Michaela Mendygral

by Michaela Mendygral

It has been an unusually quiet month for Clubhouse Cafe on Whitney Avenue. On Friday, March 1, a ‘For Sale’ sign was posted outside the bar and the cafe is officially on the market.

“We just put it on the market last week,” Lindsey Carnage of Colonial Properties said.

The Clubhouse, located just a little over a mile from the Quinnipiac University Mount Carmel campus, was a convenient hangout for students of both legal and underrage status.

The local bar has been closed for a little over a month after it was raided. Its doors are covered with notices regarding the cafe´s liquor license, deeming it indefinitely suspended.

“On Jan. 25, 2019, after receiving numerous complaints, Hamden Police again conducted a liquor compliance check at Clubhouse Café. Officers issued 131 infractions for ‘Simple Trespass’ to patrons that were under 21 years of age,” captain Ronald Smith of Hamden Police stated in a press release on Jan. 30. Most of the underage patrons present were Quinnipiac students, according to Hamden Police.

Consumer Protection Commissioner Michelle H. Seagull also released a statement on Jan. 30, issuing a summary suspension for the establishment.

Seagull cited an inspection by Hamden Police in the statement.

“We are deeply concerned as our officers have noticed that Quinnipiac students from nearby are walking intoxicated in the road coming to and from the Clubhouse Café,” acting Police Chief John Cappiello said in a press release from the Department of Consumer Protection. “Due to the repeated offenses and risk that this establishment is causing to our young residents and area college students, any assistance in mitigating the obvious dangers posed to minors who patronize the establishment would be greatly appreciated.”

Clubhouse’s license has been suspended before, most recently within the past year.

“On April 20, 2018, approximately 100 people, under 21 years of age, were on the premises. Police seized 42 fraudulent identifications during the liquor compliance check,” Smith stated.

The compliance check in January could be the last straw for the Liquor Control Commission, who would not lift the suspension until a hearing, according to Smith.

“We don’t take the issuance of a summary suspension lightly, but feel it is warranted in this instance. Serving underage patrons is a very serious offense, and our partnerships with local police, other state agencies, and community organizations are all needed to keep this from happening in our communities,” Seagull stated in the release.

According to the New Haven Register, director of communications for the Department of Consumer Protection, Lora Rae Anderson said Clubhouse Cafe was barred from opening while under summary suspension.

“The permit remains under the summary suspension, and the matter is still pending,” Anderson said.

Permittee Anthony Danonoli could not be reached for comment.

UPDATED – Feb. 15, 2019

By Michaela Mendygral

(Photo Credit: Hamden Police Department Facebook)

A proposal to create a civilian review board to oversee police conduct has split the Hamden Legislative Council, with six members formally backing the idea and one in opposition, according to Facebook posts by councilors Wednesday, Feb. 6.

Council members proposed the idea Wednesday night in the wake of revelations that Hamden Police Officer Andrew Lipford threatened to report a suspect to ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement), prompting an internal investigation by Police Chief John Cappiello, Mayor Curt Balzano Leng wrote in a statement Wednesday morning.

The controversy emerged after footage of Lipford’s bodycam was leaked to WTNH news Tuesday, Feb. 5. The video showed the events after Hamden resident Victor Medina allegedly ran a red light and led officers in a chase until he reached his home in February 2018.

Lipford threatened to call ICE after pulling Medina over and threatened to shoot Medina if he did anything he was not told to, in the bodycam footage.

“A civilian review board would hold the police department accountable and prevent incidents like this from happening,” At-Large Councilwoman Lauren Garrett said in a statement on Facebook Wednesday, Feb. 6.

Garrett has said that her main concern about the current proposal of an investigation is that the issue is not being handled seriously.

“I think that any time you are investigating wrongdoing the person should be put on leave,”Garrett said.

Hamden Police Department confirmed Lipford is still on active duty.

“We feel that an internal investigation is not an appropriate way to investigate these matters,” 9th District Councilman Brad Macdowall.

Although a majority of council members have signed onto the Facebook statement, not all 15 members agree on the idea of a civilian review board.

“Our talks have, at this point, been limited to the need for a civilian review board that is independent from the police department and has subpoena powers,” Macdowall said.

Seventh District Councilman Michael Colaiacovo opted out of the joint statement and instead released his own in a Facebook post.

“Everyone, including police officers, are entitled to due process,” Calaiacovo said. “I am saddened that Mayor Leng and some members of the council felt such a strong need to publicly pass judgement on this situation before an investigation was completed.”

Hamden has not sought a civilian review board in the past, Macdowall said. So it is unclear to the six council members what they would want a Hamden Civilian Review Board to look like or how members would be appointed, Macdowall explained.

“[Civilian review boards] vary in structure and power, ranging from only making recommendations to police directors about disciplinary action to having the power to subpoena officers,” according to the Journal of Public Health.

But whatever form it might take, Garrett said that having a police review panel in place could have an impact on future police-civilian interactions like that involving Lipford.

“If we had a review board, maybe something like this wouldn’t catch us flat-footed,” she said.

UPDATE – Feb. 15, 2019

Ronald Suraci, regional director with United Public Service Employees/COPS, showed his confidence in the officers being cleared in a statement he made Thursday.

“It is apparent to me that the media and other individuals affiliated with the Town of Hamden are jumping to conclusions about the appropriateness of the officer’s conduct without the benefit of a complete and thorough review of the facts and circumstances leading to the arrest of Victor Medina on the night of February 8, 2018,” Suraci told the New Haven Register. “Town leaders and the public should reserve judgment and comment of the officers until such time as the results of an untainted and unbiased investigation are revealed. I am confident that when such an investigation is completed that the officers will be cleared of any wrongdoing.”

HQ Press will continue to have updates as the story progresses.

Author: Michaela Mendygral

Hamden´s Clubhouse Cafe for sale

Hamden council members divided over alleged police misconduct