DES MOINES, Iowa —
The city of Des Moines is taking an embattled Ingersoll bar to court.
The city says Zora Bar and Rooftop is a public safety nuisance. The lawsuit, filed last week, describes a long list of police calls and incidents at Zora in the last eight months. Those police calls include a homicide that happened in the bar’s parking lot last November. The lawsuit states that police have been called to Zora and the surrounding area 54 times for disturbing the peace and quiet.
Last week, shots were fired around bar close.
The bar’s owner, Edwin Allen, is demanding a jury trial.
“The city filed to abate the nuisance and has asked for such remedial action as the Court deems reasonable to abate the nuisance," Des Moines City Manager Scott Sanders said in a statement to KCCI.
The lawsuit uses a new state law that allows cities to sue bar owners and their establishments and request remedial action by a judge. That action, according to the new law, can be a temporary closure of the establishment, revocation of a liquor license for a period of time, change in business practice or posting of bond.
The city says a public safety nuisance exists because of multiple riots and the use of a weapon at Zora. Riots, according to state law, are where three or more people are together causing violence or property damage. The lawsuit says, by those standards, a riot in the parking lot happened on April 2, February 26 and July 9.
KCCI was scheduled to do an interview with Allen. Though on Monday he said the timeframe didn’t match up to his schedule. He disputes virtually all of the complaints made by the city in the lawsuit and says he’s tried to work with police proactively to curb violence.
Des Moines Police Sgt. Paul Parizek says police have increased patrols in the neighborhood.
“Those have actually resulted in the recovery of illegal drugs, and at least five illegally possessed firearms just since March,” Sgt. Parizek said. “So, our efforts are there, and they’re very successful.”
Zora is currently up for sale.
The public nuisance law also states that once it is filed, a bar owner will be notified to stop serving alcohol at 10 p.m. The Iowa Alcoholic Beverages Division says Zora has been notified to stop serving by 10 p.m.