Overview
- Tempe Tavern issued its first public statement, arguing police overstated arrests, asserting only three people were taken into custody and the rest received citations, and saying the bar itself was not cited.
- Tempe Police reaffirmed their tally from the Nov. 20 operation, citing 246 criminal citations that are legally considered arrests plus three bookings, and referenced multiple citizen complaints about the bar.
- The Arizona Department of Liquor Licenses and Control said it is awaiting Tempe Police reports as it analyzes the case for possible regulatory action.
- Police say photos on 19-year-old Ava Bellowe’s phone show she spent about two hours inside Tempe Tavern before a Sept. 14 hit-and-run that killed 18-year-old Joseph Gonzalez; she was booked on a felony failure-to-stop charge and not charged with DUI.
- Tempe Tavern says it works with police and the liquor regulator and contends increasingly sophisticated fake IDs can defeat common verification methods, noting staff have attended offered liquor-law training.