SANFORD, Fla. — Channel 9’s Tim Barber asked Sanford police if anything is being done to reduce crime at a popular but problematic bar.
The most recent incident at The Barn in Sanford involved a fight in which a man was seen on surveillance video slamming another person to the concrete ground.
Raw: Man bodyslammed during fight outside The Barn
Officers were forced to use a Taser on a suspect twice before they could arrest him.
Two people were sent to the hospital.
Both of the people involved in the fight pleaded not guilty.
Police said they have an officer in the parking lot every night it’s open, and it helps that the police station is located within walking distance from the bar.
Law enforcement has been dispatched to The Barn more than 700 times in the last year and a half for 37 fights and 31 disturbances.
“We have had officers run over in the parking lot before trying to break up incidents that are happening,” said Shannon Cordingly of the Sanford Police Department.
In June, the police chief said the owners are good people but admitted the bar is a problem.
In February, Gerald Toff was gunned down by three people on his way home from The Barn.
A few months later, a woman reportedly drank nine shots of vodka before driving away in a friend’s car, crashing and injuring another driver.
Nearby resident Kelvin Cotton said the bar isn’t a problem, but said a security upgrade wouldn’t hurt.
The Barn has a half-dozen code enforcement cases, including one for an occupancy load violation and parking without authorization.
The bar’s manager would not comment on the violations.
WFTV
