The council is now okay with the Goat, a bar just outside of New Albany, renewing its liquor license. The council had initially objected to the renewal at the recommendation of the city attorney’s office after police arrested several bar employees for serving alcohol to people under 21.
Attorney Will Nesbitt represented Goat employees who had been accused of serving alcohol to individuals under the legal drinking age of 21. The arrest prompted the Columbus City Council to object to the Goat’s petition to renew its liquor license, but now that the charges have been dropped, the council has withdrawn its objection.
Judge David Tyack who presided over this case ruled that a detective with the Columbus police department entrapped several bar employees, and therefore the employees were not guilty. The detective was a frequent patron of the Goat, in fact, he was so close with employees of the Goat that he even dated one of the bartenders. Goat employees trusted him. According to court documents, the arresting officer brought the underage people to the bar with him and allegedly leveraged his position of trust to get employees to serve them alcohol.
Tyack’s ruling has prompted the Columbus police department to review whether this is an isolated issue or a larger problem, although an assistant city attorney has expressed his belief that this is a one-off incident.
To learn more about this case, visit Bar’s liquor license no longer in jeopardy; judge says police entrapped servers.