The owner of a bar complained that a police officer was making too many DUI arrests outside his establishment. And what did the police department do? They reassigned the police officer.
Steve Iacobucci is the owner of the Flying Pig Saloon in Malvern. He complained to city council that his business was suffering as police officers ruined his nighttime business, reports the Daily Local News. The bar owner says that his customers were followed out of the bar and stopped for relatively minor infractions. The patrons were then given Breathalyzer tests and arrested for DUIs accordingly.
As a result, Iacobucci complains that his business suffered, reports the Daily Local News. And Iacobucci singled out one police officer in particular to the city council -- Sgt. Lloyd Douglas.
It's unclear what kind of pull the bar owner had with the city, but following the meeting, Douglas was reassigned to a sector that did not include the Flying Pig. Douglas was also denied DUI checkpoint duties and assigned only day shifts.
Generally, bar owners are responsible for making sure their customers are not so intoxicated as to drive home drunk under dram shop laws. So, bar owners could get in trouble if they serve obviously intoxicated customers or if they knowingly allow drunk customers to get behind the wheels of a car.
But apparently in Malvern, police officers can get in trouble for stopping drunk customers outside the Flying Pig Saloon. There's probably more to the story and Lloyd Douglas may have been abusing his power or harassing Steve Iacobucci. Still, it seems strange that the police officer would get in trouble for making too many DUI arrests outside a bar.
Related Resources:
- Find a Philadelphia DUI Attorney (FindLaw)
- Pennsylvania DUI Penalties (FindLaw's KnowledgeBase)
- Lamp Post Inn In Middletown Pleads Guilty To DUI-Related Charges (FindLaw's Philadelphia DUI Blog)
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