues to stop serving the person.
Hill said over-serving is a serious problem that could lead to drinking related injuries or deaths. Not only could patrons get themselves into trouble, employees could be legally responsible if the over-serving leads to death, Hill said. She said bars also run the risk of losing liquor licenses for bad practice.
Over-serving already intoxicated patrons could lead to poor decisions like driving drunk, walking home alone or initiating confrontations, Hill said. She said employees could instead suggest soda or water or offer to call a cab to see the person gets home safe.
“When someone is so drunk they can’t take care of themselves, call [the police] and we’ll take them to detox,” Hill said. “Don’t leave someone on the sidewalk. That’s just mean.”
To combat the various situations that frequent Madison bars, MPD officer Javier Loredo suggested multiple plans of attack. He mentioned ways to help patrons exit the bar as safely and efficiently as possible along with strategies to approach potential fights.
“The suggestions [the officers] gave us on how to get people out of the bar were very helpful,” Whiskey River Saloon bouncer Dean Harden said.
One particular strategy Harden deemed helpful was “Verbal Judo,” which is the idea of phrasing speech differently when approaching an uncooperative patron. Loredo said using “I” speech instead of accusatory “you” language might lead a patron to act more cooperatively.
MPD officer Brian Chaney said the three types of IDs police see are borrowed, altered and fake. He instructed the group on the large variety of ways to decipher the validity of IDs, which include asking personal questions, requesting a signature or checking for holograms and ultraviolet images.
Chaney said U.S. military IDs, U.S. passports, state driver’s licenses or state identification cards are all acceptable forms under state statutes.
Josh Hurley, owner of Whiskey River Saloon, said fake IDs and unruly patrons are the bar’s largest concerns. Accompanying the Whiskey River Saloon, The Red Shed was the only other Madison bar staff to participate in the seminar.
