Wednesday, April 14 at 2:05 a.m., what some people still consider Tuesday night, there was another altercation at Tranquilo Bar and Restaurant in downtown Greensboro that required a police response.
Tranquilo Bar and Restaurant at 221 S. Elm St. was the site of an altercation Sunday evening, April 11, where four people were stabbed. According to the police report none of the injuries were life threatening.
As a result of the stabbings on Sunday, Greensboro Mayor Nancy Vaughan, in a post on her Facebook page, said that she would renew her push for the nightclub ordinance that she proposed in December 2020, in response to the city setting a record for homicides. The final tally in 2020 was 61 homicides, which broke the previous record of 45 set in 2019. In 2021, there have been 14 homicides so far this year.
In that Facebook post Vaughan said, “This is a public safety issue. I am going to move forward with the proposed public hearings to get the input from stakeholders. That means anyone who has an interest in his ordinance (owners, promoters, patrons, law enforcement, or the general public.”
She also said, “We cannot turn a blind [eye] to businesses that have a history of operating in an unsafe manner.”
With two incidents in three days requiring police response, it would appear that Tranquilo would fit in that category of “operating in an unsafe manner.”
According to Police Chief Brian James, on Wednesday morning there were people fighting as Tranquilo was closing: “This resulted in our officers responding and breaking up the fight and dispersing the crowd.”
President of Downtown Greensboro Inc. (DGI) Zack Matheny said, “We’re doing everything we can and we’ve reached out to the property owner. This is a major issue for Greensboro. Something needs to be done. We can’t allow this.”
Did the person responsible for the stabbings get arrested? Prosecuted? Were there any consequences for those who were fighting? If there are no consequences for uncivilized behavior, it will just continue. Punishing the Tranquilio Bar and Restaurant will not improve the behavior of its customers; they will just move elsewhere.
Another issue to contend with, but maybe the Mayor is waiting for some lawsuits to come her way when she and the city get sued. Stop the crime, the homeless beggars and this awful violence now!
Close the bars at midnight. There is no reason for a bar to be open two more hours than GREED of the bar owner. The safety of our citizens is more important than the greedy bar owner.
And who anointed YOU to decide when businesses should close and what we should be allowed to do when? May G0d deliver us from control phreaks like you!
The time a bar closes is irrelevant. Regardless of when they close, it is the act of closing that creates an environment prone to violence. You have a bunch of drunk people all leaving together. Once outside, grievances are aired and violence ensures. It could close at 9pm and you will still get the same results.
BTW, I think two of our most recent homicides have been committed by (I am assuming) sober individuals in broad daylight and nowhere near a bar or nightclub. Bars are a nuisance, but not the super violent hot spot that Nancy wants you to think they are. Don’t get me wrong. An unmanaged bar is a death sentence waiting to happen for someone. It’s just not the primary source of Greensboro’s violent crime right now.
Again a certain segment of society creates a problem for everyone
Perhaps the Police Department and Sheriff’s office need to re-evaluate their policy of not reviewing perpetrators’ immigration statuses. Maybe they don’t need to go door to door checking papers, but once an individual breaks the law, and enters the system, if their immigration status is out of date, or non-existent, they need to be deported.
…and YES, I’m assuming that because the name of the bar is Tranquilo, that the perpetrators in question are Latino.
Our paid politicians need to realize that they need to represent the taxpayers who are paying their salaries, not demographics who don’t belong in this country and aren’t supposed to be voting.