Link Fairfax County Police are targeting Reston and Herndon area bar-restaurant patrons suspected of having one too many drinks. Police have been taking them outside for sobriety tests and, if they fail, arresting them for public drunkenness. The owners of local bar-restaurants are complaining that these tactics are too aggressive. But a county police spokesman says the practice is nothing new and, besides, helps prevent worse abuse that can lead to alcohol-related driving accidents. According to Virginia statutes and the Virginia Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control (ABC), any place with a liquor license is considered a "public place." Accordingly, police are allowed free access to such places, and, should they find any customer over the legal alcohol limit of .08 or suspect a customer of being intoxicated while still being served or present in an establishment, police can write that person a ticket for public intoxication. All while alcohol and bars continue to operate legally. Geez.
