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SFPD flags owners' response after second fatal incident at licensed club; commission warned of possible licensing action
Summary
Lieutenant Dave Falson told the San Francisco Entertainment Commission the police were dissatisfied with a licensed venue's response after a recent homicide and said the department will pursue specific actions, possibly including licensing discipline, while separating the criminal investigation from any adjudication.
Lieutenant Dave Falson of the San Francisco Police Department told the Entertainment Commission on Oct. 4 that the department was not satisfied with the owner and security team's responses to a recent homicide at a licensed entertainment venue and expects to return to the commission with specific enforcement options.
Falson said the latest death follows an earlier fatal incident at the same business months earlier. He said SFPD and the city's licensing staff met with the venue's owners and security team and ‘‘were not satisfied with their responses,’’ adding the department has staff working ‘‘through the week’’ on related matters and would ‘‘be coming back to the commission in the very near future with some very specific actions.’’
Commissioners pressed the police on whether the venue remained open; Falson said the business was operating as of the briefing but that the department had conveyed its concerns to the owner. He also told commissioners the department would bifurcate the criminal homicide investigation from any licensing adjudication so that the licensing process would not be indefinitely delayed by the criminal case.
Several commissioners said they feared the broader entertainment community could be unfairly stigmatized by incidents at a single venue. Commissioner Joseph noted the commission and industry had worked to reduce violence at nightlife establishments, and Commissioner Frost urged the commission to learn preventive lessons that could be applied citywide.
Falson said the department’s preliminary takeaway from its meeting with the owners was defensiveness and insufficient recognition of responsibility; he added the department ‘‘will be working on it’’ and could recommend disciplinary steps ‘‘up to and including revocation.’’
The commission did not vote on a licensing matter during the briefing; Falson’s remarks served as a preview of potential enforcement action the department plans to bring back to the Entertainment Commission for deliberation.
