Garfield Heights Mayor holds Town Hall to address violence at a local bar

GARFIELD HEIGHTS, Ohio (WOIO) - A community comes together, and residents are angry, fed up, and demanding that a local bar be shut down.

Garfield Heights shooting has community calling for bar to be shut down

Garfield Heights Mayor Matt Burke held a Town Hall meeting at the Civic Centre Wednesday night to discuss the violence over the weekend, as well as other concerns related to the Showcase Bar and Grill on Turney Road.

Those who live near the bar tell 19 News at least 8 homes in the neighborhood have been hit by gunfire, and they believe it’s directly related to ongoing violence at the bar. 19 News has also learned that some neighbors have even been the victims of alleged intimidation by someone they believe is connected to the liquor establishment.

On Saturday, a 29-year-old man was critically injured after being shot multiple times. Garfield Heights Police found him lying in the street just outside the Showcase Bar.

Monica Briggs addressed the Mayor, Chief Prosecutor, and Council members during the Town Hall, telling them on September 25, 2022, it was her son, 27-year-old Ronnie Briggs, a father of two, who was murdered there, “It should have been closed. It shouldn’t have been open then. My son was in the process of removing himself (as a co-owner of the business) that January. But he didn’t make it past September. It’s very heartbreaking to hear other people getting shot there. Are we gonna have to have more people die at this place before anything is done?”

Briggs was shot and killed as he tried to break up a fight and manage a large crowd at the Showcase. His mother says she wants a sign removed that’s posted outside of the business with her son’s name on it.

Others like Joe Burrier, who lives just feet away from the business, are also speaking up. Burrier brought a copy of an ordinance passed by the City of Cleveland, which allows it to declare a business a nuisance when repeated criminal activity or other crimes are involved, “At this point, I’m angry. The city hasn’t taken forceful action on this yet, and now either someone will be injured for the rest of their life or dead, and if we don’t do something, it’s going to keep happening time and time again.”

A former council member told city officials, “People are dying. It’s not just noise anymore, it’s a nuisance.”

Still others, like a 60-year-old man who was born and raised in Garfield Heights, blamed elected officials for not acting quickly enough, “Shame on you.”

But, Chief Prosecutor Edward Fadel says that while he realizes the community is discouraged, there are things happening behind the scenes to address the issues related to the Showcase Bar, “While it may not appear to the public that things have been done I want to assure you that behind the scenes we are working very diligently with all of our partners not just our local law enforcement.”

Mayor Matt Burke told the crowd if it was up to him, the Showcase Bar would already be shut down, but he says it’s important for the city to do everything by the letter of the law, “If I had my way, they’d be gone. We started the process a while back when the first guy got killed. But it’s just been a tough legal battle.”

19 News has reached out to the Showcase Bar for a comment, we are waiting to hear back.