Editor's note: The title for Twisted Apes employee Chuck Sullivan has been updated.
Ingleside Police Department say they are dialing back the number of walkthroughs conducted for the three bars in the area. The three locations are the Buckhorn Saloon, Twisted Apes Bar & Grill, and La Barra Mexican Bar and Grill.
The walkthroughs began following a mandate by then-Chief of Police Tammy Burr. “Per the order from the chief, we were doing mandatory checks for Twisted Apes and Buckhorn because they would stay open later than everyone else," acting Chief Martin Molina said.
“Bar checks are just officers coming in, and it all depends based on the complaints that come in. Historically, bar checks are only done when we receive complaints from the bar owners.”
And the walkthroughs were indeed requested, at least from one of the owners.
Connie Gifford, the owner and operator of the Buckhorn Saloon, says that the walkthroughs have been beneficial to her business. "I want them in here," Gifford explained. "I just feel it’s safe for the patrons and my bartenders. My bartender feels safer with them dropping in. It drives out the people who are not so well.”
Gifford appreciates the police presence so much that she wants them to become regular parts of the schedule. “I want them in here. I would like them to walk through here on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday nights especially.”
At Twisted Apes, the feeling towards these walkthroughs is far less enthusiastic. Promotions manager Chuck Sullivan sees the increased police presence as a detriment to his business. “People were saying this is a cop hangout now, they’re not wanting to come," Sullivan explained.
Sullivan believes that the walkthroughs are due to an incident that occurred in May 2022.
Sullivan was in an altercation with two former employees at Twisted Apes. He followed them out to the parking lot where another series of events led to one of the employee's rear windows being smashed. Sullivan was arrested for "punching out" the window according to police reports.
He was charged with a Class C misdemeanor and was eventually found not guilty, with the act being deemed self-defense. Since the verdict, he feels that the walkthroughs have become far more frequent.
“We’re like, this is weird, Chuck. We’ve worked at many bars. I’ve got some of them that work at bars in Corpus, and they don’t get as many walkthroughs as we do."
Sullivan made several complaints to the Ingleside Police Department; however, the walkthroughs continued. “He informed us that we were ruining his business, that we were harassing him by doing all these bar checks. He didn’t like the police cars in his parking lot every night. I talked to Chief Burr about it, and she said it would continue. This continued until the time that she resigned," Molina explained.
From January to the time the walkthroughs stopped, there was a total of 156 walkthroughs among the three locations. Buckhorn and Twisted Apes saw a total of 48 altogether in March alone.
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