As of late, Runaround Sue has been posting court information regarding the case of the ill-fated Andromeda Night Club.
Given that this case is relatively old, what does it have to do with current events?
I think that Runaround Sue is trying to stir up the racial card (once again) against Chief Webster as part of what I will call a "deflective defense" in his lawsuit.
Unfortunately for Runaround Sue, the facts of the case -- facts acknowledged by United States District Court Judge -- do not support his game.
Put simply, the Orgain family leveraged themselves to the hilt to open the Andromeda Club. As part of their business plan, they regularly hosted hip-hop nights. This went from one night a week at one point to two-nights a week. Unfortunately, with it came an increasing level of violent acts AND underage drinking.
Yes, the Chief of Police did in fact threaten to seek prosecution under the nuisance statutes in the City of Salisbury because of the rising levels of calls to the club (and one suspects, the rising level of seriousness). The Wicomico County Liquor Control board also had been investigating the club. At one point in December of 2001, they ordered the liquor license suspended for five days after finding them guilty on ten counts of serving underage patrons. Given that the major revenue source was liquor sales, this was not a light punishment (plus there was a $5,000 fine on top of it).
Unfortunately, the criminal behavior of patrons did not stop. Between August 2001 and January 2002, twenty-six more incidents required police presence. That is an average of more than one per week. The Chief once again wrote the Orgains, advising them that he could -- and would -- seek to prosecute them under the nuisance laws. After a patron was shot in May of 2002, the Liquor Board once again called the Orgains before them. This time, after a June 4 meeting, the board voted to suspend the license for thirty-five days.
The Orgains defense was a little bizarre at this point, as they pointed the blame at the racial mix of the club. At no time did the Chief, the Liquor Board, the City, or the County raise this as an issue.
After losing their license for thirty-five days, the Orgains were forced to close the club. In 2006, they filed suit against Chief Webster, the members of the Liquor Board as individuals and the board as a whole, and Wicomico claiming that all parties had basically violated their civil rights by acting under the color of authority to deprive them of their business because of the race of their clientele. Chief Judge Benson Legg of the US District Court of Maryland granted summary judgement on federal claims to the defendants on June 25, 2007. You can read the opinion here. (Warning: it's a PDF)
The Orgains filed their state case on July 23, 2007.
Here's what we do know:
1) A federal judge has ruled that their federal civil rights were not violated.
2) There is no serious racial bias on display here. If there were, both Shanie Shields and Mary Ashanti would be on the city, the liquor board, and the police chief like stink on shit. Say what you want about Shanie Shields (and there is a lot to say), but she considers herself the representative of all blacks in the City of Salisbury and she is very aggressive in attacking any perceived racial animus towards them (remember the Neighborhood Congress nonsense?).
3) The Orgains are in the whole for close to $1 million, and are looking to pay of their debts using the courts as their lender of final resort.
4) The only relation to Brew River is a comparison in the number of CFS (or Calls for Service). Brew River apparently had a higher number of CFS during a similar period, although those were more traffic oriented than violence oriented. Anyone who has ever been to Brew River during happy hour can attest to the traffic clusterfuck in that area.
5) The racial claim seems to rise from an allegation from Mitri Habash that, when asked what he could do to bring his club problems under control (he owned Vissage), Lt Davis (of the SPD) and Chief Webster encouraged him to change Friday night's music format from hip hop to country western, as a Midwestern club had done the same and saw a collapse in the violence problem. Habash is also currently suing the Chief of Police under similar claims.
All in all, it seems the problems surrounding Andromeda (and Vissage) are not racial, but cultural. This blog (and this writer) are long-time believers that the hip-hop culture is violent, mysognistic, and anti-social. That a crowd of ANY race attracted to such a musical "lifestyle" would turn violent while consuming alcohol should not surprise ANYONE. Especially when the music itself extols the virtues of the gangsta mentality and degrades women in a vile and horrific manner usually not seen outside of countries under Sharia.
Perhaps the Orgains and Mr. Habash will realize one day that it was not the choices of government officials -- but their choice of clientele -- that put them in their predicament. In this case, there are no victims-- just volunteers.