What Police Reported to the St. Charles Liquor Commission
Incident involved DUI charges after an accident involving a Beehive patron.
Friday’s incident well could fuel the St. Charles City Council’s doubts about the efforts of tavern and bar owners to help clear up alcohol-related problems in the downtown area.
According to the report, police actually saw Kathryn Dale Doepke, 22, of the 100 block of South 3rd Street, after she left The Beehive Tavern, 204 W. Main St. According to reports, an officer saw her slip and fall down in the snow as she headed toward her vehicle, but she got right up, apparently unhurt. She then headed into a parking lot, got into her vehicle and drove south on 3rd Street. An officer decided to follow Doepke after observing she was driving down the center lane.
Police said Doepke stopped for a stop sign and again for a red light at Main and 3rd, but when the light turned green and she continued south, she veered into a parked car in the 100 block of South 3rd Street.
After her arrest, the woman told police she had been at The Beehive from 11 p.m. to about 1:20 a.m., but that she had only had two or three beers. But she also told police she had had two glasses of wine between 10 and 11 p.m. at a Geneva establishment before she went to The Beehive.
Doepke was charged with driving under the influence of alcohol, DUI with a blood-alcohol content greater than .08, and improper lane use. She was released on her own recognizance pending a Feb. 21, 2013 appearance in court.
“Based on the totality of the circumstances involving the DUI arrest/traffic crash involving Beehive customer Kathryn D. Doepke, this report was generated to show that Doepke was either over served alcohol by Beehive staff, or allowed to remain on the premises while intoxicated — either of which is a violation of local ordinances,” the report states. “This report is to be forwarded to the Liquor Commission for their consideration.”
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Kevin K
11:55 am on Wednesday, February 6, 2013
Ted,
I hope you can help clarify something for me. We all know the legal limit on driving and she was well over that. What is the legal limit to be out in public before you are cited for public intoxication? Thanks
Ted Schnell
12:33 pm on Wednesday, February 6, 2013
Hey there Kevin,
.08, which is the gold standard in the United States for DUI, also is the standard by which St. Charles gauges public intoxication, according to the police department.
Interestingly, as I was researching whether .08 was a universal standard in the U.S., I ran across some information questioning whether our limit is too liberal. Sweden, for example, sets its legal limit at .02.
josephine s.
2:18 pm on Wednesday, February 6, 2013
I imagine that the Beehive owner understands how doubley-poorly this reflects upon the Tavern Assn, since he is Chairman.
Ted Schnell
3:19 pm on Wednesday, February 6, 2013
You are right, Josephine, although I think it would be much worse had he actually been working at The Beehive while the young woman was there.
Yet this illustrates well the dilemma the tavern and bar owners face. They hire people they hope they can trust to run their establishments when they are not there. Yet even then there are mitigating circumstances that come into play. The police report does not indicate just how busy The Beehive was that night, although I believe it does state there were two bartenders working. If the place was swamped, two bartenders might not have been enough to serve and truly monitor patrons. They might have been overwhelmed.
Donald Ramsell
6:00 pm on Wednesday, February 6, 2013
Although one DUI is one too many for any town, this single event in a 6 month period is statistically no different than the typical weekend in every other town in America that either serves alcohol or connects its roadway to towns that do. i am unsure why the patch seems to be all over this like a fly on a horse but so be it.
Donald Ramsell
6:04 pm on Wednesday, February 6, 2013
Ted your inflection on this story (and the other bar-related ones) and your other comments such as "other countries have lower limits" seems to foreshadow your bias on this subject. If we had 0.02 as the limit would you then report that the driver was "more than 10 times the legal limit" for emphasis? Is it your opinion that these bars should close earlier? I mean get out with it so I can stop (or continue) suggesting that you are biased.
Ted Schnell
7:47 pm on Wednesday, February 6, 2013
Oh golly, Donald, my mention of Sweden having a lower limit was no indication of bias — I stumbled across that today and was surprised by it, so I mentioned it. I am not certain if the limit should be lower or not and don't think much about it, frankly.
In regard to the coverage by Patch, this is a serious issue and deserves the attention. Police officers have been assaulted, drunken men have harassed women walking down the streets. There have been fights, people passing out in parking lots and at least one incident in which someone stumbled off a sidewalk and was nearly struck by a passing car. Police reports have reflected that since I arrived at Patch.
Business owners have a right to be concerned about the messes they encounter on sidewalks and such. That’s a problem in an otherwise beautiful downtown suffering a fair number of vacancies in a down economy.
I am not certain an earlier closing time is the answer. I think there is a tendency to look for quick solutions to problems, but one seems to requuire a sustained effort by everyone involved. I certainly think the City Council also needs to answer the question it raised a year ago: Does St. Charles have too many bars? That might provide an opportunity for a more proactive solution.
David Amundson
1:05 pm on Thursday, February 7, 2013
My take on it is that St. Charles has a completely dysfunctional Liquor Licensing Ordinance, which has led to a total lack of clarity for the City Council when they have issued liquor licenses (they really have no idea what kind of business model they are approving), and furthermore, the dysfunctional ordinance leaves the Council exactly zero recourse when they get something other than what they thought they were getting. We don't have too many bars in our town; we have too many licensed establishments that act like bars in our town.
TraLa
11:34 am on Thursday, February 7, 2013
Your Sweden reference neglected to mention that the age limit is 18, as are most other countries. (You can fight for our country but, not have a drink?) BAC readings can change by belching, or chewing gum to name just two.
When was the BAC last calibrated? St. Charles knows the bars are a money maker in revenue and so are the DUI arrests. The police are out in full force when the bars close. It won't change if the hour is earlier Ted.
Where in downtown St. Charles should one go to eat or get a cup of coffee at any hour?
Ted Schnell
12:13 pm on Thursday, February 7, 2013
TraLa, I stumbled across the Sweden reference while I was looking up something else and found something I didn't know, and it surprised me, so I mentioned it. It was not an endorsements, it was not part of a research project, it was a factoid I stumped across. Mentioning it was no more an endorsement than saying, "It's snowing out" means I love snow.
In terms o the Breathalyzer, it's recalibrated regularly, although I no longer remember what the standard is. But I do know that the SCPD pursues accreditation for adhering to nationally recognized police standards through CALEA. I believe that would include such things as procedures related to DUI arrests, among many, many others.
Also, I can check into this, but it seems to me the idea of the DUI as a moneymaker for the community is a myth -- at least in Illinois. But I will check into that.
Finally, I honestly don't care what time the bars close. I used to work a 4-12 factory shift back in the late '70s, and appreciated being able to stop in at the East Side Tap in South Elgin for a beer before I headed home. I've worked mostly nights ever since and still would appreciate that if I drank. It's a convenience.
I am not, as some have implied or said outright, anti-bar on this issue. It's news because people are angry -- residents and businesses, not just city officials. Solutions are needed. That's just good businesses, whether you're a government or a bar.
Lois Lane
12:46 pm on Thursday, February 7, 2013
Wow, Ted, thanks for the flashback, I'd forgotten about the Eastside in S Elgin. Almost as quaint as the Eastside Tap in Geneva was (no relation to the Eastside Pub in StC) and the Cavern in Batavia. Good memories.
Ted Schnell
1:48 pm on Thursday, February 7, 2013
Dean and Steve were the guys there and they were very cool. If I remember correctly, Dean was a black belt in something -- saw him jump over the top of the bar one night when a guy pulled a knife out. That was the only time I ever heard of the cops being called there. Generally, it was a very nice place to visit with my co-workers from Hoffer Plastics.