More on the Martini Lounge Incident

ANC 6A Commissioner Joe Fengler passed on this ABRA generated summary of the ABC hearing that followed a non-fatal stabbing at the H Street Martini Lounge:

On November 4, 2009, the ABC Board held a Fact Finding Hearing on Investigative Report No. 09-251-00278. This matter concerned the stabbing of two different patrons on the night of October 27, 2009 at Humphries Enterprises, LLC t/a H Street Martini Lounge located at 1236 H Street NE. The altercation resulted in an action by Chief of Police Cathy Lanier to close the establishment for 96 hours pursuant to her authority under DC Official Code Section 25-827.

ABRA Investigator Ileana Corrales, MPD Detective Sabrina White and MPD Officers Joseph Thomas and Charles Johnson testified as to the incident. Officer Johnson was present from the beginning as this area is a part of his regular beat. He witnessed two large groups on the second floor who became embroiled in a physical altercation that had escalated from a verbal fight. One group was comprised of DC Firefighters who were celebrating a birthday. The other group was comprised of several young male patrons. Officer Johnson was successful in calming the two groups down from the verbal altercation when one of the firefighters “flew over his back” and sparked the physical fight. Additional MPD assistance was called (upwards of 10 officers) who broke up the fight and dispersed the crowd. MPD inquired of the crowd if anyone was hurt and no one spoke up. It was only after learning that two patrons went to the hospital for lacerations did MPD realize that they needed to return to the establishment and treat it as a crime scene. There was also testimony that bar staff was cleaning up the blood before MPD could fully secure the second floor.

Detective White testified that she arrived on the scene after the fight. When attempting to interview and secure information from the owner, Mr. Humphries, she testified she was thwarted in her efforts to do so. Mr. Humphries was not cooperative in her opinion and was not forthcoming in providing any information. She also suspected that Mr. Humphries and another gentleman may have deleted the video footage from the hard drive on the laptop as she approached them.

Mr. Humphries testified that he was downstairs when the fight broke out and as he was beginning to ascend the stairs, people were leaving. He voluntarily agreed to close the bar for the evening upon the request of MPD. He stated that he has complied with the Board’s requirements that resulted from a May 2009 Fact Finding hearing (an altercation between a patron and security personnel) by filing a Security Plan and upgrading his camera system, however these measures were not taken until after the deadline set by the Board. Mr. Humphries does have six operational cameras in the establishment which properly recorded footage up through October 17, 2009 but he did not realize that a certain switch had to be triggered for the 30 day override and that’s why the incident on October 27, 2009 was not recorded. He also stated that he fully cooperated with ABRA and MPD and is willing to undertake any additional requirements imposed by the Board.

Seven area neighborhood and community leaders spoke in support of Mr. Humphries and asked the Board not to impose a suspension.

The Board voted 6-0 to send the matter to the Office of the Attorney General to Show Cause the enforcement of any alleged violations, chiefly due to the allegations that Mr. Humphries interfered with an ABRA or MPD investigation and he failed to comply with the Security Agreement.