By Aaron Deslatte
Globe Staff Writer

Instead of going to city hall, the operators of a Joplin bar are taking their complaints about a Joplin police action directly to the public.

Brad Baird, manager of Rafter's Restaurant and Bar, 532 Joplin Ave., and David Jones, an employee, say Joplin police entered the business about 12:30 a.m. Sunday to check for underage drinkers.

They allege the officers endangered their customers and employees in the action by blocking the building's back door with a trash dumpster, evidence of which they appear to have on videotape.

Joplin Police Chief Edward Dennis said Tuesday that five officers were dispatched to the business in response to a call that reported minors were in the bar, but that he had not received any complaints from Baird or Jones. He said no arrests were made in the bar check.

Baird and Jones said instead of voicing their complaints to the city hall, they've opted for the airwaves. A radio advertisement run on KSYN-FM by the two on Tuesday apologized to Rafter's customers and that they want an apology from police.

"The customers were harassed," Jones said. "(The ad) is just an apology to our customers for any inconvenience."

Baird said the police stationed officers at the exits to the building and outside the front door.

A video camera mounted on the exterior of the building, owned by Kenny DeLange, caught what appears to show a Joplin police officer blocking the rear exit of the building with a trash dumpster and talking to employees as they tried to exit the building.

DeLange said the security camera was mounted outside the second-floor fire exit of the building to monitor trash dumpsters in the west alley because he had been receiving complaints about them.

On Monday, Dennis said his officers had not blocked the rear door of the building.

When asked on Tuesday of the apparent depiction in the videotape of an officer blocking the door, department authorities said they had not viewed it and could not comment.

"I can't comment on something I haven't seen," Dennis said. "Apparently they have some dispute with this Police Department. They're real busy talking to other people but not to us."

Howard Todd, city fire marshal, said blocking the rear door would not constitute a fire hazard because an exit sign was not displayed above the door.

Lt. Carl Francis said he could not comment on the validity of the tape until department personnel had seen it, and would not comment as to whether blocking the rear door was an acceptable procedure in searching a building.

"I would like to see that videotape," Francis said. "Tell him to come down here and show us that videotape."

Baird said that the blocked door endangered the employees who work in the kitchen, located on the building's west side.

"I wouldn't feel safe to know that the police were blocking the back door," he said.

Page 1A, The Joplin Globe, Wednesday, August 5, 1998