AMARILLO, TEXAS -- Following the shooting on Polk Street, the Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission decided to look into a way to increase the safety in downtown Amarillo.
One way it's doing that is in a new communication system to alert one another when they refuse service to a particular person or group.
The idea is for bars, restaurants and hotels in downtown Amarillo to exchange emails, phone numbers and contact information.
"If we have a trouble makers, we throw someone out, we don't let someone in, we'll start calling everybody else and let you know and that way there is a record saying hey this guy is trespassing at these other locations do we want him here?" said Captain Hank Blanchard with the Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission.
"We want everybody to know that they can come downtown and we, the owners and managers, want it to be an enjoyable experience," said Steven Seller, the manager of Pinks Sports Club.
Pinks is even going one step further. They have an ID scanner and private security.
"We can ban them in a scanner so that no matter who is at the door they can scan the ID, they know they're banned so we don't have to worry about remembering who is banned or a list posted and with that if we ban someone, we'd like to share our information with other bars," added Blanchard.
That information is bringing the downtown business community and local law enforcement together to address those public safety concerns. "Most people who go to bars to have a good time, they want to socialize, dance, listen to music, be with friends, whatever. It's the very small group who go and want to cause trouble," continued Blanchard.
The retailers hope to prevent these individuals from being able to walk a couple of businesses down the street and possibly enter another establishment and cause trouble. "Hopefully, what will happen in the long run is we'll see that we have fewer calls for service from the police department," said Blanchard.
This program has just been enacted. It's modeled from other's that have had success, like Goodfellow Air Force Base in San Angelo.