By the numbers: Is East Quay Street in downtown Port Huron just busy or unsafe?

PORT HURON — In the wake of 26-year-old Joshua Conant’s death Nov. 4 outside the Roche Bar, the demands for justice and support for his loved ones from residents almost seemed omnipresent.

Hundreds filled Port Huron's social media pages and attended a Nov. 11 vigil downtown, voicing their collective grief and calling for action from city leaders. Days later, dozens attended a City Council meeting to urge officials to probe police activity and seek out answers.

Some of those questions, including how complicit the bar’s personnel was in the tragedy, could be left hanging for months after local authorities passed the death investigation to the Michigan State Police and Michigan Attorney General’s office for any criminal case.

However, one common point has emerged from among concerned citizens calling for the Roche itself to be shut down that could — for now — turn the magnifying glass more on the city’s past.

Because once, some residents say, the city took steps to shutter the Military Street Music Café for far less.

"That was our last bar downtown that created significant problems where you could rely on Thursday night, Friday night, Saturday night, being there for a brawl," Port Huron Assistant Police Chief Brian Kerrigan said in an interview last week.

Port Huron law enforcement had cited a heavy uptick in police calls to the former café bar, 1102 Military St., from 39 in 2013 to 95 in 2015 before the city successfully asked the Michigan Liquor Control Commission to revoke its licensure in 2016.

That bar remains closed, and in the nearly eight years since, police officials said those circumstances have proven to be far worse than any collection of calls at other establishments downtown — the Roche included.

"I couldn’t even tell you exactly, but it was quite a bit, I mean, hundreds and hundreds of calls just at that one location," Capt. Jeremy Young said of the music café.

An in-depth Times Herald survey of police calls dispatched in a narrow area, including the Roche at 405 Quay St. and a handful of other establishments, showed no individual bar establishment has shown totals close to that of the Military Street Music Café’s final year.

In an area covering all of Quay Street, as well as Huron Avenue and Michigan, Fort and Merchant streets south of Grand River Avenue, there were roughly 458 total calls in 2021, 329 in 2022, and 351 in 2023 through mid-November.  And roughly half of those calls or more have been over a variety of other issues, excluding calls marked as traffic stops or liquor inspections common to the busy district.

At just the Roche, total calls have risen from 35 in 2021 to 49 this year. In contrast, Wings Etc. across the street has seen it vary at 50, 35, and 36 total calls over three years.

But outside of Conant’s death, what does the call volume say about the area? Is it a sign of busy traffic downtown or a genuine source of safety concerns?

That depends on who you ask.

Downtown Call Data by Jackie Smith on Scribd

Comparing incidents at the Roche: How are police calls categorized?

At Port Huron City Council members’ Nov. 13 meeting, city officials inquired about what was necessary to shutter the Roche through the MLCC. Representatives from the state agency have since said they don’t comment on investigations.

The Military Music Street Café issue transpired over several months with discussion at multiple council meetings.

Unlike that establishment, however, Conant’s death has also left other quiet reminders about the Roche. A makeshift memorial for Conant remained intact at Quay and Michigan streets for two weeks, and as of last week, a #JusticeForJosh decal survived abreast on the door of the bar — still closed since Nov 4.

Part of the problem with the Military Street Music Café, according to police, was not just that it was a nighttime place with drinking, but that the owner was allegedly often combative and uncooperative with officers when they were called. One incident caught on camera involved the owner striking an employee after hours.

Kerrigan said there used to be more nightlife in Port Huron that brought people downtown to drink, but around Quay Street, the Roche is among the few open after midnight.

That's not to say there have not been any major incidents attached to the Roche Bar.

In 2021, there was a fight outside the Roche between two customers that ended with an exchange of gunfire. Kerrigan said the department increased patrols in the area after the shooting.

For the year 2021, all but eight calls were something other than a traffic stop or liquor inspection. There was one disorderly conduct, half a dozen assault-related calls, the associated weapons calls, and others common to bars across downtown, including a noise complaint, unwanted or intoxicated persons, and “suspicious circumstances.”

The latter kind of call increased by a handful the following two years; as did assault and battery calls, and unwanted persons.

But Kerrigan said that those numbers needed to be put in context, as not all calls for service result in a complaint about a crime, such as a missing wallet that was found.

What address is listed to a call can also vary depending on how it's described by a responding officer.

"Of those 45 calls that the Roche address got (in 2023), not all of those are directly related to the Roche," Kerrigan said. "That was the landmark that either the caller used, the dispatcher entered, or the Roche may have been the caller for the incident that was taking place in the parking lot."

According to police, an incident listed as having happened at 405 Quay St. could have just as easily been attached to 330 Quay St. if an officer had said it was happening near Wings instead of the Roche.

Young suggested the intersection between Quay and Michigan streets may see more incidents than other places downtown because the East Quay parking lot provides parking for several businesses in the area.

Port Huron Police Chief Joe Platzer said his department had not spoken to any of the business owners about crime in the area, though some business owners said they've had those conversations with law enforcement in the past. He said he had talked to City Manager James Freed about this issue but did not say what that discussion entailed.

Freed has separately been outspoken about talking with businesses about any issues in that area, adding he frequently bring his own family down. "And we have never felt unsafe," he said.

“It is not uncommon for us to have these types of conversations with business establishments. This is normal, the normal course of business in this type of industry. You have these issues that arise, and we have all those conversations," the adminsitrator said. He added there have been other bars in other areas in the city's past that have sparked controversy and concerns, broadly crediting community policing over decades with a shift from widespread public safety issues that were more widespread "in the '90s an dearly 2000s."

Roche owner Steve Amey did not return multiple messages seeking comment.

How much do police calls correlate with the late hour as bars close?

At Wings Etc., though calls have fallen slightly overall in three years, the number of “suspicious circumstances” calls attributed to 330 Quay St. has gone up similar to the Roche and 405 Quay.

There were also slightly fewer weapons- or assault-related calls at Wings.

One 2021 call was for “dangerous drugs,” according to police, but no criminal possession was ultimately discovered.

Wings owner Gene Harrison said he understood the comparison of police calls between downtown bars.

Still, without naming other establishments, he said he thought it could be hard to police patrons as they often bounced between establishments. To handle any potential issues, he said they hire professional security, rely on employees with state-recognized certification to serve alcohol, and are often quick to involve law enforcement when needed.

“Every bar has problems with people that come in, have problems with other guests in the building,” Harrison said in an interview. “The bar crowd, especially the late-night bar crowd, they’re all out to have a good time, and unfortunately, everybody’s ex-girlfriends, ex-boyfriends, ex-wives, and everything else, a lot of the disturbances (can) come.”

“So, literally, I’m going to say we probably have as many calls to the police as anybody,” he added. “But keep in mind … our problems are a lot less because we call faster. Our mentality is if we have a problem, let’s get it taken care of. We’ve literally had people come into our building, go upstairs, go downstairs, see the person they’re looking for, walk right over and punch them, and they never drink in my building.”

Wings, as well as other bars like Lynch’s Irish Tavern, the Zebra Lounge, and venues inside the Wrigley Center — all within the six-block area of the Roche — often close at midnight or later.

Lynch’s and the Zebra have consistently shown call totals ranging closely around 20 to 30 over the last three years. The Wrigley, which was under construction in 2022 and opened this year, saw 8 and 25 calls last year and so far in 2023 — most of those encompassing property checks, lost or stolen items, or assisting citizens.

Wrigley developer Larry Jones said later hours at bars could mean “the crowd is rougher,” though he also understood the Wrigley calls could also accommodate over 30 tenants who live there.

“None of this surprises me. I guess the numbers add up,” he said.

At Lynch’s, owner Scott Scandalito said he didn’t have any concerns about incidents that may be around the corner from his bar — nor the few that arise at their door.

“I don’t do anything to encourage it. I do a lot to discourage it. We don’t have any problems as far as people making trouble,” he said by phone Thursday. “We manage our patrons' alcohol intake, and if we see somebody that seems like they potentially could be a behavioral problem, we pay close attention to them and kindly ask them to leave if need be.”

Scandalito said they haven’t had formal security hired since before COVID — once hired for events like Boat Night or the night before Thanksgiving.

“That all falls on me. I’m just there being vigilant,” he said.

For other establishments with liquor licenses nearby, there were only a handful of police calls listed over three years.

Vintage Tavern owner Jeff Payton said he didn’t consider his business to be in the bar category, noting they close much earlier.

“It used to be that when I first opened, it was 1-1:30 (a.m.), and then, it went to midnight, and then, it went to 11,” he said. “Now, I’m never open after 10 p.m., which is pretty much before anything happened that’s negative downtown.”

With most business coming in at the Vintage between 6 and 9 p.m., Payton said the change in hours was more so a natural change similar to other restaurants that are a bit more upscale.

But he admitted, “It didn’t cost us a lot of business, let’s put it that way. And it helped us to avoid the headaches.”

Contact Jackie Smith at (810) 989-6270 or jssmith@gannett.com. Contact Johnathan Hogan at jhogan@gannett.com.

This article originally appeared on Port Huron Times Herald: Is Quay Street busy or unsafe? Here's what to know about police calls downtown.