GREENFIELD — The lesbian bar Last Ditch’s announcement that it plans to ban law enforcement from entry likely came in response to a police presence at the 10 Fiske Ave. bar for a drug possession investigation near Energy Park last Thursday, according to Police Chief Todd Dodge.
The bar publicized the decision on Facebook and Instagram Saturday night with a social media post matched with an illustration of a person throwing what appears to be a Molotov cocktail, with the caption “cops are not allowed at Last Ditch.” The post alleges there was a visit from law enforcement in which “nobody was hurt, arrested or ticketed.”
“After an unwelcome visit from local law enforcement last week, we need to make it clear that we will never welcome police or any law enforcement into the space. We reserve the right to refuse entry and service to the pigs in all their forms,” Last Ditch’s Facebook post states. “We plan to lock the door when law enforcement attempts to enter moving forward. Thank you to our amazing bartender who did all they could to de-escalate and keep everyone safe. Thank you to the community members who stepped in as well.”
Police account
Although a review of the police logs revealed no calls involving Last Ditch, Dodge, after gaining more information, said in an interview Tuesday that the “visit” referenced in the Facebook post likely arose from an incident last Thursday in which narcotics Detective Timothy Cooley saw two people in a parked car on Miles Street “spreading something out on their laps.” One of the individuals then moved his or her head down and made a “swiping” motion indicative of someone snorting a substance.
When Cooley approached the car’s occupants, Dodge said one ignored the detective and walked down Miles Street while the other spoke to Cooley briefly before heading toward Fiske Avenue and down the stairs in front of Last Ditch. Cooley then called for backup and Officer Taylor Granger arrived, according to Dodge.
When police followed the individual down the stairs toward the entrance to Last Ditch, Dodge said Cooley, who had initially seen a group of people outside the bar, only saw one person visible.
“[The individual] confronted the detective, asking what he needed. [Cooley] said, ‘I need to talk to two people.’ … Together, they proceeded down the stairs,” Dodge added. “There was one other person that [Cooley] encountered inside the bar, who appeared, I’m guessing, to be the bartender, and the conversations back and forth were very cordial — in fact, over-the-top nice — between Detective Cooley and the bartender.”
Dodge said the bartender, whose tone was described as being “friendly” and “cordial,” invited the officer to look around the empty bar, but Cooley ultimately did not find either of the two people and left.
“[Cooley] didn’t get too invasive. He looked in a couple places and continued to find nobody there and no answers to where anybody might be,” Dodge said. “There was never a raised voice. There was never hands on anybody. There was clear communication, respectful communication. In fact, in both ways, it was respectful. What triggered such an aggressive response? It boggles my mind. Everybody was very, very cooperative with each other and very respectful toward one another.”
Efforts to reach Asa Rosario, one of three co-owners of Last Ditch, by phone were unsuccessful on Monday and Tuesday. The business’ door was locked when a reporter visited the venue in person to try to interview the owners early Tuesday evening, though open hours are listed on the business’ website as being from 4 to 6 p.m. and 7 to 10 p.m. on Tuesdays. On Monday, a representative responding to direct messages on the Last Ditch Facebook page declined to comment on the record. Further attempts to reach out via social media resulted in a Recorder reporter learning he had been blocked.
“We’ve taken a lot of steps toward patching up relationships with any demographic in our community. In 30 years of policing, I’m not aware of any particular incidents where one of our officers has been accused of ‘queer bashing,’ as we were apparently believed to do,” Dodge added. “Greenfield Police is doing things correctly. I don’t think anybody or any particular demographic has any reason to fear us. We’re here to help, not to hurt, and we’ll come to anybody’s aid, including those at the Last Ditch — if anything was to happen, we will be there, and we will help them out like we do for everybody else.”
Legal implications
The bar’s announcement on social media raised legal questions, as the Greenfield Police Department, according to city charter, is tasked with enforcing local liquor license regulations and conditions.
“All private clubs will admit a police officer immediately after the officer has identified him [or] herself,” the city charter states. “Any undue delays will be considered a violation of [Massachusetts General Law] c. 138, § 63 and subject to revocation of license.”
Attorney Isaac Mass, who formerly served on the Board of License Commissioners, said that while he does not believe it is illegal for a business to discriminate against its patrons on the basis of their occupations, there are a number of circumstances, such as emergencies or license enforcement, that legally require police entry.
“Generally speaking, as a legal proposition, a business establishment can prohibit individuals based on their vocation, as long as it’s not based on a protected class — you could not prohibit someone from entering because of their race or religion or their veteran status or something like that,” Mass said. “That said, that is in a private capacity, when an officer’s off-duty. … The Greenfield Police Department, when regulating someone’s liquor license, which can be observing to see if they are selling to minors, if they’re overselling, if they’re overserving patrons, if they’re serving within their permitted area [etc.] … has full authority to do that.”
Dodge, in an interview Tuesday, said the department will “respect [Last Ditch’s] wishes” and officers will likely refrain from entering the business while off-duty. However, he noted that law enforcement needs access to the bar in the event of an emergency, routine inspections or to ensure public safety. He said that he hopes to engage the owners in a reasonable and respectful dialogue and made it clear that they cannot legally lock patrons inside a bar.
While Greenfield Police does, from time to time, carry out routine bar checks to ensure compliance with the law, Dodge explained that those are at the discretion of officers assigned to the overnight shift.
“I don’t think you’d find any of us violating their wishes and hanging out at their bar while we’re off-duty, but at the same time, we have to make entry for various purposes and they can’t refuse that. I’m hoping we can have some reasonable dialogue between the city and the bar owners to just make sure they’re aware of that fact. We’re not trying to say that to be aggressive or spiteful,” Dodge said. “[Bar checks] are something that could potentially happen and they can’t refuse that, but again, we don’t want to be adversarial with them. We certainly don’t want to continue a rift between us and them. But at the same time, the city needs to be confident that they understand what they must comply with.”
