Posted on 03/17/2006 10:33:37 AM PST by billorites
IRVING, Texas -- The Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission has taken its fight against drunken driving to a new level. TABC agents, along with Irving police, targeted 36 bars and clubs Friday, arresting some allegedly intoxicated patrons before they departed the businesses.
The officers and agents also kept watch on bartenders who might have over-served patrons.
Agents arrested 30 people Friday night. Most of the suspects now face charges of public intoxication.
The agents and Irving police officers traveled from bar to bar and worked undercover, according to an NBC 5 report.
The report also said that some agents shared tables with suspected drunken patrons. Some patrons were subjected to field sobriety tests inside bars.
Agents and officers said the operation represented an effort to reduce drunken driving.
Sgt. Chris Hamilton, of the TABC, said some inebriated bar patrons "end up killing themselves or someone else" after departing the businesses.
What they do.. take away yer SHOES?.. or just jail you for a thought crime..
But...but...what about second-hand smoking? Where are the anti-smoking zealots at now who said banning smoking won't lead to a slippery slope?
I wonder what blood alcohol percentage triggers the public intoxication limit for a person inside a private business establishment in the state of Texas?
I don't drink in bars too often, but I think I'm glad I don't live in Texas, if this article is an indication of the attitudes there.
[Drunks aren't as dangerous as crooks]
Thanks for the clarification. I remember visiting a friend who lives near the stadium and having to drive across the county line to buy a case of beer at a store.
Maybe the store alcohol sales laws are different.
A guy leaves a bar, staggering....dropps his keys, stumbles, grabs his keys and makes it to the car.
He fiddles with the keys in the lock, gets the car door open and gets in.
A police car pulls up blocking him in.
Cop gets out, asks the guy to get out of his car.
Cop asks if he has been drinking.
Nope, not a drop officer.
What are you doing staggering and stumbling all over? said the cop.
I'm the designated decoy :)
Meanwhile, some will scoff and say grab your tin foil hat while others protest the police state we are now living in.
Or I like this one, if you don't go to a bar and drink you have nothing to fear.
Who said they had cars?
Next they'll come to your home on the off chance that you might decide to run up to 7-11 to get a hot dog.
We may have to agree to disagree on this one. If they stop you before you consume one of those dogs that been slowly spinning around on that greasy trundle, they may be doing you a favor.
Kinda like when the cops bust the strippers on prostitution stings. Have you ever looked at their pictures on Smoking Gun? Women that ugly ought to be arrested before they can interact with a general public expecting to see a young lovely disrobe.
Owl_Eagle(If what I just wrote makes you sad or angry,
Not sure I go along with this, but it would have been a huge favor to some people I know to have been busted in a bar before they ever got behind the wheel.
The next step will be in people's homes.
This is outrageous. The anti-alcohol, MADD lobby has become a money maker. It's not about saving lives anymore, it's about $$.
So, now you can be arrested for a crime, before a crime has been committed. Interesting.
"I guess if a bar is considered a public place when it comes to smoking, the next (il)logical step is arresting people in bars for public intoxication."
Well... OK.
Point taken. How 'bout a bag of Nacho Doritos?
What would be reasonable would be for them to sit out in the parking lot (and freeze their @ss off) and wait to observe a drunk patron leave and get in a car. Soon as the headlights come on, get them then. In my state, if the keys are in the ignition and you are behind the wheel, it will stand as DUI even if you haven't moved.
Or I like this one, if you don't go to a bar and drink you have nothing to fear.
What other rights are you willing to throw away?
They are. They have to be in a wet area. And the areas are different for beer and wine than they are for hard alcohol. I don't keep up with the current lines, and I know the law was loosened last session, but basically if you want package hard liquor in north Dallas, you have to go to the Colony, a small strip on Buckingham in Richardson that used to be an independent city, Inwood just south of Addison, or a few other locations. East of Central and south of the Railroad tracks that run south of Royal; Northwest Hwy westbound from Central west of the railroad tracks, etc. Package beer and wine is somewhat more available, but again, you have to be familiar with old precinct lines to find it.
I don't know what areas around Irving are wet or dry, but I wouldn't be surprised to find that you had to drive a few miles to get a package. In Plano, wine and beer are freely available at grocery stores, gas stations, and free standing beverage stores and beer barns, but you are going to have to drive to another city to buy a bottle of liquor. Most restaurants are members of the same 'club', so one membership works anywhere in town, and may work in Frisco.
The report also said that some agents shared tables with suspected drunken patrons. Some patrons were subjected to field sobriety tests inside bars.
I guess arresting you in front of the urinal for public indecency is next.
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