From our vantage point, officers in the Gilroy Police Department
have handled the volatile situations at the Krazy Koyote bar in
measured fashion.
From our vantage point, officers in the Gilroy Police Department have handled the volatile situations at the Krazy Koyote bar in measured fashion.
Despite numerous warnings, the bar continues to be a source of problems for our city, and the officers are repeatedly being put in difficult situations.
It’s time to raise the stakes before something very ugly happens. For starters, the neighboring Foothills Four-Square Church which is renting the space to the bar, needs to step up the pressure. There are good-neighbor clauses in nearly every standard lease that allow landlords to deal with serious situations. It’s incumbent on Pastor Mark Wilson to exhaust all legal remedies aimed at making sure the Krazy Koyote owners keep their establishment in line.
It’s disconcerting to read this quote after the latest 1:30am disturbance at Krazy Koyote involving 150 bar patrons: “If you have a fight that large with no arrests made, the right message is not being sent,” said associate pastor Angel Ruiz of Foothills Four-Square. “This is only one of a series of incidents that have occurred … There doesn’t seem to be an end to it.”
In that situation, what’s the objective for officers? Disperse the crowd and prevent a riot. The fact that police did not arrest anyone does not translate directly to ineffective policing.
What’s become clear from the pattern is that the Krazy Koyote spells trouble – trouble coming from out of town by all accounts.
Before we move from trouble to serious violence, let’s use every resource we have to prevent that. The ABC should be called in to assist with alcohol spot checks and stings; Foothills Four-Square must make a serious legal effort to scrutinize the lease; and the city should consider what other steps might be taken. Perhaps clubs should be required to hire sworn officers for security on a crowd capacity basis.
The point is, an ounce of prevention really is worth a pound of cure in situations like this. Police are routinely called out in the wee hours, and trouble has been brewing for months.
Let’s protect our officers, and protect our city before something very violent and very regrettable happens.
