BY JANE PRENDERGAST
The Cincinnati Enquirer
DAYTON -- An effort to crack down on drunken driving in this city has police officers busy and bar patrons claiming harassment.
Petitions being circulated around town ask that officers give citizens the same kind of respect they expect and ease off their habit of parking outside bars and waiting for people to leave. At least 225 people have signed the petition at the Seventh Avenue Cafe alone.
"They sit outside and wait," said Roger Thomas, owner of the Long Branch Saloon. "That's just harassment."
Many of the frustrated bar employees point their fingers in the direction of Police Chief Fred Hildebrant. The city says they're right.
"He's doing exactly what we want him to," City Administrator Dan Groth said Sunday. "And so are the officers.
"The word's out that if you want to drink and drive, you better stay out of Dayton."
Under previous administrations, he said, policing wasn't so strict. Chief Hildebrant promised changes when he took over the department about nine months ago, and city officials openly said they wanted the former Edgewood sergeant to shape up the force. "We're taking a zero tolerance on any type of crime in Dayton," Mr. Groth said, adding that a lack of crime is the first step to a variety of development the city is trying to attract.
But the bar owners and patrons, who say they agree the department should stop drunken drivers, question the officers' in-your-face method. They claim patrons are sometimes stopped even if they leave the bars on foot.
"I got stopped one night, and I asked the officer if I'd done anything wrong," Seventh Avenue bartender Jack Krogman said. "He said, "Your car's been sitting outside the bar all day.' I said, "Yeah, I work here, and I've been drinking Cokes all night.' "
He did not know when the petitions would be presented to City Council. Mr. Groth said he didn't think the public outcry would change much because the police department is acting under the council's direction.
"It's not right," Mr. Krogman said. "And it's killing business."
