Suspended Sentence for Elks Lodge in Alcohol-Related Assault

Town officials approved a one-day suspended sentence for the Braintree Lodge of Elks' alcohol license Tuesday afternoon, citing the club for failing to report an assault and battery last December.

The penalty, in keeping with other decisions by the Board of License Commissioners under similar circumstances, means the Elks will not have to serve the suspension unless another violation happens within the next six months. However, the finding of an alcohol violation – that the club permitted an illegality – will stay on its record as a first offense for the next 48 months.

On the night of Dec. 27, 2012, a non-member got into an argument with a member of the lodge and allegedly assaulted him during a card game, striking him in the face and bloodying his nose and bruising his eye, according to Braintree Officer Jack Twohig, who investigated the incident afterward.

Twohig's interviews with Elks staff demonstrated that neither the bartender or the manager on duty contacted the police after the alleged assault. The victim himself called the police, prompting the follow-up, though he never followed through with a detective and brought charges, Twohig said.

Russell Neary, representing the lodge, initially contested the violation Tuesday, arguing that the Elks' policy of handling such minor incidents internally is the right course of action. 

"I would not have called the police with that incident because it was broken up so quickly," Neary said.

But he reversed course and admitted to the violation after Board Chair Joe Powers stressed to Neary the seriousness of an establishment holding a liquor license not reporting a crime on its premises.

What if there had been a resulting medical emergency, Powers asked, or what if the incident had led to charges and the police were unable to collect immediate, on-the-scene evidence?

"You got lucky," Powers said.

Two years ago, board members unanimously approved a similar penalty for the Loyal Order of the Moose after two members got into a fight. 

Last July, the Knights of Columbus also received a one-day suspension of its alcohol license held in abeyance for six months after a fight broke out at the tail-end of a wedding reception.