TABC’s bar sting withdrawn after public intoxication arrests criticized

A series of undercover sting operations by the Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission (TABC) which resulted in the arrest of many bar patrons, some of whom were guests at the same hotel where they were drinking, is being re-evaluated and has been put on hold.

The program, called “Operation Last Call,” saw TABC agents as well as Irving Police Department officers staging undercover stings in 29 local bars and arresting patrons who were intoxicated and the bartenders who served them.

A joint press release from the Texas State Senate Committee on Criminal Justice and the House Committee on Licensing and Administrative Procedures outlines the program’s intent: “Under the program, undercover officers survey patrons at bars and restaurants and make arrests of those they deem to be too intoxicated to be in public.”

Captain David Alexander, the TABC enforcement officer for the Dallas region, which is comprised of over 50 different counties, was in charge of implementing the stings. “Our focus is, we’re going to go into clubs, bars and locations that hold a license with us, and hold them responsible,” said Captain Alexander. “That’s what our job is. It always has been. It always will be.”

Today, TABC and Alexander find themselves on the defensive. Operation Last Call has created an uproar from citizens who believe the program goes beyond the limits of TABC’s mandate. Much of the outrage comes from citizens who are unclear just who the primary targets of the stings are supposed to be.
“We were not making bar sweeps where we just go through and try to grab as many drunks as we can. That was not the objective,” Alexander responded. “We were going in to see if these clubs were managing their operation in a responsible manner.”

The arrests made during the stings, however, have involved far more patrons than bartenders. During the sweep through Irving, more than 30 patrons were arrested for Public Intoxication. According to Alexander, of the 29 bars the agency included in its sting, only seven of them had bartenders who broke responsible alcohol service laws.
“Five of those locations were not operating in a responsible manner while we were sitting there in an undercover capacity,” he said. “They sold to intoxicated persons. Now, obviously, while we are there we’ve got to take action against the intoxicated persons. We can’t just leave them.”

As a result of the public outcry against the operation, the State Joint Committee, chaired by Sen. John Whitmire and Rep. Ismael “Kino” Flores, asked TABC to suspend the program while they investigate its effectiveness. Flores was glad to hear that TABC agreed to their request. “I am pleased to know that the TABC recognizes the need for more time to investigate the public’s complaints,” he said.

Despite those complaints, TABC stands firmly behind Operation Last Call. “We feel that the program is legally sound, and we feel like it is effective,” said Alexander. Public hearings reviewing the program are scheduled to begin on April 17.

Not all public feedback was negative. Alan Steen, the administrator for TABC, said that many citizens were glad to hear something was being done. “We have heard from many Texans over the last few weeks who have thanked us for our efforts to keep intoxicated drivers off the roadways,” Steen said in a letter to the Joint Committee.

Operation Last Call is part of a larger program called Sales to Intoxicated Persons, or SIP, and it is hardly a new policy according to Alexander. “We’ve done it in Longview, Denton, Denison, Mineral Wells,” he said. “We have never, ever received the response that we did here in Irving.”

The Irving sting of 29 locations was the largest single sting to date. “We haven’t done 29 at one time, we’ll do five here or six there,” he said. “This is just an attempt to maximize our efforts and using other resources, Irving PD was with us on that, and trying to accomplish more in an effective and efficient manner.”

In 2004, Texas had 1,417 alcohol-related motor-vehicle fatalities, the highest in the country, according to the National Center for Statistics and Analysis.