Jax mayor says downtown bar handled weekend fight correctly

By Gary Scott on January 26, 2016 at 1:02pm

Jacksonville Mayor Andy Ezard says the city is not planning on taking action against another downtown bar following an incident over the weekend.

City police reports indicate four females were involved in a disturbance over the weekend that was reported by The Depot on West Morgan Street. Three citations were issued for fighting, and one arrest was made for battery. The report doesn’t specify if the skirmish happened inside or outside the bar.

Ezard, as head of the city liquor board, recently announced a three-weekend suspension for the downtown bar On The Rox following a series of incidents, including a large street brawl overnight on New Year’s Day. But, Ezard says there aren’t plans to punish The Depot at this time.

“The Depot is different because they have not had calls to the police over 20 times within the past year, such as The Rox has,” says Ezard.

“The Depot did the proper thing as far as contacting our police department to come handle the situation, and the situation was resolved. The proper course of action is to call the police department, and not try to handle it themselves,” he continues.

Police reports note the four people allegedly involved in the Depot altercation reportedly had been involved in previous dustups at On The Rox.

Ezard says this upcoming weekend will be the final weekend of On The Rox’s liquor license suspension. He says the establishment remains open on the weekend for food service.