The excise police come to Bloomington

Indiana state authorities help monitor alcohol consumption

By Carly Leviton

Published Dec. 4, 2006

It’s Friday night at Kilroy’s Sports bar on Kirkwood.  The crowed is seen from a mile away and the beat of the retro music coming from inside is felt by those waiting to enter.

Christopher Patterson, a bouncer and waiter at Kilroy’s, is standing next to the long black gate that separates the intoxicated mass of people from entering the crowded confines of Kilroy’s.  He knows that his night will be filled with drunken slurs, fake ID’s, and stumbling party-goers. 

No one however, including Patterson, is aware that at any minute the nice buzz the customers are feeling from their routine night of partying could be interrupted by Indiana State Excise Police who have come to enforce the law and eliminate the illegal minors trying to join the fun. 

Photo by Carly Leviton Kilroy's Sports bar is located at 319 N. Walnut St.  Bouncers try their best to monitor who enters the bar and try to avoid illegal activity.

“Sometimes we are aware of when the excise are coming,” said Patterson.  “Others times it’s as much of a surprise to us as it is to the customers.”

The primary goal of the excise police“is to reduce the access and availability of alcohol and tobacco products to minors,” according to the Indiana State excise web page.  “To achieve this important goal, officers offer training programs for the alcoholic beverage industry, tobacco vendors, tobacco regulation and education, and provide civic programs and educational programs for youth.”

The excise police also venture to any establishment that has been reported numerous times for problems concerning underage drinking and public intoxication, in order to enforce their policies.

The incessant drinking, and constant parties that occur at Indiana University on and off campus, call for an increase of supervision by not only the local authorities and IU administration, but the state excise police as well.

“The Indiana Excise are sent out in order to try and uphold as much order as they can when specific complaints are made,” said Jackie Robbins, master public information officer of the excise police department. “When we get enough complaints concerning a particular establishment that is when the excise go in.”

According to an Aug. 27, 2006 excise police press release, between Aug. 24 and Aug. 27, the week before classes began at IU, 107 summonses were issued in Bloomington.  The following week, 84 arrests were made related to illegal consumption.

IU Dean of students, Richard McCaig, admits that specific time periods throughout the year, such as the beginning of fall semester, call for tighter law enforcement concerning both illegal possession/consumption and false identification on and around campus. 

“There is no coincidence that certain times call for a resurgence in law enforcement,” said McKaig. “If you wait till the problem is out of control it takes you and the National Guard to get it under control.  If you pre-empt problems, you save yourself a lot of effort.”

Knowing that illegal consumption is an issue at IU and throughout Bloomington, the administration as well as law enforcement make it a priority to stop it before it either starts or gets too out of hand. 

This “strategy” is why the IU administration works so closely with the IU police Department (IUPD), the local Bloomington Police Department (BPD), as well as the excise police. 

“Watch for the number of arrests the first weekend in April, a few weeks before Little 500,” warns McKaig.  “Strangely they’ll spike.  That’s why excise officers tend to frequent parking lots of liquor stores.  You could raid the party after it starts, but sometimes it’s easier to arrest the people as they’re buying the alcohol.”

A statement taken from the Aug. 27 excise police press release stated, “Our officers worked cooperatively with several Bloomington alcoholic beverage retailers in an effort to catch underage patrons attempting to purchase alcoholic beverages,” officer Travis Thickstun said.  “Several stores requested our assistance because of past problems at the start of the I.U. school year.”

Not only do certain occasions such as the first week of school or Little 500 call for an increase in excise attention, but the on-going collegiate tradition of tailgating across from the IU stadium attracts the excise police as well.

Photo by Carly Leviton Big Red Liquors is one of Bloomington's most frequented liquor stores.  In order to eliminate illegal activity before it starts excise police often monitor its parking lot.

“One event that we’ve really tried to crack down on are the football tailgates, because they take place on University property,” said McKaig.  “The complaints we receive from local residents as well as regulars who come to tailgate in the lot, have continued to increase due to the lack of respect the students have on the fields.”

This behavior warrants the need for excise officers, who can be seen walking around the fields in their monogrammed excise jackets.   The officers are able to approach an individual who looks underage or one who is taking part in an inappropriate activity, such as disregarding the designated porta-potties and going to the bathroom for all to see. 

However “busting” a minor decked out in his or her cream and crimson at an open field is different than “busting” a minor who has cleverly gotten passed a bouncer at the local bar.

“Usually we know when the excise are coming in,” said Aaron Bern, a bartender at Kilroy’s Sports Bar.  “But even then it’s nerve-racking cause you do your best to monitor who is coming in and who you are serving, but you never know who you are really pouring drinks for.”

Deciding who is responsible for catering to a minor at either a liquor store or at a public bar usually falls upon the police who make the arrests or raid the property.

Although it is the establishments’ responsibility to regulate who comes into the bar, it cannot always be held liable for allowing a minor to enter.  If the employer is able to prove that they asked for multiple forms of identification at the time of entrance, or can prove that the appearance of the customer suggested they were of legal age, they will be able to avoid liability according to Indiana Code 7.1-5-7.

“If the ID is good, and believed to be real by the employee, the bar owner is usually given a verbal warning,” said Robbins.  “The minor in possession is responsible and held liable for his or her own actions.”

Photo by Carly Leviton Alcohol continuously flows at Kilroys Sports bar.  Bartender Aaron Bern admits that "it’s nerve-racking cause you do your best to monitor who is coming in and who you are serving, but you never know who you are really pouring drinks for.”

New surveillance has recently been installed in various bars, including Kilroy’s Sports Bar, to ensure that the bouncers at the door are doing a sufficient, thorough check of each ID that is used upon entrance.

“In case of a raid, the new cameras that have been installed allow the police to see that the bouncer not only asked for more than one form of identification but properly checked all of the information on the ID,” said Bern.

But when excise officers step into the bar and begin checking the ID’s of every customer inside, little can be done to avoid the consequences of the individual’s illegal actions.

“If people get wind of excise coming to the bar you have the people that either try and scramble out as fast as they can, or the ones that don’t think anything can happen to them even if they are underage,” said Patterson.  “They don't understand that the excise are there for a reason and are well aware of what goes on.”

While illegal consumption and false identification remain a constant problem, both the administration and law enforcement at IU, according to McKaig, are aware of the lengths they are able to go in order to regulate illegal activity to the best of their ability. 

“Alcohol is inevitable on a college campus,” said McKaig.  “The problem is not to eliminate alcohol, but to limit it and maintain the students’ safety.”

With efforts by both the IU administration and the excise police to enforce the law, as well as educate the youth on all matters concerning illegal consumption, interruptions to the perfect evening at the local bar are inevitable.

“As long as we continue to receive complaints we will continue to send in excise,” said Robbins.  “We need to do whatever it takes to limit consumption, possession, and false identification.”

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