Texas is arresting people for being drunk...IN BARS!!!

http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/metropolitan/3742462.html
March 23, 2006, 8:10AM
Public intoxication stings catch 2,200 in Texas bars :wtf:
TABC officials say drive is aimed at reducing DWIs

By ANNE MARIE KILDAY
Copyright 2006 Houston Chronicle

More than 2,200 people have been arrested in Texas bars in the six months since
the Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission announced a crackdown on public intoxication,
primarily targeting bars.

The arrests included people who were drunk in bars, who sold alcohol to a drunk person,
or a drunk employee on the premises of a bar or restaurant with a license to sell alcohol,
said Carolyn Beck, a spokeswoman for the TABC.

The agency has used undercover agents before, Beck said. In a recent operation, agents
infiltrated 36 bars in a Dallas suburb and arrested 30 people for public intoxication.

"The laws in Texas against public intoxication also apply to bars," Beck said.
"Texas has the highest DWI rate in the nation, and we are trying to reduce those rates."

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http://www.americanchronicle.com/articles/viewArticle.asp?articleID=7128
Lawmen In Texas Arrest Bar Patrons For Public Intoxication
Robert Paul Reyes
March 22, 2006

A reporter once asked the notorious bank robber, Willie Sutton, why he robbed banks
and he replied "because that's where the money is."

Texas has begun dispatching undercover agents into bars to make arrests for public
intoxication, because that's where the drunks are.

According to Reuters, "The first sting operation was conducted recently in a Dallas
suburb where agents infiltrated 36 bars and arrested 30 people for public intoxication."

Granted being in a saloon doesn't exempt a bar fly from public intoxication, but I'd
rather drunks get drunk in bars than out in the streets.

We patronize cocktail lounges to unwind and forget about our problems, we shouldn't
have to worry if the guy sitting next to us is a narc.

Texas police are wasting time and money conducting stings in bars, shouldn't they be
spending their resources catching dangerous criminals?

If police are worried about drunks getting behind the wheel, they should allocate funds
for taxis to take alcoholics home from honky-tonks, instead of wasting manpower conducting
sting operations.

Nabbing inebriated patrons at a watering hole is akin to fishing from a barrel,
I wonder if these big Texas lawmen feel real macho after making a few arrests at a tavern?

Everything is big in Texas, and when the police there make a mistake it's a whopper.
I hope the Texas police quickly abandon these foolish sting operations.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Wonder what they'll do if you eat chili with BEANS there too??

:rofl:

It would be hard to presidentiate from a drunk tank. Not that he hasn't probably tried it already on his own, of course.

people for being drunk in their homes, which is probably next.

Would you trust this man with your pork?

fathers and mothers at the country club drinking and honky tonk bars a two steppin and those beer drinking BBQ that are a comin...... what our holier than thou repugs signing legislation in churches putting discrimination into our state constitution...... are now doing to their drinkin.

i mean. my rush limbaugh fox watching males,..... boozers are going to be a tad bet uncomfortable with this one. and i..... the non drinking liberal, am going to laugh my ass off. and have a blast with this one

i say, yee haw to this. fuck with me, well hey, i want all your rights too

"TABC officials say drive is aimed at reducing DWIs"

People often pay fines just to avoid the courtroom. I was once nabbed in a Texas Speedtrap, showed up in court 29 days later and not a single cop was there to challenge it. Case dismissed.

Where I live, the number of times I've seen cops pull people over for traffic violations has easily quadrupled in the last few years. Gotta make that money somehow!

drinking. not dui's. they can do this in hotel bars. they are not considering those drunks in bar that are not driving. it is a sweep. what is the difference between a home, where they arent driving, and a bar where they arent driving (have a ride home, or a room in hotel, or walking)

i say, get em all.

raids on bbq's, the lake

Are there pals of pols who run private, for-profit prisons? Are there pals of pols who want really cheap labor with little or no cost for personell and facilities? If so, look for big surge in rounding up younger, non-dangerous offenders to fill them.

It's a two-fer for politicians: They can point proudly to their record on increased arrests and more behind bars as proving they are tough on crime. They also insure their corporate sponsors have lots of very cheap labor. Workers making only a token wage have their living expenses paid for by the taxpayers... the same ones who are losing jobs in a private sector increasingly laying them off in favor of $1 to $0.20 per hour workers in prisons.

Did you know that many companies that proudly slap Made In America on products use prison labor? And trying to get contracts to secure labor for prisoners has become a part of many governors' jobs?

Not everybody outsources to far away lands. Some took a page out of China's book and uses prison labor which almost equates to slave labor.

http://www.parascope.com/articles/0197/prison.htm

http://www.prisonwall.org/labor.htm

http://www.google.com/search?q=prison+labor&sourceid=mozilla-search&start=0&start=0&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8

Guess not all companies have management interested in learning a second language?

With the bonus of giving the illusion people are somehow being kept safe.

Same dog an pony show, different stage.

They have been arresting people on Public Intoxication charges for my whole life time-be 56 in a week. I think simskl has their number in suggesting it's all about money.

I read this story yesterday about arresting people in bars, and this one states they've been doing it for 6 months. It doesn't say what the results are when those arrested go to court. Is there just a fine, thus making this a new revenue stream?

The other question I have is, what criteria are the cops using to declare a person "drunk"? Are they actually using breathalizers in bars???? If the person is just sitting at the bar or a table and quietly minding his own business, WHAT constitutes probable cause?

This whole thing sounds like a new scam to me. I'm hoping somebody with some $$ gets nabbed, and takes this whole issue to the high court!

And they used to say all the nuts lived in California! HA HA HA

Just look at how many DUI checkpoints there are in this country on any given day. They stop everyone with no probable cause and arrest those they think are under the influence.

As far as I know, drinking in a "drinking establishment" ISN'T! WHAT crime is being committed if someone is just drinking and not disturbing anyone else?

Although I think it's borderline harrassment, I can almost see the logic when some police station themselves outside of a bar and wait for potential drunks to get in their car and demonstrate the intent to drive. That IS cause to suspect a law is being committed.

Sitting quietly at the bar of a table with your beverage of choice that evening IS NOT A CRIME!

So, again, what are the police using to determine who they're going to arrest?

that's my guess. Or an intoxication test (foot forward, finger on nose, etc.). Because many people are afraid of authority they are probably scared into giving their consent to do this...And if they are determined to be drunk they can then arrest you for Public Intoxication.

Is opening up another revenue stream. Don't have to have an election, don't have to push something through the legislature, nope, just send in the narcs, make lots of arrests, and the sit back and watch the money from all the fines roll right in. Better than shooting fish in a barrel:eyes:

This is absolutely bizarre. If they're worried about people driving while drunk, they should use the old standby, stick a cop in a car across the street from a bar, and wait for the drunks to roll out.

Sadly, this could very well start showing up in other states as well.

and played a sound bite of a woman being arrested on live TV. She definitely wasn't slurring her words when she said, "Your state sucks."

:rofl:

will they arrest her?

how can people be arrested for public intoxication while in a privately owned business? Are the cops doing brethalizers right there on the barstool? How can they arrest people for something they MAY do - like drive a car? I expect homes will be next.

I expect lawsuits from this - has got to be one of the most asinine interpretations of law I've ever heard. Eerily reminiscent of something Bush would do. x(

they are enforcing these laws the same way they enforce food safety laws and smoking bans.

It's still asinine!

of all stripes, including our Dems, will not touch this with the proverbial pole. If a drinker uses a designated driver or a cab, and the drinking is not outside the bar at any time, why should this be an arrest situation? Would the ACLU have a stand on this?

...and likely to work just as well this time as it did the last.

:eyes: