Council: Police will not ignore state ban on smoking

Talk about it

More...

• City Council webcast
• City Council agenda

Mitchell police officers will not be asked to ignore the new state law banning smoking in many public places.

The Mitchell City Council came to that conclusion after a discussion at the start of Monday night’s council meeting at City Hall.

Doug Aslesen, owner/operator of Thirsty’s, asked the council to attempt to persuade Davison County State’s Attorney Pat Smith to be “lenient” on enforcing the new smoking law.

Barring that, Aslesen asked if police officers could decline to enforce the law for 60 days while the Legislature debates possible changes to the law. He said state lawmakers may adjust the law in the wake of declining casino and bar revenue in the state.

“You can’t tell your law enforcement you’re not going to enforce the law,” said City Attorney Randy Stiles, who led the opposition to the idea of ignoring the law.

Thirsty’s has built a steel structure adjacent to its patio for smokers to use, but Smith has said the addition doesn’t meet the requirements established in the new law and has not allowed people to smoke there, according to Aslesen.

Mitchell Public Safety Chief Lyndon Overweg said officers have been to the bar several times recently to advise them smoking is not allowed. No citations have been issued.

The law states that a smoking shelter must have an open wall.

Aslesen said his addition has four walls but one has a 6-inch opening on it. He and his lawyer feel that means the structure is not enclosed and therefore meets the law’s requirement.

Smith disagrees. Aslesen said when he has spoken with the county attorney, he was asked if he wanted to receive a citation and create a test case on the law.

“That’s what judges are for,” Stiles said.

But Aslesen said he doesn’t want to spend the money a legal case would require.

Councilman Scott Houwman said he sympathizes with Aslesen, even though he is a nonsmoker and doesn’t care for smoke.

“Maybe we should pay for his attorney to go and find out,” Houwman said.

He also said if Mitchell was a smaller town, the mayor could meet privately with the police chief and tell him not to enforce the law, at least until the Legislature takes a look at it. Houwman said Aslesen and his lawyer may be right and Smith wrong.

“I think the point is, we don’t know,” he said.

Aslesen said cities across the state are interpreting and enforcing the law in a variety of ways. Aberdeen is being very strict, he said, while Sioux Falls isn’t spending much effort enforcing the law, he said.

“Everybody should be on the same playing field,” Aslesen said.

Stiles said voters created a new state law, not a local ordinance, so the city has no choice but to enforce it.

“If the state’s attorney tells us to do it, we have to do it,” he said. “We’re talking about a state violation, not a city.”

Overweg said a violation of the smoking ban is punishable by a $25 fine.

Several Mitchell bars have created smoking shelters since the law was passed and took effect in November.

Aslesen said smokers already feel “like second-rate citizens” without the increased scrutiny of law enforcement officers.

The referred law extends the state’s smoking ban to all restaurants, bars, package liquor stores, Deadwood casinos and video lottery establishments and orders owners and managers of such businesses to inform customers of the law if they see them violating it. The ban does not apply to tobacco shops, hotel rooms designated as smoking rooms, or existing cigar bars.

It was approved by a 64-36 percent margin in the Nov. 2 election.

Tags: city council, smoking ban, news, local, fccnetwork