Editor’s note: This article has been revised to more accurately reflect the source of the information reported.

A Taylor’s Bar & Grill bartender is under investigation after being accused by five women of tampering with their drinks between May and October, the Register-Guard reported Thursday.

The University of Oregon Police Department, with Oregon Liquor Control Commission and Eugene Police, filed a search warrant affidavit with Lane County Circuit Court earlier this month to collect all of the recorded surveillance video from the business, including two cell phones, two digital video recorders and two USB drives, the Register-Guard reported.

The bartender has been suspended, Taylor’s owner Charles Hare told the Register-Guard.

“Taylor’s has fully cooperated with local authorities since it was first made aware of any potential drug activity occurring at its establishment,” Hare told the Register-Guard. “Taylor’s does not condone nor will it tolerate this behavior in or around its premises, and will continue to cooperate with the local authorities to investigate and address any instances of unlawful activity. In the interest of the safety of its patrons, any Taylor’s employee implicated in this matter will be immediately placed on leave pending the outcome of the investigation.”

A representative of Taylor’s Bar & Grill declined to comment to the Emerald.

Earlier this month, the Emerald reported on two drug-related cases at Taylor’s. UOPD has not provided details on those cases.

The accused employee worked at the back bar of Taylor’s, the Register-Guard said. He was accused of tampering with the drinks of four female customers and another woman’s drink while he was a patron at a different bar.

The first report to UOPD was in May, when a woman said she was drunk at Fathom’s where the accused bartender was a patron, the Register-Guard reported. He bought drinks for her and for her friends, giving each a shot glass that appeared “cloudy,” the newspaper reported, citing the affidavit. All three left but with no memory of the rest of the evening, the newspaper said.

One of the women at Fathom’s that night got a free drink at Taylor’s from the accused bartender the next day, which also appeared cloudy, the newspaper reported. She woke up the next morning in a stranger’s house with no memory of how she got there, the affidavit obtained by the Register-Guard stated.

It also reported that another woman told Eugene Police that her beer was tampered with when she came to Taylor’s in August. After she drank a beer she ordered from the accused bartender, she went home with her boyfriend and awoke in the night “extremely disoriented,” the newspaper said, citing the affidavit.

She gave a urine and hair sample to the University of Oregon Health Center the following morning, the affidavit obtained by the newspaper states. Police are awaiting test results on those samples, the Register-Guard reported.

Another woman reported in September that she had been attacked by a stranger after she took drinks from a bartender at Taylor’s, the newspaper said. She didn’t know him, but was certain nobody had touched her drinks except the bartender. She said after consuming the drinks she was touched by a stranger but was unable to reject his advances or reach out to others for assistance, according to the affidavit obtained by the Register-Guard.

In October, another woman reported having a “fuzzy memory of walking home” after purchasing a drink from the accused bartender. She collapsed in a parking lot and had to be transported to the hospital by ambulance, the newspaper reported.

An Oregon Liquor Control Commission investigator allegedly saw one camera was facing a wall on an investigative trip in mid-September, the affidavit cited by the newspaper states. A Taylor’s manager told the investigator that the camera was likely “knocked by an employee,” the Register-Guard reported. It was unclear if this camera captured footage of the back bar during the time of the incidents, the article reported.

UOPD was not immediately available for comment.

University of Oregon student Minyu Yang, 21, plead “not guilty” to a strangulation charge on Oct. 18, one day after the Eugene Police Department arrested him at his house.

Yang was charged with Class A Misdemeanor of strangulation, where he allegedly “impeded the normal breathing or circulation of blood” of another student. According to a police report, Yang and the 20-year-old female had an argument in a parking lot located at the 3400 block of Kinsrow Avenue. The situation escalated when he reportedly “grabbed her by the throat,” EPD spokesperson Melinda McLaughlin said.

 

Minyu Yang is facing a  strangulation charge after being arrested on Oct. 17

According to EPD dispatch log, three officers responded to the call at 11:15 a.m and investigated. Yang was booked into the Lane County Jail on Oct.17. Court documents show he was released on Oct. 20.  Judge John Kilcullen ordered a “No Contact” count, and Yang has since taken up residence in a motel downtown.

Yang is scheduled to appear in the Lane County Circuit Court on Nov. 21. According to a university document, Yang is pursing a major in economics.

Eugene-Springfield residents expressed their concerns regarding an arrest made by the Eugene Police Department during the weekly city council meeting on Oct. 24.

Gwendolyn Iris, one of the organizers of the rally “Speak Out Against Police Brutality,” asked the city council to launch an investigation into the actions of police during Friday’s arrest.

“They are public servants – they are supposed to keep the public safe,” Iris said. “It’s absolutely unacceptable what I saw on that video.”

Eight other community members echoed Iris’ sentiment.

“I’m grateful that the man is still alive,” Shanalea Forrest said. “What I saw was assault. I understand that there [are issues] that are bigger … the criminalization of the poor and the mentally ill is not helpful.”

Michael Adams, another speaker, called the arrest “excessive.”

“I don’t get how it took 20 police officers, sirens, sticks, tasers and taser guns to detain a man,” Adams said.

Another attendee spoke for the police during the public forum, praising their professionalism while dealing with a large number of “angry people.”

“What I saw in the video was a courageous female police officer standing in front of the crowd of 60 people and said, ‘Please step back,’” he said. “I have a lot of respect for the police at the scene that day.”

The public forum lasted for more than an hour and a half, with other residents talking about climate change, affordable housing and swimming pools in Eugene.

Mayor Kitty Piercy thanked community members for their feedback and encouraged them to contact the police auditor with any concerns. She also said the city council has been briefed by Eugene Police Department Chief Pete Kerns about the issue and will hold meetings in November 2016 to address the incident.

Councilor Mike Clark, who is tasked with police commission, sided with EPD in the incident, saying it’s the duty of police to arrest when they believe an illegal act was committed, regardless of the housing status.

“Comply or you will be forced to comply,” Clark said at the meeting.

Councilor Chris Pryor said he also watched the video. He believes the city must come up with ways to improve the downtown area.

“It’s easy to be emotionally invested while watching these videos,” Pryor said. “People will see what they want to see, hear what they want to hear, but we must be firm when addressing the issues we are having in the downtown area.”

Eugene residents are organizing a rally at the 7 p.m. city council meeting today regarding an arrest Eugene Police Department made in the downtown Park Blocks on Friday.

The Facebook page, “Speak Out Against Police Brutality,” says the group will rally before the meeting at 6:30 p.m. at Wayne Morse Free Speech Plaza, where the group will present concerns to city councilors.

“Eugene is no stranger to seeing the police department taking their monopoly on legitimized violence to an [unacceptable] level,” the Facebook statement says. “In a video making the rounds of an incident on [Friday] afternoon We see yet another [unacceptable] action committed against an unarmed man by Eugene Police Officers.”

One of the organizers, Shanalea Forrest, said she hoped the rally will allow residents a place to discuss the arrest.

“We have concerns that procedure policy was violated,” Forrest said. “We want to keep the dialogue open.”

A video of the arrest was posted on Facebook Friday afternoon and quickly became viral. As of Monday afternoon, it has been viewed 122,226 times and shared 1,728 times on Facebook. The video is graphic and contains vulgar language.

The 8-minute video shows three EPD officers trying to detain Jeffery Don Walton. Walton appeared to fail to comply with police’s orders. As he was resisting the arrest, the police appeared to strike his hand, punch him multiple times and use a Taser and pepper spray on him before ultimately pinning him to ground.

When an onlooker asked the reason of Walton’s arrest, police said it was for “safety reasons.”

EPD Police Chief Pete Kerns released a statement on Oct. 22 saying the crowd’s interference was “perilous” on top of the “already dangerous arrest.”

“Eugene’s police officers remained composed and professional in stark contrast to the aggressive and unruly behavior of the mob. What we observed is not in keeping with the respectful and coherent discourse that defines Eugene’s culture, or with the environment that we are fostering in our downtown,” Kerns’ statement states.

Forrest said at times she has encountered with police in Eugene, she felt like law enforcement didn’t act “from a place of understanding and care.”

“People should feel safe in their community,” Forrest said.

According to the Register-Guard, Police Auditor Mark Gissiner said Monday his office is reviewing the incident as well as the body cameras’ video from officers at the scene.

Walton was ultimately taken into custody on a misdemeanor for “interfering with police officer.”

The story was updated at 4:50 p.m. to reflect Shanalea Forrest’s comment.

Two months into his new position at the University of Oregon Police Department, Chief Matthew Carmichael said moving to Eugene was the right move.

“We just do things different here … I was in Albertsons the other day, and we have Duck Tracks ice cream here, man,” Carmichael said. “I texted all of my friends — I was so excited.”

Moving from his chief position at UC Davis, Carmichael has a reputation for creating an engaging connection between the police department and the community. It’s on his resume, in conversations to his sworn officers and to UO students at the first Student Advisory Council meeting on Oct. 13.

“Some people said I came to UO to retire; I’m not retiring,” Carmichael told eleven students and staff at the meeting. “I’m here for the same reasons you all are.”

Carmichael said his first mission is to get to know the campus and the people in the community. He said he has met with almost every department on campus and was impressed with the resources for students. He wants UOPD to be one of them.

“Let’s be honest, we serve faculty and staff and visitors too, but at the end of the day, [UOPD] is here to serve students,” Carmichael said. “We are here tonight so I can hear your concerns, your feedback, so let’s hear them.”

The meeting is set to be monthly. UOPD uses the time to listen to students’ concerns and gather feedback on its performance on campus. Pizza and drinks are provided. The ten students at the meeting brought up several existing issues on campus, including bike theft and campus safety.

A student questioned the chief about UOPD’s communication system. He asked if there was any other effective methods to warn students of potential danger around campus. The conversation provoked ideas across the room — at some point, the chief and students came to an agreement that a self-defense training section and a guide of how to use pepper spray was needed and beneficial to many students.  

One student asked Carmichael’s input on the bike cages on campus. She said although security bike cages are available throughout campus, she barely sees any students use them. She also brought up incidents where people would steal individual bike parts.

“Who is buying the bike parts?” the student said. “I just don’t understand.”

Carmichael said the department is tackling the issue head on. Besides project 529, which allows cyclists to register their bike in an online system, UOPD is proactively partnering with other departments on campus. Carmichael, along with UOPD Security Manager James Stegall, said the force is willing to work with students to improve the bike theft epidemic on campus.  

The chief has also hired two student assistants to help him revamp the UOPD website and communicate better with students.

“We are going to be doers,” Carmichael said. “I am so excited for the future here at UO.”

The University of Oregon Police Department is investigating two alleged cases of “causing another person to ingest a controlled substance” at Taylor’s Bar and Grill, according to the UOPD crime log.

The first case was reported on Sept. 23; the second case was reported on Oct. 12. UOPD spokesman Kelly McIver said both cases are pending full reports and are under investigation.

“The report won’t be available for release, and I can’t comment or share any further information at this time,” McIver wrote via an email to the Emerald.

According to state law, “causing another person to ingest a controlled substance” is a Class B felony, and a Class A felony if a person has intention of committing or facilitating a crime of violence against the other person.

Including these cases, five incidents of “causing another person to ingest a controlled substance” have been reported to UOPD since Oct. 10, 2015. The other three incidents were reported to have taken place at off campus locations and are all ongoing investigations.

Update Oct. 16: Taylor’s Bar and Grill declined to comment on the cases.

Below is an interactive map showing the health inspection score of 12 bars within walking distance of campus.

Restaurants and bars in Lane County are required to be inspected by the county twice a year to assure their sanitary and operational system quality are up to par with Oregon health code. Inspectors will dock points based on a wide variety of codes and violations ranging from employees failing to wash hands after taking out the trash to serving expired food.

Any chemical, physical or biological hazards, such those associated with food borne illness or injury,  result in a 5-point deduction, or a 10-point deduction if repeated.

Scores that are 70 and below are considered inspection failures. Bars with this score are required to have an additional review within 30 days.

Out of the 12 bars listed below, none failed.

Click here to learn more about restaurant health inspection in Lane County.

How to read the map: Blue marks indicate bars with a perfect score of 100/100 in 2016. Green marks indicate bars ranging from 90-99 in 2016. Yellow marks indicate a score between 80-89. Scores of these bars vary each year. Click on a marker to see the bar’s name, address and recent inspection scores.

Three former University of Oregon basketball players appealed a federal court decision to dismiss their cases on Oct. 11, according to court documents.

The plaintiffs, Brandon Austin, Dominic Artis and Damyean Dotson, were expelled and banned from campus for allegedly raping a female student in March 2014. They later filed lawsuits stating that university officials were biased towards their cases and violated their rights.

“Plaintiffs are rather mindful how unwelcome a Motion To Reconsider can be received,” the court document states. “As such, plaintiffs submit this motion with the expectation this court will see that there is indeed more information that could be pled.”

The plaintiffs also demanded a trial jury, court documents show.

Attorneys for the university sought dismissal of the lawsuits on Aug. 9, stating that the university has a duty to respond to alleged sexual assault on campus, in accordance with federal Title IX protections.

Oregon Federal District Judge Michael McShane dismissed their lawsuits in September, stating there’s no substantial evidence that “the actions of the University were motivated by gender bias or that the University deprived Plaintiffs of a due process right,” the order reads.

This is the latest episode in a string of lawsuits surrounding an alleged rape committed by the three former basketball players in March 2014.

Since then, the university has settled with the alleged victim for the amount of $800,000 and a full-ride scholarship. The university also settled with two former counseling center employees for $425,000 in July. About the same time, director of the University Testing and Counseling Center Shelly Kerr was fined by the Oregon Board of Psychologist Examiners for failing to take reasonable precautions to protect the student’s confidential mental health information.

A group of labor union members have peacefully rallied against the University of Oregon in front of Domino’s on Franklin Boulevard for at least 14 days.

The group’s sign reads: “Shame on University of Oregon – Labor Dispute.”

Pacific Northwest Regional Council of Carpenters protests UO with its banner in front of Domino’s on Franklin Boulevard Sept. 26 (Tran Nguyen/Emerald)

A.J. Indell, a member of Pacific Northwest Regional Council of Carpenters, said the union is trying to influence the university’s decision on who to hire to build the new residence hall. Its goal is to prevent the contract from going to a construction company with a bad reputation of not paying its workers properly.

“When you have a company not paying its workers standard area wage, the workers cannot support themselves and their families,” Indell said. “That’s not right. That’s somebody the university should not be hiring.”

The company in question is the regional Ron Rust Drywall construction company. The family-run company has been operating since 1988, according to the Oregon Business Registry.

UO spokesperson Tobin Klinger said that the university commits to providing prevailing wages to all workers who participate in any on-campus construction.

Tyson Stuber, a representative of Pacific Northwest Regional Council of Carpenters, said the union has followed Ron Rust Drywall for at least a decade, and what they have found out about the company is unsettling.

“[It’s] a contractor that has been driving down wages for carpenter craft workers for many years. When companies like Ron Rust continuously undercut wage standards they contribute to the downward spiral and deterioration of wage standards,” his statement read.

Stuber accused the company of not paying its workers “standard area wage” and failing to provide them benefit packages. Stuber said with a project as big as a 500-bed residence hall, at least 50 workers will be underpaid under Ron Rust Drywall.

The union’s concern about a construction company not paying its workers at other projects is “outside of the university,” Klinger said. 

Stuber said the union has tried to contact the university since June, when the bid process happened, to no avail. Klinger said that the university did respond to the union during the time the bid was rewarded.

The university contracted a Portland-based company, Walsh Construction, as the main contractor for the project. While Walsh Construction gets to decide which subcontractor will be chosen for the construction, the university has the final say in the bid process.  

Standing in the rain on the morning of Oct. 5, Indell said the union will continue to protest until the university gives them a satisfying response.

“Rain or shine, we’ll be here,” Indell said. “We’ll be here until the university responds to us.”

 

A.J. Indell and other members of the union standing in the rain protesting the potential residence hall construction contract on Oct. 5 (Tran Nguyen/Emerald)