How Safe is Downtown Kent?
Two months ago a twenty-year-old Kent State student was assaulted in downtown Kent after getting into a fight outside of Bar 145 downtown suffering severe lacerations to the face and other injuries. For those who heard about the assault it raises the question of safety in downtown Kent.
It’s been four years since two men died as the result of a bar fight in downtown Kent. Dayton native, 22-year-old Christopher M. Kernich was fatally beaten in November of 2009 and a Delaware man, 28-year-old John T. White died three months later from the injuries he received in a beating in downtown Kent. Both were Kent State University students who died after getting into fights with men who were residents of Akron.
Lieutenant Jim Prusha of Kent Police Department says that although it’s been four years since any fatal incidents occurred, the Kent Police Department hasn’t done anything drastically different to improve safety.
“I’ve been here 18 years and we’ve always increased our patrol around bar closing time and that’s when these [deaths] occurred, so that’s what we’ve always done, ‘Prusha said. “I think we have tried to increase it some during those years but when I say increase it what I mean is when we have a night shift role call at 11 p.m. we’ll say to the officers ‘Look around 2 or 3 if you’re not busy doing something else please be in the downtown area.'”
Prusha estimates about 1,000 people visit the downtown area on a nice Saturday night and that majority of fights occur between bar patrons happen after the bars close and are classified as disorderly conduct. He says that most fights don’t escalate to the level of assault before they are stopped.
“Usually it’s people who have had too much to drink and they may get angry with each other and a lot of times between the bouncers and the police we get it settled before it gets too bad.”
Prusha says the average demographic for these types of fights are young men in their twenties. Despite the two fatal fights resulting by those of Akron residents, Prusha also says the majority of arrests he makes are Kent State students.
Dante Campbell, a bouncer at Water Street Tavern agrees that the number of assaults in downtown Kent are low and that the staff at Water Street Tavern help contribute to that.
“I think that has a lot to do with us having a good staff and nipping things in the butt things really get started.”
Campbell says the staff at Water Street Tavern do a a lot of people watching and are quick to escort people out of the bar before anything escalates into a fight. He says they watch for anyone who’s had too much to drink, is being too rowdy or is acting strange.
The map made with data from the Kent Police Department shows that the majority of assaults happen outside of popular bars in downtown Kent. The most assaults over the past two years (5) occurred outside of Bar 145. The next highest number with four assaults have occurred mostly on Water Street in areas between The Zephyr Pub, Water Street Tavern and 157 Lounge. Lastly, with three assaults is the Brewhouse Pub on N. Water St. To see where other assaults occurred in downtown Kent over the past two years look at the map below.
Downtown Safety Tips
Assaults in downtown Kent have been low over the past two years but so have other types of arrests. Only six robberies and three weapons offenses were committed in downtown Kent over the past two years according to arrest records from the Kent Police Department. While these numbers are low there are things you can do to keep yourself downtown on a Saturday night.
1. Never Walk Alone- the best way to prevent yourself from being robbed or unknowingly assaulted is to always walk with a group of friends.
2. Don’t Hang Out After The Bars Close- Lt. Prusha says that most fights occur after the bard close and everyone must go outside. He said if it’s particularly nice out people will hang around for awhile.
3. Know Your Limit- A good tip for not getting kicked out of a bar or getting into a fight is to watch how much you’re drinking. Extreme intoxication is typically what leads into these types of altercations.
In order to look up the exact definitions of how assaults, robberies, and weapons offenses are classified by the police go to http://codes.ohio.gov/orc/ to read the exact definitions of Ohio Revised Code..
