Braintree officials said on Tuesday that two incidents at Dave & Buster's earlier this month did not rise to the level of liquor violations, concluding that staff and police acted appropriately in response to a fight and public drinking.

Dave & Buster's presented a comprehensive defense during a Board of License Commissioners hearing at Town Hall. The company brought in top-level executives from its Dallas headquarters, including Dave & Buster's president and its security chief, to speak to the character of the restaurant and arcade and what one police officer called its "outstanding" security measures.

"I am both surprised and disappointed to be here," attorney Andrew Upton said. "This incident has gotten the attention of the company at the highest level."

The board voted unanimously, with Town Clerk Joe Powers and Fire Chief Kevin Murphy absent, that Dave & Buster's did not violate Massachusetts law on Saturday night, Jan. 7, and that no further action was required.

That night, two men suddenly began fighting near the bathrooms over a decade-long fued, according to a police report. And just after closing time, another patron snuck a souvenir Dave & Buster's glass under his coat into the parking lot, where he was confronted by a police officer posted outside to help deal with the large crowd.

Upton, Dave & Buster's President Dolf Berle and James Brussow, head of security, outlined the measures taken since then by and for staff at the Braintree location, which opened in early December with 150 amusement games after a long permitting process involving several local bodies, including the license board.

An internal review, Upton said, showed that Dave & Buster's goes "above and beyond the usual standard" when it comes to alcohol safety. Other reviews showed that there was nothing either Dave & Buster's "captains" or the Braintree police on detail that night could have done to prevent the fight from breaking out. Short of frisking every customer on their way out the door, the same was true for the public consumption charge, Upton said.

Nevertheless, Dave & Buster's decided to get rid of its souvenir glasses to limit temptation, station the back-of-the-house manager by the front at closing time and staff additional captains.

More than 500 people left the restaurant between midnight and 1 a.m. that night, Brussow said, and each one was counted and watched as they left. In addition, Brian Cohoon was on patrol outside and wrote in a report that he did not see any patrons exiting with glass or bottles.

In response to the assault and battery, Dave & Buster's will hire two additional managers and is purchasing earpieces so that every police officer on detail has better access to their radios. Cohoon testified that within three minutes of hearing the radio call for the fight, he arrived at Dave & Buster's and the suspects were already handcuffed and outside with police.

Officer David Jordan, though, had a different perspective on the situation, saying that there have been numerous incidents in addition to those on Jan. 7 at Dave & Buster's since it opened. Jordan was the officer who spotted the man drinking in the parking lot, identified the glass and later wrote a report about the incident.

Police Chief and board member Paul Frazier said members should remain focused on the two incidents at hand and also praised Dave & Buster's for working well with the force and responding to suggestions. On Jan. 7, for instance, the manager kept extra detail officers on because of the large crowd. The former Circuit City building that Dave & Buster's occupies has a capacity of 994, though staff caps the number at 850.

"Short of giving the waitstaff funnels" and taking away all the glasses, Frazier joked, nothing could have been done to stop the second incident. He added, "There's nobody more tenacious than the Braintree Police Department and officer Dave Jordan when it comes to liquor violations."

As part of laying out Dave & Buster's character and contribution to the community, Upton said that the Braintree location has already worked with several charities, spends $20,000 per month on police and fire details, kicked in $70,000 in sales and meals taxes in December, paid the town $20,000 in licensing fees for the year and an additional $18,000 in real estate tax through the South Shore Plaza.

"Attendance at Dave & Buster's has been strong and it has quickly become a family destination," Upton said.

Company president Berle reassured officials that Dave & Buster's was in Braintree for the long haul after investing $14 million and that it was important they be "good corporate citizens."

"I want to apologize to the board for having to take your time with these incidents," Berle said. "We take this very seriously."