Monday, July 7, 2014

Unicorn Tavern Owner Sues Ruston

The News Tribune is reporting (here) that Unicorn Tavern owner Kye Barker has filed a lawsuit, claiming Ruston police have targeted and harassed her business over the last eight years. The suit cites two examples where charges were filed but ultimately the tavern was found not to be at fault. The Ruston attorney did not have a comment at this time.

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

I hope the city of Ruston has to pay dearly for this obvious harassment. The Ruston cops have been bullying the public for years.

Nobody decides to make a career in law enforcement with Ruston as their first choice. The Ruston police force consists of misfits that have been fired from other jurisdictions.

It's high time something is done to stop these thugs.

Ruston Home said...

The language in the last comment is stronger than I'd like. I'll let it go this time with a caution to avoid name-calling. Being released by one department while keeping your credentials does qualify as a misfit in my opinion.

Hazzynut said...

We all do stupid things when we're drunk. Cops are people too and make mistakes. Let's stop holding them to some standard higher than we hold ourselves. I've dealt with officer celis a few times and he's a decent person and I feel he's a good cop.

I have noticed the police are ever present at the unicorn and it's been that way for years. What I'm confused about is the unicorn is private property and the right to refuse service applies to everyone. Have the police been asked to leave? I do understand that does nothing for them being outside running plates for warrants and intimidating customers, but have any steps outside of suing the department taken place? Also, Chief Kunkel seems good at his job, he's competent and isn't one of the "misfits". I believe he works in Ruston of his own choice. Has the unicorn talked to him about their problems, or do they feel too intimidated to approach the issue? I don't know all the back story here, but he's always been highly approachable and it seems like he listens and cares when I've dealt with him on both sides of the law.

There will be bad cops in every department and characterizing them as a whole as misfits and thugs makes you seem like a cop hater as opposed to a concerned citizen.

There have been plenty of times where I'm not thrilled about the outcomes of police interactions I've had, but they're a godsend when you need them and let's face it, they really have a thankless shit job. Dealing with drug addicts, drunks, naked people running around while high on something and constantly being lied to can't make for a good day.

I'll be interested as to how this will play out. I'm confident that unicorn will win in court for the harassment, but I'm curious about what Chief Kunkel will do to fix this issue and repair public opinion or... perception. However you want to look at it...