LAW : Police Teach Bartenders to Spot, Stop Drunks

The classroom is a Pasadena restaurant or night spot. The students are the owners and staff, the teacher a representative of the Pasadena Police Department.

The idea, especially timely as New Year’s Eve approaches, is to teach the people who serve alcohol how to tell if someone is drunk and ways to encourage patrons to switch to nonalcoholic drinks.

In April, the police department received a $250,000 grant from the state Office of Traffic Safety to increase drunk driving enforcement and to set up a preventive alcohol awareness program, which the department calls the Responsible Hospitality Community Council.

Police representative Joone Kim and Sgt. George Wiley have conducted sessions at seven bars and nightclubs in Pasadena, including Club Shelter and Q’s Billiards.

At Club Shelter, for example, Kim taught manager Steve Waite and his staff how to spot fake IDs and the telltale signs of drunkenness.

Kim provides about three hours of training at each business. So far, she said, the response has been positive. “It’s nice to have the police department be sensitive to their needs,” she said.

Local business managers were approached about participating in the class when the police department organized meetings to prepare for the World Cup.

Club Shelter’s Waite said that his staff knew a lot of what Kim was teaching, but that the class was helpful.

“I think the most effective part is that they keep awareness fresh in everybody’s mind,” he said.