Stuart Street club: Out-of-control sergeant went berserk New Year's Eve

Election Day! Find your polling place.

By adamg on Sun, 01/02/2011 - 6:47pm

UPDATE: The Herald identifies the officer in question as Daniel Keeler, a former homicide detective with an interesting past.

Darrin Morda, who co-owns Rise, says the stanchions and barriers in place outside his club New Year's Eve were there at the request of the Boston Fire Department, which asked for them about two months ago.

It's one of numerous issues Morda has with an official police account of the way the club was shut down at 11:40 p.m. on Dec. 31. Morda said a BPD sergeant, unfamiliar with the private club's status - or a Superior Court injunction that he says bars police from entry except in emergencies - basically shut the place down in a rage.

In an interview with Universal Hub today, Morda said the sergeant showed up, looked askance at the ropes and barriers, and walked into the club. He then went up stairs to the dance floor, and once up front, he yelled "the girls aren't wearing enough clothing" and said he was shutting the club down.

Morda agreed there was a wild scene inside - it was New Year's Eve, after all, and people were jumping up and down and counting down to midnight. But he said there were only 300 people in the club - far from the 800 BPD cited in its blog post, let alone the 942 Morda said the sergeant initially claimed were inside. "Neither one is physically possible," he said.

He said if there really had been 800 people in the club, there was no way the sergeant could have made it up the stairs to the dance floor. He said police originally told fire inspectors they found some 500 just in the club's 1,000-square foot lounge. "I would invite anybody to come into the lounge," and try to fit 500 people into it, he said.

He said that at no point during the initial confrontation did the sergeant ask for the club's permits or plans - he said it was only after 30 officers showed up, the club had been emptied out and the fire department called. "He didn't even know what our capacity was," he said.

Morda, who co-owns Rise with Tom Beaulieu, added there were women wearing minis, but nothing out of the ordinary even for a club in straightlaced Boston. He added police "overturned trash cans" and emptied the staff refrigerator in search of illegal liquor, but found none. He said it was possible some club goers brought in nips, as alleged by police, but that the club has a 12-year record without liquor problems.

Morda said at one point the sergeant went into the dance-floor DJ room and demanded the DJ shut the music "before I smash all your equipment." Morda said the DJ complied, but the sergeant became further enraged when he kept hearing music - from the floor below, which has a separate music system.

Morda said the sergeant never identified himself and that, after the guy had spent considerable time yelling at him, he decided not to ask for his name - let alone threaten his job, as alleged by BPD. "I was afraid that if I asked him one more question, I would have been thrown in jail for the night," he said.

Morda acknowledged the club had decorations hanging from the ceiling, as cited by BPD, but denied they were flammable. He noted that Massachusetts has some of the toughest regulations in the country on nightclub decorations and that everything the club had up was certified to those regulations. He said the club has a folder of manufacturer's information, which the fire department inspects periodically.

The "exposed wires" cited by the police report? Morda said they were cables running to loudspeakers and computers - the sort of things that are perfectly legal.

He said the fire-safety allegations are particularly painful to him because the club installed sprinklers after the Station nightclub fire even before being required to do so by law.

Because Rise is run as a private club - potential members have to be nominated by existing members - and doesn't serve alcohol, it is not subject to the normal licensing requirements of Boston clubs open to the public, he said. He added the club has always had good relations with both the fire department and ISD, which do have jurisdiction. In 1999, Rise after won an injunction against the city after the last time police shut it down.

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Comments

Starting the countdown at

By BH on Sun, 01/02/2011 - 6:53pm.

Starting the countdown at 11:40? Wow, that's some countdown.

without consent or proper permission

By Anonymous on Mon, 01/03/2011 - 2:28am.

Officers also observed a series of barriers that had, without consent or proper permission, been set up on the sidewalk creating an unsafe situation for pedestrians seeking to use it. [PRETENSE:]Given the presence of the barriers, as well as the recent snow fall, the sidewalk, from what officers could determine, was deemed both unsafe and impassable. In an effort to remedy the unsafe conditions found on the sidewalk, officers and detectives entered the establishment to speak to employees of the Rise Club.

Rise: installed at the request of the [Boston] fire department. And he said neither hindered other pedestrians - people were walking up and down the street all night.

I think the officer wrongly assumed the club did not have consent or proper permission. Did he enter the club on a pretense that the facts will bear out as a false pretense or did he need no pretense to enter in the first place?

His concern about how people were scantily clad tells me he's confusing their rights with his obligation to enforce the law since there's no law about wearing shirts... more his sense of what's moral than the government documented laws. I would say he clearly doesn't understand the limits of his authority.

Does he have the authority to search the refrigerators for booze having observed some people who seemed tipsy or becuase he saw empty nip bottles on the floor? I don't think so; It's not within plain view, he has no warrant, nor are there exigent circumstances.

In this case in these circumstance I don't think he has any concern about the limits of his authority of the law, just a goal in mind.

Not always clear cut when it comes with underage drinking

By Pete Nice on Mon, 01/03/2011 - 7:42am.

Courts have gone both ways on this issue. Warrantless searches have been allowed by courts for underage drinking. It usually happens at house parties where parents are not around, and doors are locked at a house where people are complaining about. If officers leave and a kid drives away and gets killed, the police are responsible because they got a call for underage drinking and should have known that laws were being broken.

And I don't think the Fire Department has the right to let businesses put anything on the sidewalk. I believe that must be approved by someone else.

good, we'll have show down and the truth will come out

By Anonymous on Mon, 01/03/2011 - 5:26pm.

Darrin Morda, owner of the club Rise, said Boston police’s version of its New Year’s Eve raid on his Stuart Street club “is full of so many untruths and half-truths, it’s astonishing.”

He said he wants the police department to retract its press release on the raid, then he plans to straighten out what he said is a mix-up with the Boston Fire Department over accusations of expired permits.

But police and fire officials said they’re standing by their reports, which say the club was “dangerously overcrowded and that in the event of a fire that patrons would be unable to exit the building and that lives would be lost.”

If it is shown the officer(s) falsified facts to justify the interdiction, or violated peoples rights - 4th Amendment or right to pursue happiness, or if they exceeded their authorities to shut it down the club, then Commissioner Davis must take action. Any falsification of facts must be met with 0% tolerance.

Adam, if there was a line at the door, was there also a bouncer keeping a count?

The owner said 300 people

By Pete Nice on Mon, 01/03/2011 - 6:22pm.

Which he probably shouldn't have said if he plans on suing the BPD or winning his lawsuit.

How can you falsify an estimated guess of population in a club? If you wanted to lie, why not just say 500, or 400, or 1000? That isn't going to get anyone fired.

Have you been inside Rise?

By anon on Tue, 01/04/2011 - 11:20am.

Have you been inside Rise? 300 is VERY busy. I think Darrin has an excellent gauge on this after over 10 years.

I've been a bouncer/doorman

By anon on Sun, 01/30/2011 - 2:27pm.

I've been a bouncer/doorman mostly in Boston, but also Cambridge and Somerville for 10 years. Currently in Cambridge.

Capacities are *never* to be estimated... the actual number does have legal weight. The law doesn't allow bars/clubs to estimate (they're required to keep an accurate count) and whenever I've seen capacity violations investigated by the fire department (the police do not enforce capacity rules, though they can report it to the fire dept if they are concerned) they ALWAYS get an exact count. If they don't, then they were shut down without any hard evidence of wrongdoing. If they were shut down without any hard evidence of wrongdoing, then they are WAAAAAAAAAAAY in the wrong... Especially if this business has had an injunction granted to them against the police before. *ESPECIALLY* if the officer in question has publicly admitted to making false statements in police reports and affidavits, which he has.

This is a classic case of some cop overstepping his bounds and everyone else knowing it, but everyone covering his ass with gung-ho bandwagon BS because it's what the social culture/code of conduct/code of honor requires. If the fire department thought there was anywhere close to that number of people in there they would have gotten an exact count because they would have rightfully wanted to lay a legal smackdown on an irresponsible club owner. They specifically didn't count because they didn't want to make the overzealous cop look like a complete idiot on his crusade because that would have been politically sticky. They all know that the 'system' will back them up if they make a similar mess at some point, so they buy into it. Whoops, sorry your business got in the way.

Bright Line Rule

By Anonymous on Mon, 01/03/2011 - 10:29pm.

“Dishonesty is inconsistent with the duties of a police officer,’’ he [Commissioner Davis] says. “We are paid to be witnesses, and when we are untruthful the system breaks down.’’

We’re meeting for coffee because Davis recently read my new book, “The Fence,’’ and wants to discuss the misconduct and lying that are key factors in the mistaken beating and cover-up of plainclothes Boston Police Officer Mike Cox in 1995. He says that while most cops do the right thing, lying by police has long troubled him, a dark side of the police culture he’d like to change. He’s thinking the opportunity may be at hand, citing Judge Wolf’s actions, the department’s most recent corruption case (the so-called steroid-use scandal) that featured plenty of lies, and all the talk in law enforcement circles about the book, which reexamines the Cox beating case and the Boston police culture.

With no let-up, he continues talking the talk of a change agent. “This department is serious about the issue of truthfulness,’’ he insists. “There can be no messing around with the facts on material issues.’’

As proof he means business, he discloses he’s putting the finishing touches on a new policy he’ll call the “Bright Line Rule.’’

“If our own internal process determines that an officer has been untruthful, the punishment will be termination.’’

Lying, he says, will now be a firing offense.

“Integrity and honesty have always been basic to the job,’’ he explains. Indeed, the twin values are policing platitudes cited by every chief and commissioner, with the BPD having its own high-minded-sounding Public Integrity Policy: Rule 113.

But for Davis, here’s the rub. “The consequences for not being truthful have not been clear. No one has yet said it’s going to be dealt with by termination. I’m changing that.’’

By Dick Lehr, July 31, 2009

There's a huge chasm between 300 and 800. Assuming BPDNews didn't invent the number 800 but took it from the incident report then the officer is on record all ready in this and many other ways. If the officer has been dishonest in any substantive way, and it can be proven, Davis will act. Davis wants BPD officers' honesty to be above reproach.

He won't be fired.

By Pete Nice on Mon, 01/03/2011 - 10:34pm.

Davis: How many people did you think were in the club?

Keeler: 800

Davis: The count said there was only 300 people in there.

Keeler: Looked like 800 to me. 400 on the first floor, 400 on the top floor, 200 people in line. Other bars around this size fit about 1000. I thought there was 800.

Davis: You were wrong and are bad at estimating bar populations. You are fired. You big fat liar.

Weasel Words

By Sock_Puppet on Tue, 01/04/2011 - 5:51am.

Anonymous, you forgot the weasel words. That's day two.

"Officers estimated a crowd in excess of approximately 800 patrons."

Toss a sack of weasel-words on the bright line and it doesn't look so bright anymore.

Keeler will never state to anybody that there were 800 patrons in the club, only that he estimated approximately bla bla here and kinda there. When the proof is given that the club was not actually overcrowded, with exactly 292 patrons, Keeler will mumble-mouth some shit like "it was dark in there" and "there were mirrors on the walls" and "ha ha, I guess I'm not so good at estimating."

Keeler knows that nobody at the club was doing anything wrong and that no charges or penalties will actually stick to anybody there. He was just pissed off for some reason (maybe he had to walk around the line or something), so he fucked up the evening of a bunch of healthy kids to get himself off.

He will get away with it. He was at day two.

Ok Sock Puppet.

By Pete Nice on Tue, 01/04/2011 - 8:18am.

Let us pretend for a second that this wasn't a crazy police officer that was lying and there actually was a club that was overcrowded. How would you articulate on a report the exact amount on a police report the factual amount of people in the club?

Have a police officer stand there and count? (would you believe them?)

Have every police officer in the city have a counter in case this sort of thing happens? (would you believe the officers counter?)

And how is the club going to prove there were 292 patrons in there? Would you believe their counter? Would you believe their owner?

And again, if Keeler or whomever else wanted to make arrests that night they would have. This is the issue that I am suprised no one understands (except DVDoff). They could have put into protective custody half that club and found drugs, alcohol, or fake IDs on probably half of those people.

Keeler is a pathological liar

By SwirlyGrrl on Tue, 01/04/2011 - 8:38am.

We know that. There is more than enough evidence of that. That is not in question.

Pathological liars know how to lie. Keeler is concocting 500 people out of thin air to justify his disobedience of a clear directive by the courts to stay the hell away from this club.

Those fictional 500 people are a fabrication by a professional liar to cover his ass when he gets nailed for violating the Superior Court injunction. I sincerely doubt that he didn't know about that injunction, either - my bet is that, as usual for this officer, he thought he could just LIE his way around it. The man has a long established track record of LYING and he is utterly untrustworthy as a witness.

Yet again, we have a cop who thinks that having a badge means that he isn't bound by the law. He is also a cop who has been repeatedly caught lying and still remains a cop somehow. Yet again, Pete defends this.

Bottom line: if he said there were five people in there, if he submitted a sheet of hash marks, if he had photographs of the crowd it really doesn't matter. We simply can't believe anything Keeler says.

Tell me what the injunction is Swirrly

By Pete Nice on Tue, 01/04/2011 - 8:43am.

Tell me.

And then show me where Keeler alone went out of his way to estimate 800 people. It sounds like you have the police report.

BPD is to stay out

By SwirlyGrrl on Tue, 01/04/2011 - 8:55am.

Except for an "emergency", which Keeler obviously felt he could invent - by LYING, of course.

Why do you think they didn't just do undercover work like proper professionals? Hmmmm?

Ultimately, it doesn't matter. Keeler is a pathological liar who has proven himself to be unreliable as a witness of anything. Period. If he reported that the sky was blue and the ground was beneath his feet, that would have to be independently verified, since he's such a storied and legendary pathological liar. Or was he just lying about lying while lying under oath? But he's GOT A BADGE so that makes him a magical non liar. Right.

I didn't ask that.

By Pete Nice on Tue, 01/04/2011 - 9:37am.

I asked you to show me the injunction.

Let's see, Pete

By Kaz on Tue, 01/04/2011 - 8:45am.

How about calling the Fire Marshall in. Oh, he did that? Right, after he already cleared the super dangerous, "in excess of"-800-people-leads-to-spontaneous-combustion, overcrowded fire situation for them.

This guy went into that club with the absolute prejudiced intent of "shutting the place down" on the presumption that the crowd *outside* was "dangerously large" (it went a whole half block to the corner, you see...it's part of the new "Fenway Laws" where the Red Sox had to give out timed entrance tickets so that there was never a line of more than 50 people waiting to get into Fenway Park 81+ times a year...right??). He had absolutely no reasonable evidence that the club was violating ANY laws.

In the end, the ONLY charge in that entire write-up (complete with details on how there were dangerous decorations and a DJ who kept playing music...that wasn't his music downstairs)...the ONLY charge is "violation of fire permit"...which again, is based on some faulty estimate of "in excess of 800 people". And THAT might stick IF it's actually true that their inspection date had expired. EVERYTHING ELSE in the entire write-up (and likely the entire report) is just blah-blah-bullshit written by a pissed-off ex-homicide, lying, thieving, cop looking to get his rocks off on New Year's Eve at a place that's ALREADY been through harassment problems with BPD in the past to the point that a judge agreed that BPD needed to back off.

So, you know why they didn't put "half that club" in protective custody? Because it's too much fucking work to get the same effect that they did by simply claiming there were "in excess of 800 people" inside and then shuffling them all out before the fire marshall arrived to verify it. Keeler got what he wanted. They shut the place down. Why would he want to file paperwork on 100 20-year-olds with a nip of alcohol in each of them? He wanted to make them pay for what he saw as a problem outside and when he couldn't he shut the place down on some trumped up crap. Same story, different bad cop. If power-hungry cops have a goal in mind, they'll do whatever they have to to make it happen. It comes with the rights of their job, have you not heard? No backing down, hooah.

If the decorations were truly flammable

By SwirlyGrrl on Tue, 01/04/2011 - 8:49am.

Keeler's pants would certainly have set them off.

I know you think you are probably smarter than him

By Pete Nice on Tue, 01/04/2011 - 9:36am.

if he was even the one to do it

But he isn't a moron. If he really wanted to back up his complaints about illegal activity, he would of arrested a few people. That is what happens for cops that want to lie and cover things up. It isn't that much work to make (or make up) a few arrests for disorderly.

He wouldn't have to file paperwork on anything. He is a supervisor. He could assign that to anyone, or his boss could have done it himself or assigned it to anyone.

The main problem you don't understand is that bad cops operate in a certain fashion. They cover their asses. This was a case were even a dumb cop could have covered their ass if they wanted to.

Leads to the next question...

By Kaz on Tue, 01/04/2011 - 10:26am.

This was a case where even a dumb cop could have covered their ass if they wanted to.

So, what kind of truly moronic imbecile does that make Keeler? I mean, he didn't even get a SINGLE citation out of his actions that night. Zero results for his herculean efforts at protecting the public from itself. Hell, he didn't write them a citation for blocking the public way...which was the very thing that spurned Mr. Homicide to walk in the door (in violation of a court order?) and flip out at the "excess of 800 people", some "half naked", inside.

So, go with your line of thought...this cop ruined quite a lot of peoples' New Year's Eve (anywhere from 292 to 800 or more)...and for what? Even the Fire Department isn't willing to back his play because he cleared the place out before they got there and they're not going to stand on his piss-poor estimate. Whew, I'm glad I feel so much safer with him out there violating court orders, threatening DJs over things outside their control, and tossing people out of their private club. What exactly are you defending here any more, Pete? The dumbest cop on the force based on your estimate that even a dumb cop should cover his ass...and this guy couldn't even Rise to the occasion.

Do you know how many citations will be issued?

By Pete Nice on Tue, 01/04/2011 - 10:39am.

Do you know if the Fire Department is going to back him up?

And if the place was overcroweded, wouldn't the main goal to be to get people out of there? Especially if the manager was giving you the runaround? If that happened?

And everyone is talking about this court order. I thought the order was before this club got permits and was allowed to play music without an entertainment license in 1999? I have yet to see this or any court order.

"This guy went into that club with the absolute prejudiced intent of "shutting the place down" on the presumption that the crowd *outside* was "dangerously large"

You got this from a press release? This is your opinion that is fine.

I'll let you catch up

By Kaz on Tue, 01/04/2011 - 11:04am.

Fire dept not citing for overcrowding. Was posted this morning by Adam.

Also, if the place *isn't* overcrowded (evidently, no evidence it was)...then wouldn't this cop's goal be to empty it anyways?

I mean, that's the WHOLE POINT, Pete. People are a bit pissed off that this cop emptied a club with no reliable evidence that there was ANYTHING WRONG going on inside.

What if he walked in my office right now and said "Nope, I estimate 100 people in here and that's against the fire code and an extremely dangerous situation. The three of you need to leave right now...for safety, ya know"?

You keep contending this cop's actions were reasonable given the situation...but I'm not alone in failing to see any reasonability on the part of the cop here...and you're not even trying to make an argument for reasonability on his part either...you're just making defensive stabs at everyone "not having enough information". What is it that this cop did that was reasonable? Why didn't that lead to any actionable offense on the part of the club owners? Why did 300-800 partygoers get displaced 20 minutes before the entire point of the party in the name of public safety if no one is accountable for having made them unsafe? Is this cop a screw-up for thinking this club was unsafe or is he a screw-up for being unable to make anything stick to the club owners?

No you are putting words in my mouth

By Pete Nice on Tue, 01/04/2011 - 11:22am.

You keep contending this cop's actions were reasonable given the situation...but I'm not alone in failing to see any reasonability on the part of the cop here...and you're not even trying to make an argument for reasonability on his part either...you're just making defensive stabs at everyone "not having enough information".

I'm not contending the cop's actions were reasonable, but I am making defensive stabs at people who do not have enough information. I'll say it again. I have been to situations like this and I have seen the police blurbs and blog posts. Usually not all that happened. Plenty of intangibles that aren't including. Kind of like that guy whose car got stolen in Dorchester and called 911 and everyone blamed the cops for being dumb because they turned the wrong way.

What I am saying is that if a cop did think a place was overcrowed, and the place was actually overcrowded, this would be the way to make the place safe. You believe that this place was not overcrowded, so it would be illegal for an officer to enforce the overcrowding laws. That would be true.

And it is probably a little more reasonable to know the difference between 3 people in an office and 100 don't you think?

Kaz, think of a high school gym, any high school gym you are familiar with. Then imagine that gym packed for a basketball game. Now estimate how many people are in the gym. Do you think your estimate would be in the same ballpark with other estimates?

Crowd estimates

By Kaz on Tue, 01/04/2011 - 12:03pm.

Sure, if you guessed there were 100 people in my office, you'd be off by 97 (98 right now, one guy stepped out).

Keeler guessed 800+ when it was likely closer to 300 (if not exactly 292...we'll never know because he ruined any chance of determining it specifically due to his actions). He was off by 500 people or almost a 3:1 ratio! You wouldn't say there were 9 people in my office right now (the 3rd guy came back)...just like you wouldn't reasonably guess that there were 100,000 people at Fenway Park on any given night.

Also, isn't it the fire department's job to determine if the fire code has been violated, not BPD's? BPD might be necessary to make sure the club is emptied safely, but I don't think it's their right to just empty a place because they *think* it's overcrowded. Again, what would keep them from emptying my office if they "thought" it was "overcrowded"...although I always say that my office probably doesn't have enough "half-naked women gyrating provocatively" to cause the cops to investigate in the first place.

You would probably be suprised about asking someone this.

By Pete Nice on Tue, 01/04/2011 - 12:08pm.

regarding crowd estimates.

I still have never seen the club and have no idea how many people I could estimate to be in there.

And on days or nights where the fire department isn't available, the police can enforce these things. They do it for Health and Sanitiation every once in a while.

And if you thought there were 2 people in your office would you be off by 33%?

You never cross the thin blue line.

By FranklinRider on Tue, 01/04/2011 - 11:29am.

I'm sure everyone in the department knows the identity of Pete and therefore he will never, ever speak ill of any police officer. It's part of the 'code' and it makes having a rational discussion with him futile.

They are prefectly willing to defend officers, such as Officer Homicide, for doing illegal activities because it's part of the 'code'.

I could give you a list

By Pete Nice on Tue, 01/04/2011 - 11:42am.

of hundreds of fired, arrested, piece of sh*T, criminal cops and what I think of them.

For every Sgt. Keeler, there's a Jack Maguire..

By Brian Riccio on Tue, 01/04/2011 - 11:52am.

or two. Am I right, Pete?

The funny thing about Keeler

By Pete Nice on Tue, 01/04/2011 - 12:05pm.

and I won't get into the whole story, but you would be amazed at what peoples opinion of him is that worked with him, prosecuted for him, defended against him or judged him is.

Keeler would do anything for anyone if you asked him. In the end he was a liability for the department in the position he held.

The wierdest thing about that guy was the sunglass incident at the B@E down on Boylston St. or Newbery St. That baffled people.

you do what's legal, not "everything"

By anon on Tue, 01/04/2011 - 12:24pm.

Keeler would do anything for anyone if you asked him.

And therein lies the problem.

point of view

By Anonymous on Tue, 01/04/2011 - 6:31pm.

In the end he was a liability for the department in the position he held.

Not to mention a liability for the public he was hired to serve. It's not lost on me that Pete's frame of reference is 'what's good for the department'. For me and I would say most people, the frame of reference is whether the officer's actions are consistent with good public service.

I thought the opposite

By Pete Nice on Tue, 01/04/2011 - 6:39pm.

To me what is good for a police department is good for the people. The police are the public and the public are the police.

Keeler's story is a long and complicated one. Very interesting what you hear from people that worked with him, against him, or whom he worked for.

Offering up a list

By francescafordianinotloggedin... on Tue, 01/04/2011 - 12:03pm.

Offering up a list of cops already fired and/or arrested doesn't really answer Franklin Rider's concern.

his "concern"

By Pete Nice on Tue, 01/04/2011 - 12:57pm.

was that I would not speak ill of police officer which I stated I would.

Nope

By FranklinRider on Tue, 01/04/2011 - 1:12pm.

You said you would speak ill of an officer who was kicked off the force or convicted of illegal activities. That's not breaking the 'code'.

Are you willing to publicly speak ill of an crooked cop on the force?

Here's your chance... You haven't said anything negative about Officer Homicide yet.

Sure I would

By Pete Nice on Tue, 01/04/2011 - 1:19pm.

I just said I didn't know any of them because they wouldn't do any crooked stuff around me and if they did IA would have already be handling it and you and I would both know about it. (And I would be legally allowed to tell you about it)

Take McManus

By Anonymous on Tue, 01/04/2011 - 7:06pm.

He was involved in an arrest where the arrested kid ended up in the a coma in Beth Israel. He was one of about nine officers on the scene, all of who had to leave the scene to get stress treatment afterward. Not one of them filed a report. Not one of them called McManus out for excess force (drinking in public) or for his own ego precipitating the confrontation - David Woodhouse and his friends were passed the officers on their way home. Only years later when McManus is trying to separate a kid from the handcuffs he snatched away from them on video that McManus' use of force is given scrutiny within the department.

both found justified too

By Pete Nice on Tue, 01/04/2011 - 7:10pm.

by courts and everyone that knows what a use of force of chart is.

Thank god you don't work helping people. We would be in a lot of trouble.

Interesting

By anon on Tue, 01/04/2011 - 7:35pm.

How you remember the cop's name but not the kid's. Shows where your agenda really is.

remind me

By Anonymous on Tue, 01/04/2011 - 8:18pm.

What was the $3,000,000 payment the City of Boston paid to David Woodhouse's family for?

If you can't admit there's a problem, that would be your problem.

No Admission of Liability

By anon on Tue, 01/04/2011 - 8:38pm.

You might want to look that one up.

Admit a Problem?

By anon on Tue, 01/04/2011 - 9:08pm.

A kid with a heart condition dies of a heart attack. Three years later, a club is shut down for being over capacity. What's your point?

3 million

By Pete Nice on Wed, 01/05/2011 - 8:06am.

wasn't for the officers exceesive force. That is what I was talking about.

Please, do tell.

By FranklinRider on Tue, 01/04/2011 - 12:09pm.

The only reason you'll speak ill of fired and/or arrested cops is because they got caught and the 'code' wasn't enough to protect them.

What about the piece of sh*t, criminal cops that remain on the force? What do you think of them?

Don't say they don't exist, cause everyone knows they do and this and other incidents show that the police force will protect their own to the detriment of the community.

They don't do that stuff around me that is for sure.

By Pete Nice on Tue, 01/04/2011 - 12:11pm.

And if they were that bad and I knew about it, IA would have already gotten after them.

Counting

By anon #17 on Tue, 01/04/2011 - 11:31am.

It would not have been hard to get a count once everyone was ordered to leave. You station someone by the door and count people as they leave.

Placing everyone, or even a large number of the patrons - 200! - in protective custody would have been impossible. And then searching them? How many police would that have required? When has anything like that ever happened in this city?

The injunction dates from another outrageous raid on the club when it first opened. The police were claiming it was a sex club. Totally false, thus the injunction.

You and your ridiculous assumptions

By Sock_Puppet on Tue, 01/04/2011 - 1:30pm.

You really think Sgt. Keeler can count that high?

I think it would be fair to say the failure to do something so simple as to count people on their way out the door can be taken as indicative of a lack of interest in knowing how many people were there.

Look down to Fishy at the bottom for the best explanation of what happened here. People like Fishy and Keeler get really mad when they see kids having fun, and come up with all kinds of crazy ideas about some immorality they must be involved in. (sex, drugs, and overcrowding?)

The police do not enforce

By anon on Sun, 01/30/2011 - 2:33pm.

The police do not enforce capacity rules the fire department does. The police, if concerned report it to the fire department who rushes down to check it out. They *do* actually have clickers and make an exact count of the number of people in the place. I've been a bouncer/doorman in this city for 10 years and I've seen it happen a few times. If the fire department didn't do this, it was because they didn't want to embarrass officer BS on his crusade.

I wonder, did the officer ask

By Anonymous on Mon, 01/03/2011 - 10:28pm.

I wonder, did the officer ask the bouncer at the door (with the clicker on his hand) what the count was?

What would it take

By Marc on Sun, 01/02/2011 - 7:19pm.

What would it take, legislatively, to loosen the strangle hold that this city keeps on its relatively few entertainment industry venues?

I'm asking because I've just recently travelled a bit both in and out of country, and I have had my eyes opened to how much "easier" nightlife can be in other cities of relatively the same size as Boston. There is no universal law enforcing that closing times have to be absurdly early, that liquor has to be ridiculously expensive and difficult to license, and that normal, peaceful 18-21 drinking needs to be breathed of in the same heavy tones as ritual murder or organ harvesting. In many cities, even of similar general demographics, it appears that it is just much easier to run a normal, healthy entertainment industry.

It's that obnoxious christian

By chicken on Sun, 01/02/2011 - 7:30pm.

It's that obnoxious christian puritan ethos that has basically poisoned this country from the very beginning: the horror that someone, somewhere, might be having a good time.

It's especially strong here, unsurprisingly.

No one wants to touch that Marc

By Pete Nice on Mon, 01/03/2011 - 7:46am.

Basically there isn't going to be enough interest to change these laws I believe.

Plus, do you see the fight people in Allston are putting up over a national pizza chain that serves beer and wine? It's embarrassing.

Local pizza chain...

By FlyingToaster on Mon, 01/03/2011 - 8:24am.

... Stone Hearth is a local chain with 3 outlets and no published problems (they're in Belmont Center, for pete's sake). The old Allstonian locals don't want anything to do with "upscale" or "alcohol", because obviously nobody in the neighborhood can afford to go out for pizza with the grandparents and kids.

Note: Johnny's Luncheonette in Newton Centre is the place we pick to have lunch with my Schwägervater, because they'll give him a glass of wine, and give Warrior"I'm-not-a-Baby"Girl sweet potato fries.

ZOMG! They were sexing up librarians in there!

By SwirlyGrrl on Mon, 01/03/2011 - 8:09pm.

I bet they had one of them EVIL POOL TABLES, too!

/world

private club?

By sup3rmark on Sun, 01/02/2011 - 7:31pm.

Meaning they employ college students who are paid based on how.many people are on their "guest list" and allowed in without id?

What would they need an ID for?

By SwirlyGrrl on Sun, 01/02/2011 - 8:58pm.

The club does not serve alcohol.

Very few college students are under 18, and, even then, not for long.

Wrong! As usual people always

By anon on Mon, 01/03/2011 - 9:07pm.

Wrong! As usual people always commet on things that they dont know about. The only person at RISE that has a guestlist is usually the DJ and most of the time its just so that they dont have to stand in line, but still have to pay to get in.

As if I were Pete Nice

By Kaz on Sun, 01/02/2011 - 7:55pm.

Morda is a lying scumbag. Everything he said is false, because the police never lie to get their way. Rise should be closed indefinitely in no time.

That about it, Pete?

Did I ever say any of that?

By Pete Nice on Sun, 01/02/2011 - 8:25pm.

Or even speculate on anything? I wasn't there, I don't know Morda and I don't know the supervisor on scene or any of the reasons why they might have been there. I know from experience that the media blurbs that the Boston PD put out are usually 50% of what actually happened.

And who lied about anything? That the police thought there were 800 patrons? I havent' seen the report, and I haven't seen how they could even estimate how many people in there or if it even matters or was a criminal offense. Usually the Fire Department does that stuff and the club will probably only get in trouble for not having a fire permit.

We probably only know 1% of the story here.

"We probably only know 1% of the story here."

By anon on Sun, 01/02/2011 - 11:07pm.

That is clearly NOT the case. We have the BPDnews.com version which is from the BPD spokesmen, likely based on the incident report, and the people from the club who Adam interviewed.

WE ALL KNOW these two stories don't match up in important ways that go to the credibility of the officers and the credibility of the club owners. Feel free to cite the differences with exact quotes in a two column side by side comparison.

12 years? They've had this club open for 12 years and all of a sudden on a New Years Eve we've got massive safety violations. Thank god for the BPD... but for the officers on duty, who saved these under clad people who were not hiding booze on site from the club mangers who were, on advice from the BFD, putting up waiting lines on the sidewalk outside. Fuck all bullshit. What does that tell you when the club owners put up the sidewalk lines on advice of the Boston Fire Dept and the Boston Police Dept use it as a basis to claim the club managers are in violation of city bylaw?

Cops, and presumably ex-cops, are supposed to have good bullshit detectors. You fail miserably.

"We probably only know 1% of the story here" is a cop out, a big fat cop out from a bullshit artist with no bullshit detector who never knew an excuse too feeble to use it to excuse unethical behavior on behalf of a Boston Police Officer.

heh, cop out.

By Anon² on Mon, 01/03/2011 - 12:12am.

heh, cop out.

No such thing

By SwirlyGrrl on Mon, 01/03/2011 - 1:00pm.

If somebody with Keeler's record is still wandering around yelling ESCAPE IS FUTILE and blathering about scanty clothing like a junior high principal, there is no such thing as a "cop out" because there seems to be no way to force a cop out.

Keeler

By John-W on Mon, 01/03/2011 - 4:53pm.

Is this the guy?
IMAGE(http://content6.flixster.com/photo/39/57/97/3957976_gal.jpg)

Yeah, they should do something about him. Can't we get Bobcat Goldthwait instead?

Commissioner Davis set the

By Anonymous on Mon, 01/03/2011 - 5:07pm.

Commissioner Davis set the standard with 0% tolerance for testilying. The public can pressure him to stand by it or repeal it. Ignoring it is not an option.

I say that beacuase I've been to these types of things

By Pete Nice on Mon, 01/03/2011 - 7:48am.

And I've read the articles and anonymous blog posts, and the accused testimonies afterwards. They usually don't match up.

And if they really wanted to bust balls they would have sent in some unmarked officers way before this thing even started and made plenty of arrests for drugs, alcohol or whatever else.

Sounds about right

By Kaz on Sun, 01/02/2011 - 7:56pm.

Having had interactions similar to this with some of Boston's Finest before, I tend to think Morda's right on this one.

You are in good company Kaz.

By Pete Nice on Sun, 01/02/2011 - 8:33pm.

You, Morda, The Hells Angles, The crips, bloods, Brett and Swirly, anonymous,

I believe Morda. No doubt

By anon on Sun, 01/02/2011 - 8:44pm.

I believe Morda. No doubt about it. Sounds exactly right. I would bet my left nut on it.

Whit

Pete Nice nice is running out of people to blame

By anon on Sun, 01/02/2011 - 11:18pm.

You, Morda, The Hells Angles, The crips, bloods, Brett and Swirly, anonymous,

You can blame the club owners or the officers or make the case it was a misunderstanding but you can't blame the messengers. You seem to be drowning. You want a hand?

Careful, Whit

By Kaz on Sun, 01/02/2011 - 11:24pm.

You'll end up like Denis Leary (wait for it, he's near the end).

Like many citizens and taxpayers

By SwirlyGrrl on Sun, 01/02/2011 - 8:54pm.

We tend to remember disrespectful and condescending interactions and similar instances of unprofessional conduct when the police want something - like money, union contracts, excessive security demands and paid details for roadwork, etc.

Why do you think the cops in Medford don't have a contract and can't drum up the political pressure to push through their demands? Maybe it has to do with the number of people they have alienated?

Medford doesn't have a contract for the same reason Malden

By Pete Nice on Sun, 01/02/2011 - 9:07pm.

doesn't. Because those towns cannot afford to pay the benefits that were cut from the state which towns like Cambridge, Brookline, Wellesley or Newton has. You dont think the Cambridge police does the same thing Medford does? In the end you just end up with a lower quality of police officer.

And you forget that cities are 9/10 times for police details because they get a cut and becuase it allows more cops on the street.

I'm not suprised you didn't know this though.

Medford could pay for it

By SwirlyGrrl on Sun, 01/02/2011 - 9:14pm.

We don't because we have gone through years of unresponsive "why the fuck are you bothering me" responses to just about everything by the police.

If they behaved toward the public as if they were being paid by the public, they could have drummed up enough heat to get the public to pay for what they wanted. Medford has seriously low taxes, which the state understandably won't chip in to cover with local aid. The cops could work this into a prop 2.5 override request IF they hadn't annoyed a substantial percentage of long-time home owners with their shitty attitudes toward, say, cracking down on idiots cutting through neighborhoods at high speeds and blowing through stop signs and the like - not to mention ridiculous demands that a small event needs a detail officer or a historic site bike ride requires 3 paid officers to help.

Maybe they are giving you the old FU right back?

By Pete Nice on Sun, 01/02/2011 - 9:20pm.

Because they don't get what the other towns get. And Medford simply isn't the same as those other rich towns. Boston could pay for it too but they don't.

Besides, the things you are complaining about are things the top supervisors should be making officers do. Sounds like poor management and supervision instead of poor policing. Did the Chief get a raise? Did the supervisors? Unions aren't the ones who make sure people don't speed or blow through stop signs. Supervisors do that.

And don't get me started on "historic bike rides". You would be shocked at the amount of people who request to have road races and bike ridesthat simply shouldn't be on the main roads. I've seen a few of these that have been very dangerous because of the lack of a safe route.

Possibly

By SwirlyGrrl on Sun, 01/02/2011 - 9:27pm.

Being whiny and unprofessional and demanding isn't exactly going to get them any support for what they want from the people who foot the bill, now is it?

I don't really know the situation there.

By Pete Nice on Sun, 01/02/2011 - 9:40pm.

But usually the people that foot the bill don't really have a say. They can vote the contract down at Town Meeting if they wanted to, but mayors and town managers usually want to get these things done if they have the money.

If you want quality teachers, police or fire, you need to pay for it for the most part. Especially police officers whom you see jumping from department to department now because of the wide range of salaries that didn't exist 20 years ago.

Oye

By anon on Sun, 01/02/2011 - 11:10pm.

Medford doesn't have a contract for the same reason Malden doesn't. Because those towns cannot afford to pay the benefits that were cut from the state which towns like Cambridge,
By Pete Nice - 1/2/11 - 9:07 pm

I don't really know the situation there.
By Pete Nice - 1/2/11 - 9:40 pm

Great Club

By anon on Sun, 01/02/2011 - 9:08pm.

I have been to Rise many times, and can say without doubt it is one of the best run clubs I have ever visited. The owners have a commitment to quality in every aspect of its operation. The excellence of the music, the staff, and the space are obvious to anyone who visits.

It is absolutely absurd to think it is possible get 800 or 900 people inside the entire place, or 500 in the lounge area. They take safety issues very seriously. Once I was there and the fire alarms went off, everyone had to leave, despite the cold and that it was pretty clear it was an alarm malfunction, not a real problem.

Who was this police officer? Upset because girls were showing *too much* skin? He does not sound like any cop I have ever dealt with.

Even though the club is 'no

By BH on Mon, 01/03/2011 - 12:34am.

Even though the club is 'no alcohol', do they serve Red Bull or Mountain Dew?

I can barely make it past 1 o'clock with caffeine, let alone dancing til 6 a.m.

Energy to burn, I guess.

Yes

By anon #17 on Mon, 01/03/2011 - 11:01am.

Yes, they serve Red Bull

Meanwhile!

By cripes on Sun, 01/02/2011 - 9:45pm.

Meanwhile! Had something terrible tragic happened at the club, all you pearl-clutchers would be bitching that BPD wasn't doing their job.

This is what's called a NO WIN situation and earns a bold-face CRIPES.

And FYI: I think the truth is somewhere between the official BPD statement and the response from one of the club owners.

For example, the initial investigation was due to barricades, correct? If not set up properly, barricades can actually prohibit patrons from exiting the venue safely in an emergency -- never mind wheelchair victims and other passers-by who aren't in line for the club. Do many bouncers know how to do barricades with respect to all these factors? Probably not. That's why there's an advice element from COB when barricades are part of the facility entry process.

Except Rise hasn't been a

By anon on Sun, 01/02/2011 - 10:23pm.

Except Rise hasn't been a private club lately - they have public 18+ events from 9PM-1AM almost weekly now. Those people are welcome (and encouraged) to stay for the after hours that run from 1AM-6AM. This was also the case on NYE.

Barricades

By anon #17 on Sun, 01/02/2011 - 11:19pm.

It is not clear that the barricades were put there by the club. And by "barricades" I assume sawhorses. When I have been to Rise, there have been the type of rope barriers you see in a bank. Not something that would hinder an evacuation.

The BPD report states there was a line "extending the entire length of Stuart Street to the intersection of Arlington and Columbus Streets". That is not a "dangerously large crowd," that is less than a block. At certain times this administration - I mean you, Menino - gets into a mode of treating more than three people in a group as if they were plotting the overthrow of the government, or worse, an end to paid police details.

From the club co-owner

By adamg on Sun, 01/02/2011 - 11:43pm.

I asked Morda about that, sorry for not including it in my original post:

He said directly in front of the club entrance, they have stanchions and ropes - the kind that could easily be undone or knocked down in an emergency, such as a large number of people having to exit the club quickly (so, yes, the kind you'd see in a bank).

Further away from the entrance, they had metal barriers, the kind that look sort of like grates on their sides.

Again, he said both were installed at the request of the fire department. And he said neither hindered other pedestrians - people were walking up and down the street all night.

If the officer filed a false report, should he be fired?

By Anonymous on Mon, 01/03/2011 - 12:16am.

According to Commissioner Davis 0% tolerance for testlying, yes it is a firable offense.

If the officer's statement about the stanchions, ropes and metal barriers is factually incorrect and Morda can get his BFD contact to corroborate his story, the officer who filed the false report has a job security problem. I don't care if he loses his job or not, I care if he's willing to be honest as an officer of the law hired to serve and protect.

I care if they are all committed to being honest, in all cases.

There's no such thing as a

By cripes on Mon, 01/03/2011 - 2:50am.

There's no such thing as a "job security problem[s]" for officers found falsifying reports. It's characterized as a "mistaken recollection." Once you have the badge, you're set for life.

To wit: Lawrence F. O'Donnell, Jr.'s book Deadly Force, on the 1975 murder of James Bowden by BPD officers assigned to the now-dissolved TPF (Tactical Patrol Force). Officers Edward Holland and Dennis McKenna, especially Mr. McKenna, were key players in what has been determined by more than one jury as wrongful death.

Yet, Boston's Irish police force, under the leadership and encouragement of then-Commissioner Joseph Jordan, covered up the murder of the "colored boy." This included obfuscation of court-ordered paperwork transfers, deletion of official police tapes and outright lies by sworn officers under oath. The union even threatened a city-wide strike when, some six years after the second judgement of wrongful death, the O'Donnell law firm attempted to collect jury-awarded damages for the widow Bowden.

Things don't change in this town. They only go underground. The scene in The Town where the cop on the north side of the bridge turns his head away from the nuns changing vehicles? To anyone who knows anything, the joke was not in his head-turn, it was in what the movie didn't show. A few days later, that cop woudl have got in his letterbox a bundle wrapped brown paper. Just a small cash gift of "gratitude" for his "discretion."

The slime burrows down, out of sight of the greater enemy: the parasitic, invasive, nouveau-haute-bourgeois class that prefers to distance itself from the reality of human nature -- and of the town they've invaded. It's as if enough granola bars, bike lanes, community task force meetings, shade trees and god-damn-mother-fucking tofu will cure this cursed town of its social ills.

Cripes.

BFD contract?

By Pete Nice on Mon, 01/03/2011 - 7:53am.

Ha. I'll buy you a drink if there was a BFD contract.

and Morda can get his BFD

By anon on Mon, 01/03/2011 - 10:32am.

and Morda can get his BFD contact to corroborate his story

Contact. Not contract. Dope.

No tolerance

By Sock_Puppet on Mon, 01/03/2011 - 11:16am.

It's easy to have no tolerance for things you refuse to see.

Boston cop training:
Day 1: Lying
Day 2: Getting away with it

Sgt. Keeler only missed Day 3: How much this fucks up your prosecutions if you make a habit of it.

Keeler will never end up doing time or seeing any consequences for his misbehavior. He was put off homicide just because they can't base a case on the testimony of a proven liar. He'll keep framing people, brutalizing people, lying about it, and eventually retire "for health reasons" and enjoy a fat pension.

Police work is a great gig for a sociopath.

Well, well, well. Look who

By BH on Mon, 01/03/2011 - 4:12am.

Well, well, well.

Look who the Sgt. was...none other than Dan Keeler.

That puts everything in a whole new light.

http://bostonherald.com/news/regional/view.bg?arti...

Mr. Homicide

By Kaz on Mon, 01/03/2011 - 9:00am.

Here's an article Boston Magazine did on "Mr. Homicide" and his fall from grace.

a whole new light

By Anonymous on Mon, 01/03/2011 - 3:04pm.

All it tells you is that he's abused his authority before and how he does is. It tells you BPD cant get rid of the bad apples a truly disheartening fact. He shouldn't be on the street.

We already has a pretty clear picture of how he acted in this incident.

If the article "Mr. homicide" was posted here, no doubt Pete Nice would post comment after comment claiming we don't have enough information to make a judgment and that we should definitely give the cop the benefit of the doubt.

The SGt is Sgt Keeler and he has a shady history:

By anon on Mon, 01/03/2011 - 7:23am.

From the phoenix:

"In that same case, the defense attorney forced Keeler to admit to making false statements in an affidavit seeking search warrants — which some consider even more damaging to his credibility in future trials.

In December 2004, a jury acquitted one of the two men accused of killing 10-year-old Trina Persad in 2002. The judge stopped the trial while the jury was still deliberating on the other defendant, Joseph Cousin, due to allegations that jurors had lied on their forms. It was yet another high-profile murder case Keeler appeared to solve that later unraveled in court.

Moved to the side

In addition to the headline-grabbing acquittals, still other issues haunted Keeler.

In September 2002, Keeler shot a murder suspect (John Powell) in the head in the middle of a busy street (Humboldt Ave., Roxbury). The shooting was ruled justified, and the man was later convicted of murder. But it raised questions about his judgment. Keeler was also rebuked for a December 2003 incident in which he ignored a suspect’s request for an attorney while questioning him in his hospital bed.

Over the years, Keeler has become the subject of several lawsuits. While investigating the murder of Jose Deveiga, two officers under Keeler’s command pulled an innocent man from his home, in his underwear and bound in handcuffs, with television cameras rolling. The man, Carlos Pineda, is suing Keeler and the officers. Attorney Stephen Hrones sued Keeler in 2003 for slander...."

http://www.blackstonian.com/news/dirty_cops.html

making false statements in an affidavit

By Anonymous on Mon, 01/03/2011 - 3:08pm.

"In that same case, the defense attorney forced Keeler to admit to making false statements in an affidavit seeking search warrants

Making false statements in an affidavit is a sufficient reason to fire him. An affidavit is every much an official document as an incident report. C'mon Commissioner Davis, clean up the swamp of the hacks who abuse their authority in ways that harm not protect the public. Zero tolerance, remember?

Keeler went after lesbian bar in 1980

By anon on Mon, 01/03/2011 - 7:51am.

According to BPD internal-affairs documents obtained by the Phoenix, Keeler got into trouble as a recruit. According to the complaints, Keeler and a BPD officer — both off-duty, drunk, and belligerent — bullied workers and patrons at the Somewhere lesbian bar on June 3, 1980. “We’re fucking cops and we’ll do what we want around here and I’ll grab whoever I want,” Keeler allegedly said. He also, according to the complaints, threatened to get city agencies to close the bar; told another woman, “I’m going to kill you, I’m going to get you”; and grabbed another woman by her breasts. He received a four-day suspension, according to documents in the internal-investigation file.

Rise used to be kind of a gay

By anon on Mon, 01/03/2011 - 10:39am.

Rise used to be kind of a gay bar did it not? Wonder if Keeler saw some girl-on-girl action and didn't like it? Maybe man-on-man? It is odd to get upset about bared midriffs unless they are bared in a way an all-american male doesn't care for.

Whit

Mixed

By anon #17 on Mon, 01/03/2011 - 12:35pm.

The crowd has varied over the years and depending on the night. Lately it has been mostly, but not exclusively, straight. On any given night you are going to find a mix, and yeah, you might well see guys with guys, girls with girls, dancing and making out. Same goes for straight couples. No one is doing anything that you don't see in any other club. People are dancing and having a good time.

Apologies for re-posting a

By Manos on Mon, 01/03/2011 - 9:58am.

Apologies for re-posting a comment from the Herald, but I believe it's relevant.

"My money is on Morda. Did anyone else notice the name of the Sgt. Detective that shut down this party? It's none other than Daniel "Mr. Homicide" Keeler, the disgraced former homicide detective who was demoted after losing all credibility and becoming such a liability that prosecutors refused to call him as a witness.

In case you've forgotten Keeler's career lowlights, here's a recap: Grabbed a bar patron by the breasts and threatened to kill her. Admitted under oath to falsifying a police report. Was caught on video pocketing a pair of sunglasses while investigating a robbery at an eyewear store. Failed to provide exculpatory evidence to prosecutors, as required by law. Boasted on national TV about convicting a man for murder... later, the man was proven to be innocent.

Maybe Keeler was just pissed that Morda didn't pay the $40/hr in protection money to hire a police detail for the club that night."

Well, isn't that interesting?

Admitted under oath to falsifying a police report.

By Anonymous on Mon, 01/03/2011 - 3:12pm.

Zero tolerance Commissioner Davis. Boston taxpayers should NOT be paying this man's salary nor should he be wearing a badge when he can't be trusted to exercise the power that come with it judiciously and prudently.

It's about time.

By J.T. on Mon, 01/03/2011 - 10:43am.

It's about time that this place was raided, they have had a free hand for far to long. It is all a veil that this is a "private" club, anyone that goes out in Boston at night, knows that it is simple to get in there without a membership. They use every loophole in the book to get people in there and still remain untouchable by the law.

Look

By Kaz on Mon, 01/03/2011 - 11:16am.

They just didn't want to let you in because you were being a douche. It's ok; there'll be other clubs, man.

I bet you also hate that Gold's Gym needs membership too, even though anyone who wants to check the place out on any given day can probably get a "freebie" from the gym's recruiter that day...

you have to admit, the idea

By anon on Mon, 01/03/2011 - 2:10pm.

you have to admit, the idea that Rise is a "private" club is pretty much a joke now. But there's no other way to have a real late-night venue, so as long as they are following the letter of the law I don't mind.

No alcohol? High on Life?

By O-FISH-L on Tue, 01/04/2011 - 2:42am.

If no alcohol is served at this "private club", what is the stimulant of choice? Are we expected to believe that people, whether 300 or 800, are flocking here on New Years Eve to get high on life? PLEASE! Sounds like the patrons know more than their prayers. Strong work by Sgt. Keeler in shutting them down. After seeing the Wilkerson-Turner tapes, one has to wonder why higher authorities in the city didn't act sooner.

Just because you need pills

By J on Tue, 01/04/2011 - 3:01am.

Just because you need pills to get you through the day, doesnt mean the rest of us do.

All I need to have a good time, including dancing until 6am is a large dinner and water.

It's a shame you need stimulants to give yourself a good evening. Perhaps you should talk to someone about that?

Alcohol isn't a stimulant

By anononpurpose on Tue, 01/04/2011 - 7:59am.

Duh.

WTF?

By SwirlyGrrl on Tue, 01/04/2011 - 8:23am.

If no alcohol is served at this "private club", what is the stimulant of choice?

Um, between this and an obsession with the president's birth certificate, I get the impression that a certain ex-cop destroyed more than a few brain cells drinking his way through night shifts "just trying to stay awake".

For the record, alcohol is a central nervous system depressant. In other words, you don't drink alcohol if you want to stay awake all night. Seems like every high school kid knows that.

Aside from the logical fallacy that "not drinking" = "must be doing drugs".

Alcohol is biphasic, with both stimulant and sedative effects

By O-FISH-L on Tue, 01/04/2011 - 9:36pm.

SwirlyGrl, stay classy! High school kids might know that alcohol is a central nervous system depressant but college kids (and medical researchers) have long known that it's biphasic with both stimulative and sedative effects depending on body chemistry, rate and amount of consumption. Back to my initial point, with the BPD reporting finding bottles of alcohol and a number of Yelp posts discussing the availability / presence of drugs at this place, I applaud the BPD's vigilance.

As for President Obama's birth certificate, it seems like far-left MSNBC host Chris Matthews and newly elected lefty Gov. Neil Abercrombie (D-HI) are far more concerned about it than me. Matthews is now calling for POTUS to release the elusive BC while Abercrombie is promising to do just that! I admit that I'm still curious why Obama is spending millions in legal fees to conceal a $15 document but I'll let Matthews and Abercrombie carry the torch for now.

Wrong

By SwirlyGrrl on Tue, 01/04/2011 - 9:55pm.

Nice urban legend(s). Small amounts of alcohol an cause positive alterations in mood, but this is not the same as CNS stimulating. Not according to my pathophysiology text book, anyway - the one I used while a medical researcher? Which I happen to be?

And Obama already released his birth certificate - the long form printout that has the EXACT same format that the State Department required me to get for each of my sons (they don't take the handwritten originals).

you give O-FISK-L way too much credit

By Anon321 on Tue, 01/04/2011 - 9:54pm.

Rush Limbaugh was his source for the claim alcohol is biphasic.

Vigilant? Hardly.

By Kaz on Tue, 01/04/2011 - 10:37pm.

Back to my initial point, with the BPD reporting finding bottles of alcohol and a number of Yelp posts discussing the availability / presence of drugs at this place, I applaud the BPD's vigilance.

The cop went inside (probably in violation of a court order) to bitch at the owner about the line devices outside. He has no evidence of drugs or alcohol other than what he claims (right after lying about how many people were inside) and nobody, including the club, was cited for drugs or alcohol. So, vigilance? Drugs and alcohol? Get real. I'm not even saying none o that was going on in there, but you're just VASTLY overstating reality and attributing bullshit justifications to a bad cop's cock-up. Way to be an enabler and part of the problem.

Fire Department won't cite club for overcrowding

By adamg on Tue, 01/04/2011 - 6:25am.

Because fire inspectors didn't get there until after the place was largely emptied out, the Herald reports.

Wow. Just, wow.

By Kaz on Tue, 01/04/2011 - 8:53am.

But Boston police spokeswoman Elaine Driscoll said, “We still stand by our report, absolutely.” She said police, who did not file charges, are determining how to proceed.

How they probably won't proceed: "Keeler, you're busted to desk duty. You're lucky you're not fired. We can't trust you on the street any more."

Not a SINGLE CHARGE, Pete. Not one. So much for Keeler-the-Closer. Gee, do you think he might have known that if he emptied the place before the Fire Marshall arrived he could get what he wanted without actually having anything stick? I hope the club sues the police department for violation of the court order AND lost revenue on what was likely one of their biggest nights of the year. I'd love to see the expired permit end up being some sort of clerical mix-up on the part of the fire department too.

what's the arguemnt Kaz?

By Anonymous on Tue, 01/04/2011 - 6:41pm.

If Keeler closed the club down on New Year's Eve for safety violations

and did it in a way that did not secure evidence of the safety violations so that the suspect party could be subject to the laws that govern safety

then that officer failed to gather the compelling evidence or had no compelling evidence to gather.

Fire Department DOES cite club for overcrowding

By adamg on Tue, 01/04/2011 - 3:31pm.

Update: Statement from Fire Commissioner Roderick Fraser; just in.

Keeler will probably get away

By anon #17 on Tue, 01/04/2011 - 4:04pm.

Keeler will probably get away with it. It is appalling that an officer with such an awful record can disrupt and shut down a private business. Not sure if this will show up in the comments, but if you want a look at the location, 306 Stuart, here it is, via Google's street view. The entrance to Rise is directly behind the tree. The Columbus/Arlington intersection is to the left. I'm surprised Keeler didn't accuse the owners of planting the tree and blocking the entry.

View Larger Map">

Honestly, the fact that it

By mshark on Thu, 01/06/2011 - 5:06am.

Honestly, the fact that it was shut down sucks. The way that the police treated patrons as the were asked to exit was atrocious. I witnessed a large police officer physicality accost a patron as he left because he "stepped on his shoe." or so the officer said. Officer: "you stepped on my shoe." patron: "I did? I'm sorry." Officer: "F*ck me?? no f*ck you!!!" and then proceeded to hit the patron in the head. What is wrong with the police these days honestly? You expect our respect? Then act like human beings....

Stuart Street club: Out-of-control sergeant went berserk New Year's Eve

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