'Habitually intoxicated' ordinance OKd by city on first read

By Katie Roenigk
The Ranger
Via Wyoming News Exchange
 
RIVERTON — A new ordinance is under consideration in Riverton that would create a list of "habitually intoxicated persons" who are barred from purchasing alcohol in city limits.
The Riverton City Council approved the ordinance on first reading Oct. 2.
The change would make it unlawful to sell, give away or otherwise furnish an alcoholic beverage to someone who has been declared habitually intoxicated under terms of the ordinance.
Two additional readings would be required before the ordinance took effect.
"A person who is habitually intoxicated may lack self-control as to the use of alcoholic beverages and use such alcoholic beverages to the extent that their health, welfare and safety is substantially disrupted," the ordinance states.
"Such conduct is dangerous to the individual and to others. It is in the interest of the health, welfare and safety of the residents and guests of the City of Riverton to prohibit the harmful conduct of a habitually intoxicated person."
Definitions
A "known habitually intoxicated person" is defined as a person who, in the past 180 days, has been convicted of six or more criminal offenses through the Riverton municipal court in which a judge determines the person is guilty of "being under the influence of alcohol to a degree that they were a danger to themselves or others at the time of the commission of the crime."
People also may voluntarily request inclusion on the list, which will be distributed to each liquor license holder in town.
The list also would be posted on the city's website, including each person's name, date of birth, a photo if possible, and "any other information that will aid in the identification of the listed person."
Anyone added to the list will be notified in writing, according to the ordinance, and there is a process for appeals.
Twice a year, the ordinance states, the Riverton Police Department will review the list and remove the names of people who no longer fit the definition of "known habitually intoxicated person."
Punishment
Anyone who furnishes alcohol to someone on the list will be subject to a fine of up to $750.
Councilman Mike Bailey wondered whether a punishment also should be in place for the listed person attempting to purchase alcohol.
"Philosophically have a problem with the person selling them alcohol getting punished worse than the person trying to buy it," he said. "I think this is a really good idea and moving in the right direction, (but) I think there should be punishment on both sides."
Councilman Lance Goede, who helped develop the ordinance as a member of the city's Solutions Committee, agreed that additional attempts to address the issue of public intoxication in Riverton will be necessary.
"I hope the community understands that we don't expect this to be a magic bullet," he said. "There are multiple things that we have to do to make changes in this area. ... That's the hope, (is) to continue to try things to see if they'll work. And if they work, we'll keep them and do more. If they don't work, we'll find something different to do."
'Targets'
Councilman Tim Hancock asked what sort of liability the ordinance opens up for the city. In response, city attorney Rick Sollars noted that "everybody has the potential to be placed on the list," and "once they're on the list, everybody is treated equally."
"I understand that in the end somebody may claim that it targets a certain segment of the population, but what it's really designed to do is to target the population that can't control themselves with drinking," he said.
"That's the segment we're trying to target. The end result may or may not be that a certain segment is the recipients of this, but at least on its face and in intent it's meant to treat anybody who has this type of drinking problem."
Other offenses?
Hancock also wondered whether the list might include people found guilty of other alcohol-related offenses such as driving under the influence. Sollars said it is logistically easier to track violations of municipal offenses in Riverton as opposed to state-level offenses and crimes that take place in other jurisdictions.
"The only convictions we're counting are just those through the Riverton municipal court," he said. "We have access to all of those."
Hancock pointed out that other offenses will be addressed appropriately in court.
"This is specifically meant to address the people we're seeing in public on a regular basis - whether it's in the park or elsewhere," he said. "They're becoming a nuisance to others. They're harassing folks, they're drunk, they're falling down in front of you - I mean this happens, and it happens plenty in our community."
First list
RPD chief Eric Murphy estimated that at least 15-20 people would be on the list right away, with some of those individuals showing up to 30 arrests for public intoxication in the past six months.
"That's what we're trying to capture," Hancock said. "There are other parts of the system capturing other things like DUIs. ... This is a unique way we can try to figure out cutting off the supply for these folks."