Police report details multiple Broadway club incidents; neighborhood group asks Atmosphere to meet

Officer Steve Matthias of Central Station summarized multiple incidents near Broadway nightclubs in mid-April, telling the commission that several events involving intoxicated patrons and security failures had produced calls for service and arrests.

Matthias read a narrative about an April 12 incident near Club Atmosphere in which officers observed an intoxicated woman who had been helped to a vehicle after a group left the club; the report raised concerns that bottle service contributed to over-intoxication. On April 14 Matthias said officers encountered a separate fight connected to Atmosphere in which a patron struck an employee and later smeared blood on the club's front windows; officers arrested two patrons after the disturbance.

"With the bottle service, you don't know how many people are consuming that bottle," Matthias said, describing how unmonitored bottle service can lead to rapid intoxication. He added that security at some venues limited their ability to manage patrons after ejection.

Gail Gilman, board member of the Broadway Central Business District, told the commission the CBD had sent a letter to Atmosphere asking the owners to appear at the CBD's May meeting to address safety and party-bus issues and said the CBD would share any outcomes with the commission.

Several commissioners asked whether a more formal follow-up or enforcement action was needed. Commissioner Hyde said she wanted Atmosphere invited to the next commission meeting so staff and commissioners could vet management's response to repeated incidents on Broadway.

Next steps: Commissioners requested staff seek a meeting with Atmosphere; the item was proposed for the next meeting agenda.