A fight rocked the in Walnut Creek this weekend, ending in two arrests and one hospitalization.
According to the Walnut Creek Police Department, a patrolling officer saw a man leaving the Locust Street bar with bleeding head injuries at approximately 1 a.m, on Sunday.
The victim, 26, later identified as a Vacaville resident, said another bar patron, identified as a 29-year-old Oakland resident, had attacked him inside the establishment with a bottle. Both men had been drinking prior to the incident, police said.
After further investigation, police arrested the Oakland resident on charges of assault with a deadly weapon and possession of cocaine.
Authorities say another Vacaville man, 25, who had accompanied the victim to the bar, failed to comply with orders given by the officer and was arrested for resisting arrest. The victim was taken to Kaiser Medical Center for treatment of his injuries.
The owner of Redux Lounge did not return phone calls seeking comment.
The violence came only five days after the Walnut Creek City Council unanimously approved a new on first reading. The ordinance is slated for final approval on May 15 and would take effect 30 days afer that.
The new ordinance proposes a protocol where police will first open a dialogue with establishment owners after multiple incidents have taken place. If incidents continue to occur, the city will have the option to impose restrictions, such as curtailing the hours during which the establishment may sell alcohol.
Mayor Bob Simmons said that a single incident like the one that occurred Sunday would not be sufficient cause for imposing the kinds of penalties laid out in the proposed ordinance. However, he argued the ordinance is likely to discourage bars and restaurants from fostering an environment that can promote violence.
"The nature of the ordinance envisions multiple events that create a nuisance within the city," Simmons said. "The police and the city would ask if there is anything a bar has done to incite an event."
In the past, the owners of bars and restaurants in Walnut Creek have to the new ordinance, arguing it holds them responsible for events that are out of their control.
Guy Louie, an attorney representing bars and restaurants in Walnut Creek, also believes the ordinance is unnecessary.
"The ordinance wouldn't make a difference because the local penal code already handles these events," Louie said.
