Riverside Red Onion Is Target of Probe : Council Votes to Investigate Officer’s Discrimination Complaint

Although it opened only three months ago, the Red Onion disco in Riverside, like its Orange County counterpart, is the target of an investigation regarding racial discrimination.

The Riverside City Council voted this week to look into complaints that a black Riverside policeman and several other black and Latino residents were barred from the restaurant and bar because of their race.

“There is community outrage at these alleged practices and I think that we as a city need to do all that we can to discourage businesses from taking this type of stance with regard to minorities,” said Councilman Pete Peterson, who initiated the city’s inquiry. “We have to put our foot down and send out a message that we are not going to tolerate this.”

Investigation Requested

Peterson, supported by the six other members of the council, has asked the city’s Community Relations Commission to investigate the complaints and report in 60 days. During the last five months, dozens of complaints against the Southern California restaurant chain have poured in to the Orange County Human Relations Commission and the state Department of Fair Employment and Housing. Typically, the complaints allege, the would-be customers were told that their drivers license pictures didn’t look like them or their clothes didn’t meet the Red Onion dress code.

Current and former Red Onion employees have also come forward to say that their bosses told them “to clean up the crowd” when it became “too dark.”

Red Onion officials have denied discrimination but have said they will cooperate to resolve the problem.

In a related development last week, Riverside Police Chief Linford Richardson asked his 258-member department not to patronize the Red Onion.

Turned Away Twice

Richardson said that one of his black officers was turned away twice, once when he was with a date and the other time when he was in plain clothes, training a new recruit.

“The recruit, who was white, was allowed in but the officer was told he didn’t meet the dress code,” Richardson said.

“To discriminate against one is to discriminate against all and we shouldn’t patronize a place like that,” he said. “I’m surprised policies like that exist in the 1980s.”

Riverside Councilman Jack Clarke said the council could consider passing an anti-discrimination law patterned after one proposed by the Los Angeles City Council last week.

That law would prohibit bars and discos from requiring multiple identifications with photos. Similar ordinances are in effect in West Hollywood and Berkeley.

“We certainly don’t condone discrimination in any form in Riverside, and we are going to combat it as best we can,” said Councilman Jack Clarke.