News Nightclubs: Police Report Shows City Exaggerated Gun Claim
posted by on September 11 at 10:07 AM
If you actually read the SPD incident report about U District haunt Tommy’s Nightclub and Grill, it takes the alarming sex appeal out of the notion, reported dutifully by The Seattle Times on Monday, that “In two cases officers posing as patrons were able to bring guns into a club, police said.”
Supposedly, one of those clubs was Tommy’s. Indeed, without balancing out the story, the Seattle Times continued dutifully reporting this morning: “Police said undercover officers were able to bring guns into Tommy’s, 4425 University Way.”
That’s actually not what the police report says, nor, incidentally, is it what workers at Tommy’s say. In fact, both Tommy’s employees and the report say no gun made it into Tommy’s. SPD spokesman Mark Jamieson did not deny this reading of the report, saying only, “It’s self-explanatory.”
Yes, it is.
The otherwise detailed report curiously stops short of saying a gun made it into the club. The charges on the report do not include allowing a gun in the club.
This jibes with the story I heard from workers at Tommy’s. They say they recognized the officer (from security trainings) who was trying to get the gun into the club.
“Tell him all he has to do is show you his badge, and we’ll let him bring the gun in,” Tommy’s manager reportedly, and sarcastically, instructed the temporary doorman.
The police report echoes this account, stating only that the doorman “told [the undercover officer] he would let him in if he had a permit.” The report ends there.
According to folks at Tommy’s, the undercover cop left the scene at that point. Two other undercover cops with guns had already been turned away, according to workers at Tommy’s.
I have interviewed bouncers, doormen, bartenders, managers, and club owners, and I will have a more detailed story in tomorrow’s paper—including a little context about the supposed gun violation at the other club, Tabella.
I could have sworn Mark Sidran lost the race for mayor.
As much as I despise Tommy's, I'll give 'em this one. But you won't see me crying if they finally do get shut down. Actually, I'm already kind of annoyed the city got my hopes up like that. The fuckers.
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Who is Mark Sidran? Some council guy? Boy, did I get an earful from some lady at the coffeeshop today, anyone want to hear about Steinbrueck, architecture, San Francisco, the Kingdome?
I plugged Capitol Hill a few times I got a chance to speak, so I think we have a fighting chance. Also, can we get back to bicycles? I've been compliling a demographics report.
And in the "Tavern" last night in Shoreline, there was an aggressive poster, saying NO DOGS ALLOWED, very cool nightclub, 2 bucks for 3 tacos during monday night football!
I found out last night that, apparently, one of the bars hit during the recent SPD raid was Finn MacCools. Finn MacCools! Finn MacCools is about as dangerous as a hamburger stand. The only possible violation anyone could conjure up from them was the possibility of underage drinking.
But really? Finn MacCools was deemed a dangerous enough nightlife spot to get raided?
@4 - anything to justice the police budget.
Will, I agree with others who think the real reason was that the police force doing the mayor's political dirty work have a theory about just why they'd do that...
Nickels went to bat for the PD the second the most recent police scandal broke. I think it was because he already had this sting in the works and it was a lil' tit-for-tat. Mebbe.
All I know is that I'm about as sick of this horseplay from public officials as anyone else is. The mayor is setting up papier maché dragons to make himself look like a badass, probably to distract from his utter abandonment of the green principles he was being internationally lauded for. The PD is helping him with that crap and only busting crooks in sight of yuppies while the rest of the city is overrun by gangster wannabes and shitstained drug fiends.
It'd be nice to believe anyone at all goes into public service to actually serve the public.
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Nice Reporting, Josh. It is this style of investigative journalism that seems to have gone absent from the two dailies in our City. Kudos to you, and keep it up.
Good on them for recognizing the cop... The club's still fucking dangerous, they overserve and minors skip in there like it's a candy store at the mall.
Was the alleged bribe complete bullshit as well?
Utterly fucking ridiculous.
Any cop who approaches a pat-down guy wearing a standard-issue bulletproof vest is not very convincingly "under cover".
WTF is up with the Seattle Times? I kind of wish there was a link to the whole article? I read that article when it came out and I was under the impression that the Times did their homework and that guns got into both places. Are they they lying? Are they bad journalists? Or is Feit missing something?
I've been thinking more about this...not only was it great reporting on Josh's part, it was negligent reporting on the Times part. In fact, in their negligence, they've become a part of and added to the story itself. They, so far as I can tell, created an entire aspect of the story merely by doing a terrible job of reporting.
That's unacceptable, and I hope Josh calls them on it loudly.
we all exaggerate our guns -- and sometimes it really does take a $100 "bribe" to get someone to look at it
Is that a gun in your pocket or are you happy HUMP is coming, @13?
Funny they didn't try to bust the boneheads at Funhouse, they must be current on their 'protection' payments. Heck, I woulda paid $100 to watch those nazi-lovers get busted.
What about the gun at Tabella? The Bouncer claims to KNOW the undercover cop that brought the gun in. He perceived it as undercover police business within club. WTF? - I know that you are a cop; so I don't say shit about the gun- because I know YOU can; then I get busted?
One to check into as well...
That's some damn fine reporting Josh!
Way to out the truth.
Bash dem cops..... how does the knee feel when it strikes they chin?
to #15 -
my name is brian foss & i am one of the owners of the funhouse.
i don't know if you're trying to be funny or are just a fucking idiot, but accusing the funhouse of being "nazi-lovers" is 100% complete bullshit.
let me be clear -
the funhouse is 100% anti-white power bullshit.
so please either give me details on this claim of yours, or stop trying to smear my clubs name in public.
brian foss
myfatassproductions@yahoo.com
oh yeah, thinking we pay "protection payments" obviously proves your inbred helmet wearing head has bashed into one wall too many, so i apologize for calling such a retard an idiot.
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