A popular Fourth Avenue bar is facing possible discipline by the state for failing to report two violent assaults to law enforcement, documents show.
O’Malleys Bar and Grill, 247 N. Fourth Ave., violated state law by not reporting the 2015 assaults to law enforcement or the Arizona Department of Liquor, an investigation by the department’s Liquor License and Control division concluded last week.
On Feb. 8, a customer was struck in the back of the head twice, then turned around and was struck on the forehead by a bottle. Instead of calling an ambulance or 911, a security guard gave her a bandage and told her she needed to go to the hospital since she was bleeding profusely, the investigative report says. A Tucson police officer checked whether any calls were made to 911 from O’Malleys and there weren’t, the report adds.
On May 9, police interviewed a woman who said she was hit on the head with a bottle several times while dancing, the report says.
After O’Malleys security separated the two women, the victim was asked to leave, along with her assailant, according to the police report.
Although police were called in the two incidents now deemed violations by the state, it was by the victims and not anyone affiliated with O’Malleys. State law requires that the liquor-license holder call police or follow up later to tell the liquor department what happened.
The two violations have been forwarded to the liquor department’s compliance unit to review for disciplinary action. It could take up to 45 days for a decision to be made, or longer if bar owner Brian Cummings gets an attorney, said Lee Hill, a department spokeswoman.
The state investigation began after the Star reported in December that police records showed four aggravated assaults occurred at O’Malleys between February and August 2015. However, a state database showed no liquor law violations at O’Malleys in 2015. The Star contacted the department of liquor to verify that the database was correct.
At the time, Hill said no acts of violence had been reported by Cummings. That’s when the state investigation began.
The state report found that two of the four assaults the Star found in police records were not actionable liquor violations.
The Star reached out to bar owner Cummings in December via phone calls, email and certified mail but received no response.
Since 2002, O’Malleys has had 10 violations with the state department, including allowing disorderly patrons to remain on the premises, failure to protect the safety of patrons and, most notably, repeated acts of violence in 2011, according to the department’s database.
Repeated acts of violence is defined by the department as two or more within seven days, or three or more within 30 days.
