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Theater District club ordered shut for overserving teen who then fell to his death from a parking garage
By adamg on Wed, 06/29/2016 - 1:06pm
A night out on the town for four Tufts freshmen in April ended with one dead on the ground next to a Theater District garage. Now the club that let them reserve a table and share bottles of champagne and vodka has been hit with suspensions lasting more than a year for that and two other incidents involving underage drinkers.
Icon, 100B Warrenton St., can appeal the Boston Licensing Board's license suspension to the state Alcoholic Beverages Control Commission.
The board levied a five-day punishment for the underage serving that was followed by the student's death the same day it also hit the club with a total of a year and ten days suspension for serving other underage drinkers on two occasions in the month after the teen's death.
Under the board's rules, punishments build on each other - the five-day suspension for the incident involving the death led to a ten-day suspension for an incident on April 8 and then a year-long suspension for yet another incident on May 1.
At a hearing last week, a Boston Police detective testified Alex Bhak, 18, of New York City, had a fake Connecticut license when he and three freshman friends - also armed with fake out-of-state IDs - arrived at Icon around 11 p.m. on April 1 to claim the table they had reserved through Icon's Web site. The four used a credit card to pay $1,006.20 for the table, their own server and a bottle of champagne and a bottle of vodka, the detective said.
When Icon closed at 2 a.m., now on April 2, the four made their way to the Tufts Medical Center parking garage at 274 Tremont St. Around 2:15 a.m. Bhak toppled over a barrier on the sixth or seventh level and fell to the ground, dying on contact, police say.
In a letter to the board, Bhak's mother, Karyn, pleaded for Boston to do something to keep any other kids from dying like her son did - on his first trip ever to a club, using a fake license he bought online:
Within a few hours at Icon, our child had a blood-alcohol level that was far in excess of the legal limit, based on analysis directed by the Medical Examiner's office. Video footage of Alex in the nearby parking garage shows him to be disoriented, unsteady on his feet and vomiting. At approximately 2:15 a.m., Alex fell to his death onto the street below from the 6th or 7th floor of that parking garage. ....
Boston is home to many colleges and universities where thousands of students are under the legal drinking age. These kids, who are often living away from home for the first time, are young and naive - and therefore vulnerable to the lure of easy access to bars and to drinking in the City. Establishments such as Icon exploit this for commercial gain and it must be stopped. We urge the Board to consider stricter requirements and more rigorous procedures for entry into the City's bars and clubs. The reality is that fake IDs are easily attainable via the internet and most college students have them. In this case, Icon employees could have simply asked for a second form of ID, which would have shown that these kids were not of legal drinking age. Icon employees could have simply asked them their address or zip code on the fake IDs, and their inability to answer would have demonstrated that these were not their real identities. These are simple and easily undertaken requirements that could save lives in this City with thousands of underage students. At minimum, we implore the Board to hold Icon Bar accountable, to the fullest extent, in violation of their license for failure to thoroughy inspect an ID and having served and over-served a minor, namely our wonderful and dearly missed son Alex.
BPD licensing detectives routinely advise clubs to take such steps with young looking patrons. However, a BPD detective testified that just five days after Bhak died, an unscheduled inspection showed three more underage drinkers, this time from Emerson, Emmanuel and Northeastern, in the bar. Two of the three said they just walked in - they were never asked for ID.
And in another incident, on May 1, police said, two underage college students from Florida said they waited for a large group to enter the club and then just shuffled in as if they were part of the group. Police found them with vodka drinks.
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Comments
This would never have happened
If the student didn't consciously decide to buy a fake ID and break the law by going to ICON in the first place.
Yes, the club is at fault too for serving, but the mother here needs to understand her son was at fault also.
blaming the victim? classy
yes, the kid made his choices, but it is insane that 18 year olds - people who generally have no tolerance or knowledge of their tolerance may be - would be given bottles of alcohol. bottle service is a terrible idea because it does not allow bar staff to effectively monitor how drunk their clients are getting and if they need to be cut off.
that said, bars in this city are pretty awful about being ethical with overserved patrons. my wife recently begged a bartender to stop serving a friend of hers who was way too drunk. the bartender refused to cut off her friend saying "she is a good tipper" and also refused to give her water.
What victim?
The adult knowingly acquired the false document. The adult knowingly consumed the alcohol. The adult fell on his own power from a parking garage.
The guy who died is the victim
vic·tim
ˈviktəm/
noun
a person harmed, injured, or killed as a result of a crime, accident, or other event or action.
synonyms: sufferer, injured party, casualty
Only victim here is the bar.
Only victim here is the bar. There is proof that only one of them knowingly broke the law, and that is the poor individual that died.
The Adult
The adult who owned the club willingly entered a law that states they are on the hook for the other adult's death. They willingly signed up for that. They willingly served them alcohol under accordance with that law. They willingly overserved them. Don't like those laws? Cool, don't agree to them and open a place that serves liquor!
18 year olds are adults
Period.
If they can't behave themselves, they need to go home where mommy can grow them up.
That having been said
The bartender who refused to give your friend water is a piece of (expletive) and a disgrace to the many fine people and longtime friends I have in the profession.
Also a fool
I have friends who join groups but order water from the bar.
They leave $5 tips for the server's trouble.
bullshit
No bartender would ever refuse to give someone water, nor would they keep serving b/c the person is a good tipper. What bar? What date?
I call BS as well
Patron is supposedly a good tipper and bartender refuses to give water? Yeah ok.
Just because something is heinous doesn't mean it's untrue
https://yourlogicalfallacyis.com/personal-incredulity
And yet you offer no evidence
And yet you offer no evidence for your rather unbelievable claims. Hurray for anecdotes !
Not my claim
Nice try though.
Not Bullshit
Any establishment that serves food is required by law to provide water for free. On the other hand, bars and nightclubs that do not serve food can refuse tap water and only offer bottled water at a charge.
Not saying that's right at all, but that could be the reason.
Charging for water is not
Charging for water is not refusing water. I cannot imagine any bar refusing to serve water to a patron, whether that patron is a good tipper or not.
Well...
Well, unfortunately it happens more often than not at most nightclubs.
If true
They're going to the wrong bar.
I've seen it in action when people have been turned away from the door for already being inebriated.
I've also seen patrons told they've had enough.
I've also seen, patron depending (typically a regular and friend of the bar staff) cabs called, paid for, and the overly drunk patron/friend rolled/folded up into the back seat with address given to the driver. I suspect generous tip as well as assistance is typically needed on the other end.
There are bars out there that do their best. They do get into trouble with the board, I'm not going to paint a rosey picture, but they do try to take their responsibility seriously.
What about this story says
What about this story says anyone but the victim is at blame? This will sound very crass and rude, but people sometimes do stupid things and sometimes those stupid things lead to fatal accidents. Maybe the fake ID he bought looked very real, maybe we had 2 or 3 drinks, which was more than he can handle, but wouldn't qualify as over serving under normal circumstances. I don't know how he ended up falling over the railing, and I'm sure he absolutely did not deserve to pass that way. But sometimes. it is the victims fault.
An 18 yr old is an adult
Now that we have set that straight.
This victimization is just a way of deflecting and assigning blame onto a third party.
YOU bought the id, YOU went to a bar, YOU drank way too much and YOU fell to your death.
A young person died, it's a sad thing, but let's not just absolve people from their actions. Staying safe and not endangering yourself is YOUR responsibility as an adult.
If you are old enough...
To volunteer to give up your life in service to your country
You are old enough to accept the consequences of your own action when it comes to alcohol.
This MAN broke the law.
This MAN chose to do that.
And if you are old enough to
And if you are old enough to do that then you should be old enough to drink legally. 18 is an adult but 21 to drink has never made any sense to me.
Torn
I'll acknowledge that this poor guy should not have been let in, should not have been served, and should not have been over-served. The club is at fault.
But you're right, BullDetector, the deceased was not kidnapped and forced to drink against his will.
Also, he was 18 - he's an adult. A young adult, but an adult nonetheless.
There are two questions:
There are two questions:
1) Should the bar be financially liable to the dead kid's family?
2) Should the bar be penalized by the government for not taking underage drinking more seriously?
Even if you believe the kid is not a victim of the bar, it's arguable whether the bar has not been diligent about underage drinking, and deserves a year-long penalty for that.
Who gave the kid the money?
Shouldn't that person harbor some blame also?
As someone who has worked in
As someone who has worked in this industry for a long time, and has been in charge of checking thousands of id's...this is pretty straight fwd.
This is an extremely egregious case. 4 18 year olds? Do you know what 18 year olds look like? They look like babies. Any doorman with the slightest bit of experience wouldve spotted those dudes a mile a away.
I would guess they had a hookup there or that club particularly didnt give a fuck at all about who came in. This is not the same as other cases where someone underage has got a drink in a bar where the mistake was more understandable.
Its certainly not a reflection on this city as a whole. MA is prob the last state in the country you wanna attempt to use a fake id at. Regardless - if this happens youre getting shut down, and any bar worker knows that.
Are the other people in that group of fake IDs
partially culpable in the death? They participated, they didn't protect someone impaired by that, they knew what they were doing was criminal.
No they aren't
And they shouldn't be. America has a hard on for locking up every one possible.
You want to protect kids from alcohol?
How about throwing the dead kid's three friends in jail for using fraudulent identification to illegally obtain alcohol? There's no alcohol in there, they'll be nice and safe from alcohol, and the community will be safe from lying scumbag criminals.
It's not the club's fault that your son is an alcoholic, lady. Thank you to the commenter above for blaming criminals for committing crimes. Go to college in Europe or Canada next time, you boozebags.
Yes, everybody who gets drunk is an alcoholic
At least in your world, because you seem to have been born completely color blind and so are incapable of seeing shades of gray.
I realize it's hard for you to understand, because you live in a world of perfection and have never in your perfect life made a mistake, but an 18-year-old getting drunk at a bar for the first time in his life is not necessarily an alcoholic, he's just an 18-year-old kid doing something stupid. And since we don't live in some Randian dystopia yet, there are people who have a legal responsibility to keep that from happening. If you don't like it, tough, but don't get a liquor license in this state.
Come on, Gaffin
I didn't say everybody who gets drunk is an alcoholic, you did. I'm no clinician, but I think knowingly obtaining a fake document for the explicit purpose of defrauding somebody to obtain alcohol indicates a problem.
I don't know if I live in a world of perfection, but I know damn well that I get to claim moral superiority over these four, for I never used a fake ID to obtain alcohol.
somebody's fist, your face
surely that last sentence lets you lay claim to have the most punchable face in Boston. hell, i don't even know you and i'm positive that it's true. moral superiority.... please.... cram it you loser!
Most punchable face in Boston
I nominate Bill Linehan.
I will admit, Will....
I will admit, Will....
You're morally superior to scumquistador.
Also, I had a fake ID over ten years ago just like many others my age. I'm sure over ten years from now, it'll be an issue still. I'll accept my moral inferiority, I guess. Judge not lest ye be judged on internet comment sections, as the old saying goes.
You didn't say everyone who drinks is an alcoholic, but you jumped to an awful lot of conclusions,* and then got mad at other internet commenters (or admins) when they called you out on it.
*You called the deceased an alcoholic. I agreed with your post above that the adult victim has to have some personal responsibility here, but dying of an alcohol-related death does not make one an alcoholic. You also mentioned above you know a lot of bartenders... do you spend a lot of time in bars? Perhaps more often than an 18 year old would be spending? Would it be wrong for me to conclude you are an alcoholic as well using your own morally superior logic?
Seriously?
"It's not the club's fault that your son is an alcoholic, lady."
Did you just call the 18 year old an alcoholic on the basis of this one story? Could you be any more callous? Actually, you know what, I think I already know the answer to that question.
How about...
"Your son is a criminal, lady. Try taking some responsibility for raising him that way and stop trying to pass the blame to others"
Why on earth should the bar
Why on earth should the bar be blamed for actions of 18 year old MAN outside of the venue?! He clearly made conscious choice of getting a fake ID himself before getting drunk.
Bars should ONLY be punished for allowing entrance for patrons utilizing fake government document and having set HIGH monetary fine for each found occurrence.
You may not like it, but that's the law
At least in Massachusetts, bars have long been held responsible for what their patrons do after they leave - there have been court rulings and everything.
In this case, the board ruled the bar compounded its initial error of letting him in to begin with (a violation of state law) by not cutting him off - there's also a law against overserving patrons, regardless of age.
Yes, personal responsibility and all that, but the board determined this bar broke two state laws and, in doing so, had a role in this poor kid's death. Fun fact: When you get a liquor license, you have to designate an official manager. And when that manager goes before the board for approval, one of the things he or she has to do is affirm they understand the rules and regulations of the commonwealth of Massachusetts on the sale and service of alcohol - you know, like not letting 18-year-olds drink or letting customers drink so heavily they can't walk straight.
"This poor kid"
Yeah it sucks this guy died, but it's too bad the poor bar owner can't sue this a-holes parents (you know, since he's just a kid) for going out of his way to obtain false identification (a felony) and entering their establishment with the explicit purpose of breaking the law.
Meh
I'll side with the bar on this one. The guy and his friends dropped a thousand dollars on a table and drinks. Is someone supposed to sit there and hold their hands the whole night? The kid did something illegal, and unfortunately paid for it with his life. If a bar serves a guy until he's wasted, and he then mows someone down in his car, then yes the venue should hold some responsibility.
One time when we were young we went to Milky Way in JP. We were served Gold Schlager, beer and other things. After we left I got in a car with a friend who was drunk and driving crazy. At the time, to us kids (pretending to be adults) it was funny. Thankfully no one lost their life that night, or any other night as far as our circle was concerned. But I certainly don't think my family should've been able to sue or go after the Milky Way if the worst happened, since I made those stupid decisions. Condolences to this young man and his family.
Can we stop with this whole
Can we stop with this whole calling adult aged people kids? 18 year olds are not kids. They are young adults. And while they still have some maturing to do, we should consider them responsible for their own actions.
They're kids
No, they're not 5. But an 18-year-old college freshman? Still a kid in many ways - legally, when it comes to the consumption of alcohol.
i respectfully disagree
if you can die serving your country at 18 then you're an adult.
but you're other points above are totally valid... 18 year old's are very young adults and do tons of stupid things. i sure did.
I agree and disagree with you
Primarily because the brain has not yet completed forming at age 18.
here is some reading for you:
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=141164708
from: http://hrweb.mit.edu/worklife/youngadult/brain.html
And from http://mentalhealthdaily.com/2015/02/18/at-what-age-is-the-brain-fully-d...
Maybe we need to rethink when kids can sign up for the armed forces.
My kids are the same age as yours
The US drinking age is on a par with those few Islamic countries that allow alcohol. It stands alone as very high amongst developed countries.
The bar overserved this young man and bears some responsibility. However, one reason this man got into this mess was that he had no idea what he was doing, and that probably has nothing to do with being eighteen. I get the impression that the mother expected the larger world to create a safe zone for her son that was free of alcohol, despite his adult age, despite his going to college, despite the pathological drinking behavior that high drinking ages engender at colleges, and that may have contributed to this tragedy as well.
We allow our grown sons to share wine/beer at home with us if we have a bottle/growler going at dinner. This is legal in Massachusetts. They have ordered their own drinks legally in Montreal and in Europe when they were of age for those locations. Consequently, they have not consumed to excess even when surrounded by people who were doing so (said people having gotten in serious trouble) because they knew what it does to their bodies before they were handed strong drink under stronger peer pressure. That isn't to say that they will never get shitfaced drunk and hurl in their later years, but they have some idea about pacing themselves, consuming food, and not having to drink because their friends are. These are skills that parents should teach to kids - and they can be taught even if you don't actually serve them. "No! You aren't 21!" isn't helpful, and "how dare they serve my little boy" isn't either.
If we are going to blame society here, lets blame an environment where the very restrictions on alcohol at ages unheard of in other countries create pressures to drink too much when opportunity strikes. The reality is that alcohol is all around young people and they need to know how to navigate that world, whether parents like it or not.
Arguments about "brain not finished yet" are completely moot - or they advance the argument that young people shouldn't be sneaking off to tank and pre-game but should be ordering by the beer instead.
Not very clear cut on the
Not very clear cut on the parent issue...
http://www.berkshireeagle.com/ci_22758080/massachusetts-underage-drinkin...
SJC made it very clear cut - Your Article is Outdated
http://www.berkshireeagle.com/ci_23516754/state-supreme-court-clarifies-...
Notice the date - June 22, 2013 was after the SJC clarified the interpretation of the law.
Can't serve your underage child's underage friends - very reasonable, always the case.
You can serve your own kid. Period.
Only the DA who was bent on making an example of this dad and to nullify legislative intent interpreted this law in a such a strange and tortuous way, amok the original intent.
This was resolved by the SJC in favor of Parent, the parent. It is now quite clear. Your article was from three months before that case completed its journey. When doing a google search, you have to read down the list and check the dates - the first one up isn't the most recent, or the most definitive.
Reactionary
I'll bite.
Said argument was in relation to the side argument of calling 18 year olds kids vs adults. Not about whether they should be drinking or not.
This. Whenever a strictly brought up HS graduate is headed away to college, conversations and whispers occur that they will either stay the course of their upbringing or, the more likely, go way, way, WAY overboard in enjoying the fruits of their freedom away from mom and pop.
There are those who will argue that because of the latest science the drinking age is appropriate. Personally, and like you it seems, I believe that the more you make something seem a mystery and exotic, the more tempting it is. And, the more likely it is to be abused.
Swirly may be the best parent in the game
Other than my own, of course.
Exactly. That's why the
Exactly. That's why the drinking age is 21 not 18. You are a teenager at 18 and teenagers sometimes make bad decisions.
Actually, no
The drinking age is 21 due to a misplaced and fallacious belief that treating adults like children solves anything.
What it does lead to is this: sneaking, lying, hiding, and over-indulging/binging/"pre-gaming".
Again, look at drinking ages across the world. What do you see? US is in there with the few islamic states that allow alcohol. All other developed countries are 19 and lower.
Far better that they learn something when they are still at home, and take those habits off to college and into the world with them.
Far better that access for ages 18-21 be controlled by "bar only" service than controlled by nothing effective.
Actually, not quite
The drinking age is 21 because of a federal law passed in the 70's or 80's that denied highway funding to states allowing drinking at 18. It was politicians bowing to pressure from MADD that made that law happen. And it's a strongly federalist Supreme Court that allowed it to continue.
Undo that federal law, and states will come up with more practical regulations.
I thought table service wasnt
I thought table service wasnt allowed in MA
Well
Happy Hour certainly isn't
bottle service
bottle service is legal, and still relatively strict. usually each table has its own server, who must pour every drink out of that bottle. most places are very strict about it as they know the money they make off it is not worth giving up because of a license violation. im surprised any club on warrenton street still seems loosely regulated as far as staff goes--the police and licensing board are ALWAYS there. place is a mess!
I've done bottle service before
They bring them over then you're own your own. You typically don't see the bottle girls again until you need another.
scauma... name the place.....
scauma... name the place..... because that is completely inaccurate for the state of MA.... NY MIAMI VEGAS yes.... BOSTON no. wines may be left at the table. But spirits are not to be left.
You haven't done bottle
You haven't done bottle service in Boston then. The customer doesn't get to handle the bottle of hard liquor, and if the bottle girl leaves, she takes the bottle with her. It is more akin to having your own "personal bartender" than true bottle service. Only exception is if you ordered champagne - you can handle/serve that yourself.
Most other cities, however, have real bottle service where you're on your own with the bottle.
It is allowed, with restrictions
At least in Boston, you have to go before the licensing board for an extension to your license and you have to show how you're going to keep patrons from just grabbing a bottle and guzzling the whole thing down.
This may be a stretch, but I
This may be a stretch, but I want to know is just how good these fake IDs were? Did they scan with a reader? Did they include actual pictures of the minors? Did they have the correct holograms?
Edited to add: an ID that scans and includes legitimate photos are much harder to spot as a fake rather than obtaining a friend's old ID that is vaguely similar in looks.
Ordered online
Don't know if Icon has a scanner, but you can now buy fakes with strips that read out OK on scanners now. There are still ways to tell fakes - they tend to crinkle in a way that real IDs don't when you bend them a little.
Much easier in the old days
Much easier in the old days when you could just go to your local RMV with an older persons stuff; bank book, etc.. and get a license with their info and your picture!
I did it and used it for a good while. Memorized the persons social and signature and boy, did it come in handy when quizzed by rent a cops up Hampton Beach Casino (saw Talking Heads back in the day - they were great). My only error was I passed the eye exam, where my friend had glasses.
Getting into mag stripes and stuff is serious.
CHeck this out
http://chfake.com/buy-massachusetts-fake-id/
Seriously easy to get a good quality fake. Crazy stuff.
it is easy to get a fake Texas ID too
Here is how easy it is to get a fake passport on the dark net: http://www.vocativ.com/241487/fake-passport-prices-black-market/
Here is how easy it is to buy a fake drivers license: http://fakelandia.com/
Do you really think when illegals go to vote all their ID is thoroughly checked to see if its fake or not??
You have between 11 million and 25 million illegals in US right now. Many of them have fake IDs. If only 1 in 7 decides to vote, that amounts to ~3 million illegal votes.
And 1 in 7 would be a very conservative estimate. You know its probably (a lot) higher
Really
There are a lot of sites that provide fake ID service... 1st result in google by 'fake id' idhurry.com... So seems like this is a good business..
In a parkinthh garage … then what
These einsteins reserved a table with the goal of getting drunk, did just that, and then what? Went to s parking garage for the trip home. If this youngster hadn't tipped over the side, they'd have been slaloming their way back to Medford.
$1000 for bottle service but they couldn't split a cab?
The bar clearly has a history
The bar clearly has a history of not bothering to check IDs. Look at the end of the story - just 5 days after this incident, there were underage drinkers there who hadn't been carded.
As to moral liability, one of the first things I taught my non-drinking son when he went off to college was his responsibility to friends who had drunk too much. Given that he was likely to be the clearest-headed person in the room if someone passed out or was acting to endanger themselves, I explained what actions to take. I also taught him not to let someone go home on their own if they weren't in safe condition.
Yes, people have responsibility to not drink to incapacitation, but that that doesn't absolve those around them from a duty to help protect them if they do. And in the case of a bar, there are legal obligations.
Correction - there were
Correction - there were underage drinkers that CLAIMED they didn't get carded. If caught by the cops for underage drinking inside the bar, what do you think a scared young person is more likely to say - "I showed them my fake ID at the door to get in" (thereby admitting violating another law besides underaged drinking), or "oh, the bouncers never checked my ID/I showed them my real ID and they just let me in?"
Why can't they go after the
Why can't they go after the racket ringleaders who are selling fake ID's on the Internet? Or is that the equivalent of trying to stop anything else that can't be stopped? Like college students drinking alcohol?
Hold the bar responsible for not questioning the ID
more closely and for overserving the patron, OK, because the law requires they do such things.. But it is clear that the one year suspension is motivated solely by the fact that the legally ADULT patron subsequently did something stupid - and off the premises - that resulted in their death.
In one word - overreach.
Comments from a 20 year old and 18 year old
These guys are planning a long weekend trip up there by bus - with GFs - and looking at apartment rentals for $45 US per night. The exchange is currently $0.75 Canadian to 1 US. I'm assuming that beer and wine drinking are on the itinerary (they abhor cocktails).
Nationalism works
See the bargains you get when some 190 sovereign states are setting prices and establishing markets for things?
Lots of Blame to go around
From my perspective, everyone is covered in guilt
-The deceased, who is a victim of his own stupidity, did knowingly break the law by getting a fake id and drinking. It is tragic, but if Icon didn't serve him, someone else probably would have, and a lot of doormen don't always take the ID away
-The friends are guilty, they could have seen how smashed he was, taken him home, but they were smashed too - I'm no lawyer, but aren't they guilty of something?
-The bar: Icon is one of those places that has inconsistent policies, and often times ignores them when there is a chunk of change like that. They deserve to be censured, and I think they do bear responsibility for breaking the law, but not really directly contributing to his death
-College Culture: Yeah yeah drinking sex bad fast food...as parents we do our best. I don't really blame college culture, I went to school here and couldn't get into a place, even with a 'borrowed' ID. The only time I saw underage kids let in during the 90s was if they were 1) Cute girls 2) Slutty girls 3) Foreigners with confusing passports. Say what you want, anyone who went to Axis, Avalan or Venus during the early 90s (or Europa) can attest to that.
Sad all around. I wish there was some sort of DNA test to test age, that would be cool
Design for the Theatre District...
Design for the Theatre District is sorely wanting. Moving through the area, folks are relatively isolated.
Blaming this kid is
Blaming this kid is despicable. Yes 18 year olds are legally adults but its just an arbitrary age designation. It doesn't mean that when you turn 18 you suddenly make smarter, more adult decisions. Ever heard the term "college adults"? No. There's a reason we call them college kids, right up to 21 or 22. They are young and they take risks and don't necessarily understand the consequences of their actions. The club owners and employees on the other hand should understand the consequences of their actions. Although I'm not sure I would hold the club fully responsible, the fact that they let underage patrons in without checking ID (right after this happened!!) certainly warrants the suspension. If you want to profit from the sale of a substance that is known to be dangerous in certain circumstances, that's its own risk and they need to be held legally accountable so that they'll be more careful in the future. Let's hold them to the same "adult" standards you expect 18 year old kids to live up to.
Well said! I totally agree.
Well said! I totally agree. At 18 years old I was still trying to be a cool kid and made some very bad decisions. Age 21 I was a whole different person.
Good comments on the Icon incident
Some great comments on this thread, I even agree with most of Swrly's comments which rarely happens. Bars are up against it, especially those that do their best, which is unclear in this case. As the parent's note, the under 21 will always seek fake ID's, some flawless. I think a one year suspension, which will likely put Icon out of business, is harsh. Also curious how one "topples over a barrier" on the sixth floor without some effort beyond drunkenness. Wasn't there an incident a few years ago when someone fell from a garage while dancing on the edge?
This incident reminded me of a beautiful young blonde, (model-type, miniskirt, heels etc.) who produced a flawless ID, but was denied by the bouncer. She made a scene and threatened to sue. I was the Detective sent to decide. She had all of the info memorized so I told her I was a handwriting expert (bluff). If she could replicate the unique signature on the license, she could get in, if not she'd be immediately arrested for the felony and might not make bail all weekend. I gave her my pen and notebook. After a long pause of not writing, she started crying, admitting it was fake. It was just by chance that she was denied. As Sammy noted above, many of the sexy/slutty under 21 girls have no problem getting in.