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#13Investigates: How safe are you inside Bibb County bars

A closer look at crime inside Bibb County bars

Recently, Bibb County Sheriff David Davis warned county commissioners about renewing the alcohol license for a downtown Macon bar.

Davis said that is because his officers responded to 95 calls at the Crazy Bull in 2017.

“You had three assaults, which are very serious, and then you had 41 fights or disorderly conducts,” said Davis.

All in all, Davis says there were 120 incidents at the bar in 2017.

When the work week is over, Jasper Cowart says he enjoys coming downtown to enjoy a beer or two with friends.

“We try and be careful and watch out for bad things,” said Cowart.

But Cowart says a few months ago, he had an eye-opening experience.

“We were in the Crazy Bull and somebody got stabbed out in front of it,” he said.

It's a situation that Cowart says scared him.

“When you hear about situations and you’re not there, it doesn't hit home. But when you realize I was there, then it was a little different,” said owart.

That is why marketing director, Danielle Grisamore, says at both The Hummingbird Stage and Taproom and The Thirsty Turtle, they do everything they can to keep situations like that from happening.

“Our bartenders will never let anyone get to the point of inebriation where they're incapable of making the right choice,” said Grisamore.

According to the Bibb County Sheriff’s Office, they responded to 52 incidents at The Hummingbird in 2017.

Three of those were for assault, one shots fired and 12 for fights or disorderly conduct.

Across the street at The Thirsty Turtle, the sheriff’s office responded to 17 incidents.

One assault and four fights or disorderly conduct, but it is important to note that the bar opened in March.

Then if you head down the road to The Crazy Bull, out of 120 incidents, three were assaults, 41 were fights or disorderly conduct and one was a stabbing.

But according to John Fox, the lawyer for The Crazy Bull, the bar sees 75,000 people annually.

Davis says that number can play a large role in why there are so many more altercations at The Crazy Bull.

“Crazy Bull by its virtue of its size, its location and it’s a popular place to be,” said Davis.

But Davis says 120 incidents is still a lot, so he asked the owners to increase security to control situations before they escalate.

“Anything they can do to make it a little safer is better,” said Cowart.

We reached out to the lawyer for the Crazy Bull but did not hear back.

Davis did say the owner is in the middle of making changes to make the bar safer.

We also took a look at the number of incidents for the former Club Status and ESPM Bar and Café to get an idea for bars outside of Downtown Macon.

Here is a breakdown of those bars from the Bibb County Sheriff’s Office:

Credit: Shaw, Mary Grace, WMAZ
Credit: Shaw, Mary Grace, WMAZ

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