A local bar had its Saturday hours trimmed for two weeks after the Haverhill License Commission held it responsible for a melee last October that resulted in a police officer being kicked in the chest.
Kelly’s Restaurant, 75 South Main Street, was ordered to close at 9 p.m. the next two Saturdays for “permitting an illegality on the licensed premises.” During sworn testimony bartender Jeff Moriarty told commissioners he served at least two tequila shots and “four or five beers” to a couple during an approximately four-hour period. After the couple was refused additional drinks, they moved to the parking lot of Rite Aid Pharmacy across the street where a fight broke out.
“It appears that the entire ordeal was fueled by all of the parties’ intoxicated states,” wrote Police Officer Joseph A. Ingham in his report.
Police Officers Ingham and Bryan Bailey said they arrived to find a woman lying on the ground. She was later arrested and allegedly kicked Ingham in the chest after being handcuffed and placed in a cruiser. Two others were also assaulted during the confusion, including an off-duty Haverhill parking attendant who tried to break up the fight. An employee of Kelly’s also had his prosthetic leg dislodged when the woman pushed him.
Attorney Paul A. Magliocchetti represented Kelly’s bar manager Joyce Moriarty. He argued Kelly’s shouldn’t be held responsible for the fight across the street. Commissioners Joseph C. Edwards and Tim Coco, however, held the fight was a direct result of alcohol being over served. Since it was the restaurant’s first offense under Moriarty’s management, Commissioner Gerald Sewell offered a motion to take no action. Sewell said he took into account Magliocchetti’s argument the incident did not take place on premises. Sewell’s motion did not pass.
So the city is regulating how much people can drink now ? How does the city know where or if people have might been drinking before they got to Kelly’s ?? Besides, the fight happened off the premises. What if they went to their car and had more drinks there then got into the fight ? This is a very slippery slope folks !