WBAL TV: Police Out-Manned In Towson Melee

Baltimore County Police officers responding to a fight outside the Recher Theatre in September were outmanned and under orders to make as few arrests as possible, according to a WBAL Television report.

The station cites documents it obtained in the course of its reporting on the Sept. 23 incident.

"Outmanned and under orders to use restraint and make as few arrests as possible, Baltimore County police encountered fistfights; drunken, defiant roving mobs and loitering party-goers under a cloud of marijuana smoke in the 500 block of York Road, where 1,500 people shut down the road and sidewalks -- and that was only the first wave of trouble," according to the news station's website.

The owners of the Recher Theatre are scheduled to appear Monday at a hearing with the Baltimore County Board of Liquor License Commissioners.

In September, County Executive Kevin Kamenetz blamed Brian and Scott Recher for the incident.

"I really lay the blame on one particular operator here who delegated responsibility to some third-party promoter and I've got a real problem with that because they have a liquor license and they have responsibility to maintain not only order within their premises but those who are outside their premises who are there because of the event they are promoting," Kamenetz said during a Sept. 25 news conference.

Over the years, Brian and Scott Recher have built and expanded a business that includes a concert and event venue at a vacant movie house, a bar and restaurant next door with expanded patio and the adjacent Towson Tavern.

Incidents at the bar have been few, according to liquor board officials who spoke to Patch on Sept. 26.

In May, the bar was ordered to appear at a hearing related to an underage drinking complaint. No action was ultimately taken against the bar.

In August, the liquor board sent owners of the Recher Theatre a letter after fights broke out both in front of and behind the bar.

Police arrested three men and charged then with disorderly conduct.

Immediately following that incident, The Recher brothers requested a meeting with county police and liquor board officials to review security, crowd control and under-age drinking prevention measures.

"It was a good meeting where the owner reviewed all his security, crowd control and under-age drinking control measures," said according to Mike Mohler, chief administrator for the board, in a September interview.