Kisner said neither homicide victim Kenneth Dixon, Jr., nor suspect Travis Mack were in the nightclub Friday before Dixon was killed. Mack is charged with first-degree murder after allegedly shooting Dixon in the head.
The homicide took place in Patton Alley, near Traffic's west entrance. "They were never in the club ..
. and I've gone through the security camera recording," Kisner said. In the wake of the Friday homicide, police and city officials are reviewing reported crime at various downtown establishments not limited to Traffic and could move to revoke business and liquor licenses of establishments with a history of trouble.
Other options being considered include improved lighting, extension of the city's "no cruising" ordinance to downtown, and increased strictures on liquor-license renewal. "The commitment of everyone is we're not going to allow any activity to occur downtown that is going to jeopardize what has taken so much effort on the part of so many to build," said Springfield Police Chief Lynn Rowe. "We want to make sure we protect what they've built.
" The city initiated the revocation process with Traffic once before, following an early morning brawl in October 2005 that shut down several blocks of West Walnut Street as police confronted a mob of angry club-goers outside the club. Kisner said he and his staff did everything asked of them as police investigated the shooting, even shutting down the club early so officers could conduct exit interviews with patrons. "That cost us probably a couple thousand dollars, but we wanted to do it, wanted to help," he said.
"They saw we were doing everything we could to assist, and it had nothing to do with us." During a meeting Wednesday, other downtown bar owners criticized Traffic's policies and said the club attracted a problem crowd. "When they leave the club, I can't do anything, legally," Kisner said, noting that unlike clubs with large, private parking lots, Traffic's property ends at the sidewalk.
"It's the city's responsibility," he said. "If I could control it, believe me, I'd put people there." "It would be my expectation that each establishment take responsibility for managing the patrons that they invite to their premise," he said.
"It isn't reasonable to think they can create problems and then just push it out the door and say, 'It's not my problem.' If they create it, then they need to take ownership for it." Kisner said problems at or near his bar draw more attention, but are no worse than elsewhere downtown.
He cited a fight early Thursday morning at Ernie Biggs Piano Bar at 312 South Ave. "Over the last year, the number of (fights) we've had (inside) is inconsequential. And we've never had a bar-clearing brawl like what happened last night," Kisner said of the Biggs incident.
Springfield Police spokeswoman Angela Burgess said 13 officers responded to the bar about 1 a.m. in response to a reported fight.
Two people were arrested and ticketed for resisting arrest and common assault. According to records compiled by the News-Leader, 14 assaults were reported at or outside Traffic in 2006. Of those, five involved alleged assaults on Kisner or his bouncers.
Of the bars downtown, only Icon nightclub on Park Central East had more assaults reported at its address. Ernie Biggs Piano Bar and Jordan Creek followed with eight and seven reported assaults, respectively. Rowe said the review of police calls at downtown establishments is not limited to Traffic.
"We may have several that we want to address." "The police have said multiple times, if you have a problem, we want you to call us," Kisner said. "Now they're saying, if we have too many calls, they'll hold it against us .
.. "(So) if you do call, it will be held against you.
But if you don't call, it's going to be held against you." City Attorney Dan Wichmer disputed that, saying the municipal nuisance ordinance specifically says an establishment's cooperation with police is to be taken into account. "We're not going to play favorites," Wichmer said.
"If he wanted to stop it, he could take action, instead of leaving it to the city ...
Cooperate, come forward, be proactive. He's done none of that." Although few feel comfortable addressing it, Kisner said he thinks race is a factor in the attention his bar has drawn.
Traffic is one of the few clubs in Springfield that caters to the black community, he said. "This is it. We are the social epicenter for that community.
" With so few venues to choose from, he said, it's inevitable that some of the criminal element within the black community congregates nearby, as well. "We have the strictest dress code of any club in town right now, I think," Kisner said, noting that the club also tries to regulate the music played, staying away from hard-core or violent rap. Fifteen minutes before closing time, DJs play even calmer music so patrons are "happy, smiling, having a good time when they go out the door.
" People "that are well-behaved, want to spend money and be good customers, they come in the club," Kisner said. "Those people aren't the problem. It's their friends (who stay outside).
" "It's the behavior we're concerned with," he said.
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