Ewing: TPD Targeting Downtown Restaurants ‘Suspicious’
Tulsa Police restaurant checks during busy period were ‘over the top,’ city councilor says
BY KEVIN CANFIELD World Staff Writer
Sunday, February 17, 2013
A Tulsa city councilor is at odds with the Police Department after officers and Alcoholic Beverage Laws Enforcement Commission agents conducted routine compliance checks at several downtown restaurants last month.
City Councilor Blake Ewing said last week that he believes police targeted him during checks conducted Jan. 31, but Tulsa Police Chief Chuck Jordan said officers were doing the same compliance checks they do all over town.
“The general vibe around here is that this is so out of the ordinary and such an over-the-top display and the time of week it was conducted – 6 o’clock on a Thursday – is a little bit suspicious,” Ewing said during an interview at City Hall. “And there is a reason why city employees and, you know, my customers, all feel this was a targeted action and the fact that it was the Blue Dome District and no other entertainment district in our city.”
The police report from that night indicates that police and the ABLE agents went to eight downtown restaurants and bars – Orpha’s, Max Retropub, Back Alley Blues and BBQ, Dilly Deli, Dust Bowl, Joe Momma’s, El Guapo’s and McNellie’s – and Red Rock Saloon, 1229 Charles Page Blvd. Orpha’s and Red Rock Saloon are the only ones not in the Blue Dome District or owned by either Ewing or another businessman, Elliot Nelson.
Also, the Tulsa World has more documents on this story available on their website.