Patrons of two North Side gay nightspots have accused police of harassment—and the head of the police district has responded to the charges.
Various reports contend that officers have allegedly harassed patrons of both Jackhammer, located at 6406 N. Clark, and the Anvil, 1137 W. Granville. ( The situations, incidentally, occurred outside the bars. ) According to an e-mail obtained by Windy City Times, Jim Keup, Jackhammer's owner, mentioned to Commander Bruce Rottner of the 24th District that patrons have been 'leaving the bar and interrogated/searched' by police officers.
In a separate e-mail to Windy City Times, a person stated that officers supposedly accused his friends of buying and selling drugs at the bar.
Windy City Times also received an e-mail stating that patrons were harassed by officers who were looking for drugs. 'Police confronted [ the patrons ] and began a search of their vehicle, tearing it apart in search of illegal drugs ... none were found,' the message noted. However, the same e-mail noted an incident that supposedly involved verbal harassment. According to the letter, one officer allegedly asked a patron upon seeing a Chicago Public School parking permit on his vehicle, 'What would the principal of 'ABC School' think if he knew that one of his teachers was going to a fag bar?'
Rottner responded to Keup's message with an e-mail of his own, which Windy City Times also obtained. In the missive, the commander advised Keup to 'get the word out that the police may be focusing on bars in the area ... for the very short term.' Rottner added that he knew that the owner 'can't control what patrons do outside of the bar.'
In a phone conversation, Rottner echoed those sentiments when asked about what transpired outside the Anvil. 'Bars should expect officers; they're going to show up periodically,' he said. 'People are going to be stopped. It happened to my own daughter in the 23rd District [ recently ] , and she was let go. She told me about it and I told her that's how things work sometimes.'
As for the allegation regarding verbal harassment, Rottner told Windy City Times that if the charge is true, 'it's definitely not appropriate. We do a heck of a lot of diversity training and we don't condone derogatory statements. We can't change attitudes but we can change behavior. [ If accusations of verbal assault turn out to be true, ] we may have to discipline officers to enforce professional behavior.'
Rottner also emphasized his availability. 'If someone has a legitimate complaint, he should call a supervisor,' he said. 'Feel free to contact me.' Call ( 312 ) 744-5907 or bruce.rottner@chicagopolice.org .