Texas busting drunks ... in bars

[savafan]

http://www.cnn.com/2006/US/03/23/tex...eut/index.html

SAN ANTONIO, Texas (Reuters) -- Texas has begun sending undercover agents into bars to arrest drinkers for being drunk, a spokeswoman for the Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission said Wednesday.

The first sting operation was conducted recently in a Dallas suburb where agents infiltrated 36 bars and arrested 30 people for public intoxication, said the commission's Carolyn Beck.

Being in a bar does not exempt one from the state laws against public drunkenness, Beck said.

The goal, she said, was to detain drunks before they leave a bar and go do something dangerous like drive a car.

"We feel that the only way we're going to get at the drunk driving problem and the problem of people hurting each other while drunk is by crackdowns like this," she said.

"There are a lot of dangerous and stupid things people do when they're intoxicated, other than get behind the wheel of a car," Beck said. "People walk out into traffic and get run over, people jump off of balconies trying to reach a swimming pool and miss."

She said the sting operations would continue throughout the state.

[jmbraun773]

I like this on one hand....but don't on the other.

It's good because it will help to keep drunk drivers off the road. I never thought about getting a public intox inside a bar, but I guess it makes sense.

However, I hope they don't bring this to Indy...there have been a few nights where I would probably be sitting in the slammer.

Oh well all in all I think this isn't so bad.

[KronoRed]

Arrest em at car side.

[guttle11]

The first thing that came to mind when reading this is Ron White.

[Johnny Footstool]

The first thing that came to mind when reading this is Ron White.

I wasn't drunk in public, I was drunk in a bar. They put me in public.

[TRF]

I love this state.

"Other states are trying to abolish the death penalty. Mine's putting in an express lane."

[macro]

Where are they drawing the line? If it's at .08 or .10, then that's absurd. If someone is falling down, throwing up, or belligerent, then they need to be removed from public. But there are lots of people that shouldn't be driving that can hold a conversation and not bother anyone at all, without getting behind the wheel afterwards. To arrest them for what they might do is going too far. Are they giving a breathalyzer to everyone, or just picking out the people who are advertising their drunkeness?

[vaticanplum]

I've worked in bars for a long time. I wonder how bartenders and restaurant owners feel about this, particularly in the bigger cities of Texas where public transit is abundant. I've never known a bartender to have trouble kicking somebody out if he felt the patron crossed the line -- so if cops are doing so before the bartenders reach this point, I wonder how they feel about the loss of business.

[savafan]

In my bar going days, there was regularly about three designated drivers in our group of 15. Also, it is not unheard of to take a taxi home from the bar. The bar I frequented would call a taxi for you if they thought you were too drunk to drive home and didn't have a D.D.

This sounds like Minority Report where they arrested people for crimes that they would commit in the future.

[CrackerJack]

The fuzz are everywhere these days man, everywhere.

[StillFunkyB]

I think the problem with this type of thing is the precedent it sets.

You purchased a Corvette, so we have to give you a speeding ticket now because you MIGHT speed later.

It sounds silly, but it is almost the same exact thing.

[Chip R]

I think the problem with this type of thing is the precedent it sets.

You purchased a Corvette, so we have to give you a speeding ticket now because you MIGHT speed later.

It sounds silly, but it is almost the same exact thing.

Not quite. What they are doing in Texas is arresting people for public intoxication. Technically they are right since a bar is a public place and people are intoxicated.

This would be like arresting someone for buying a gun because they could kill someone with it. It is silly and it is a bad precedent.

[Newport Red]

If any of the residents of New Orleans who got displaced to Houston ever think of celebrating Mardi Gras, they better think again.

[Newport Red]

Another thought. Are all the guys in West Texas who throw their empty cans in the bed of the pickup truck exempt?

[Chip R]

Another thought. Are all the guys in West Texas who throw their empty cans in the bed of the pickup truck exempt?

What about all the folks who drink at Cowboys and Texans games, not to mention all the college games?