My friend got BS Charge! 6th Street TABC (Dallas: spring break, condo)

[Destroyer219]

My friend and I went down to 6th street last friday and he was using a fake ID to get into a bar. Anyways, as we were enjoying the night out and checking out the ladies, a dude identified himself as a TABC officer and asked to see my friend's ID. Now my friend presented him with his real ID, and he did not possess alcohol nor had any alcohol, but TABC insisted he was drinking and wrote him a MIP. IS THIS LEGAL? Can TABC be inside bars and pop up and ask to see peoples ID even though they don't have alcohol? We are going back down there couple nights for spring break (I am 22 so I have no problem, but I doubt it will be fun if I go alone), and word is the TABC is a real dick agency and enforce 6th street pretty heavily, that true? Normally I do not condone underage drinking, but my friend served in Afghanistan and is only 4 months away from turning 21, but I feel like he should have right to drink as he served this country, but that is for the legislatures to decide, not me. We just want to have some good time, but want to know more about this "TABC" agency.....and their gestapo-like tactics he should be aware of...

[JayBrown80]

Originally Posted by Destroyer219

My friend and I went down to 6th street last friday and he was using a fake ID to get into a bar. Anyways, as we were enjoying the night out and checking out the ladies, a dude identified himself as a TABC officer and asked to see my friend's ID. Now my friend presented him with his real ID, and he did not possess alcohol nor had any alcohol, but TABC insisted he was drinking and wrote him a MIP. IS THIS LEGAL? Can TABC be inside bars and pop up and ask to see peoples ID even though they don't have alcohol? We are going back down there couple nights for spring break (I am 22 so I have no problem, but I doubt it will be fun if I go alone), and word is the TABC is a real dick agency and enforce 6th street pretty heavily, that true? Normally I do not condone underage drinking, but my friend served in Afghanistan and is only 4 months away from turning 21, but I feel like he should have right to drink as he served this country, but that is for the legislatures to decide, not me. We just want to have some good time, but want to know more about this "TABC" agency.....and their gestapo-like tactics he should be aware of...

....


Your friend is not allowed in many bars if he is under 21. That is why they check ID at the door. Being in the bar makes him guilty. Bartenders don't ask for ID at the bar, b/c you shouldnt' be in the club if you are under 21. You must know this, that is why your friend used a fake ID to get in. If you didn't know that, then why did your friend possess a fake ID to begin with? If he wasn't going to drink, why use a fake ID to begin with? You can't be serious. Basically your friend broke the law, and was lucky to only get an MIP.

This post cannot be serious. "My friend used a Fake ID to sneak into bars and check out the ladies!! oh yeah!" And then he gets busted for being where he is not supposed to be. Sounds about right to me.

By the way, the Gestapo broke into people homes in the middle of the night and beat them to death in front of their children. The TABC simply busted a couple of dumbasses on 6th street. Hardly the same thing.

[atxcio]

Of course he had alcohol. Who goes through the trouble of using a fake ID to get into a club and then not have a drink?

Anyway, half my friends back in college (UT) got MIPs at one point or another -- they give them away like parking tickets here.

Hopefully if he served in Afghanistan already, he's not going to sweat something as minor as an MIP citation, and rightfully so.

[JayBrown80]

Originally Posted by atxcio

Of course he had alcohol. Who goes through the trouble of using a fake ID to get into a club and then not have a drink?

Anyway, half my friends back in college (UT) got MIPs at one point or another -- they give them away like parking tickets here.

Hopefully if he served in Afghanistan already, he's not going to sweat something as minor as an MIP citation, and rightfully so.

I would imagine that there are other charges on the record then just the MIP. My brother is a soldier and his friends go out drinking all the time. And the only time they worry about something as simple as an MIP is when it's their 3rd one and they have serve some jail time or get community service when they are supposed to be doing field training.

[CptnRn]

I think it is absurd that our government considers 18 year olds mature enough to fight and die for our country, but not responsible enough to drink in public.

That said, your friend was knowingly breaking the law and got caught. Yeah TABC regularly patrols the clubs and bars in every city looking for these kinds of violations. Your righteous indignation about it is unjustified.

TABC Enforcement Efforts

The enforcement division is responsible for the criminal and administrative enforcement of the state's alcoholic beverage laws. Certified peace officers, known as TABC agents, inspect premises licensed by the agency and investigate alleged violations of the Alcoholic Beverage Code and other state laws. Increasingly, the commission has placed a greater emphasis on developing initiatives that target the problems associated with underage drinking and over-consumption of alcohol.

TABC has gotten some very negative publicity in the last several years because they went overboard with aggressive enforcement tactics and have been involved in several beatings, raiding gay clubs and at least one shooting.

http://www.nbcdfw.com/the-scene/even...-Gay-Club.html

http://www.statesman.com/news/local/...le-374230.html

I was called up for Jury Duty several years ago in a law suit where the TABC official arrested an intoxicated lady, loaded her in the front seat of his car, did not put her in a seat belt, then allegedly he drove erratically at high speed slamming on his brakes to toss her around the car when she started acting unruly. I don't know that suit turned out, I did not get picked for the jury.

[hoffdano]

The TABC officer could also have been in the club for some time - and DID see your underage friend drink.

[mimimomx3]

Are you required to show ID to a TABC officer? I would have asked to be arrested and called a lawyer.

[JERiv]

What it boils down to is that your friend broke the law. And you're complaining about the fact that he got caught.

I don't think you'll get a lot of sympathy here. Or in any other forum that isn't geared towards less than law abiding citizens.

Sorry, but what you're doing is the same as someone who's speeding complaining about the "gestapo" tactics of police officers who give them speeding tickets. Or a petty thief complaining about police "brutality" when they tackle him because he's fleeing the scene of the crime.

To your friend and all those who have issues with law enforcement agencies once you get caught breaking the law: Suck it up, grow up, and if you don't like it, don't break the law.

He's a member of the armed forces? Then he should know he's supposed to behave properly and not break the laws.

Seriously...

[jonsoncd]

I just wanted to chime in on this thread after being in a bar last night and seeing what looked like sheriff officers (not sure who they were, but they made me think of this thread). Let me preface this by saying that I am from OHIO, so the laws may differ here (which I learned when I tried buying beer at Walmart at 12:15am and being scolded as if I was trying to get away with something).

Technically, the kid was not breaking any laws. Yes, the fake ID is illegal, but the officer was unaware of the fake ID, thus it's not a valid argument in this case. For all the officer knows, the kid was a friend of the doorman and was allowed inside. The bar is 21+, but that's the choice of the BAR, not the state (there are 18+ bars in Texas that serve alcohol, correct?). The bar decided it wanted to be 21+ and to reduce their liability, they ID at the door.

Yes, there are a lot of things wrong with this story... He shouldn't have had a fake ID or snuck into a 21+ bar, but he was not in possession of alcohol. I'm not a lawyer, but there doesn't appear to be any evidence of laws being broken... except maybe trespassing, but that's at the discretion of the bar.

If I were this 20 year-old, had time to think properly on the situation (as most likely, I would have just complied because I always respect officers) and I had truly not had any alcohol, I probably would not have shown my ID.

[JayBrown80]

Originally Posted by jonsoncd

I just wanted to chime in on this thread after being in a bar last night and seeing what looked like sheriff officers (not sure who they were, but they made me think of this thread). Let me preface this by saying that I am from OHIO, so the laws may differ here (which I learned when I tried buying beer at Walmart at 12:15am and being scolded as if I was trying to get away with something).

Technically, the kid was not breaking any laws. Yes, the fake ID is illegal, but the officer was unaware of the fake ID, thus it's not a valid argument in this case. For all the officer knows, the kid was a friend of the doorman and was allowed inside. The bar is 21+, but that's the choice of the BAR, not the state (there are 18+ bars in Texas that serve alcohol, correct?). The bar decided it wanted to be 21+ and to reduce their liability, they ID at the door.

Yes, there are a lot of things wrong with this story... He shouldn't have had a fake ID or snuck into a 21+ bar, but he was not in possession of alcohol. I'm not a lawyer, but there doesn't appear to be any evidence of laws being broken... except maybe trespassing, but that's at the discretion of the bar.

If I were this 20 year-old, had time to think properly on the situation (as most likely, I would have just complied because I always respect officers) and I had truly not had any alcohol, I probably would not have shown my ID.

Your argument is based on the premise that the OP is telling the ENTIRE story EXACLTY as it happened, and that is most likely not the case.

For all you know it is indeed a 21 only bar and the kid DID have a drink in his hand.

Why do so many people rush to defend when someone is caught breaking the law?