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A six-month suspension represents a serious penalty, yet I contend it falls significantly short of what should have been imposed following the incident described by the Chelsea Police Department at last month’s Licensing Commission meeting concerning Plaza Mexico, located in my district.
When a 17 year-old was nearly eviscerated by a known drug dealer in front of the restaurant’s manager and customers, the injured teen was then locked out and left to bleed. Family and friends pounded on the back door, but no one from Plaza Mexico responded to their pleas. Although the bar manager and many patrons witnessed the stabbing, the sole call for assistance came from Miguel Sanchez, who dialed the Police Department’s non-emergency line despite not being present—he had only learned about the incident from staff. It reflects a troubling state of our society that no one inside Plaza Mexico deemed it necessary to call 9-1-1 while a 17 year-old bled to death behind the establishment.
As both a City Councilor and as someone with basic human compassion, I find myself appalled and furious that an establishment prioritizing its own interests over another person’s life retained its licenses. The management of Plaza Mexico, along with every patron present that evening, ought to feel shame for failing to seek help. I am profoundly troubled that merely two Licensing Commissioners voted to completely revoke Plaza Mexico’s licenses. When such flagrant disregard for human life does not result in license revocation, one must ask: what would?
Would a fatality be required?
I am deeply saddened and disturbed that Plaza Mexico’s management faces only a six-month suspension and superficial remedies such as additional lighting and a panic button for showing such callousness toward a 17 year-old’s life. The victim merits better, the family deserves better, and Chelsea’s residents deserve better. No establishment that would allow someone to nearly bleed to death behind its building while ignoring cries for help and refusing to call 9-1-1 should be permitted to operate within our city.