We are many times told that there is little we can do about public drunkards, especially if they are homeless. Burbank’s most infamous public drunkard is probably Carey Dwain Mitchell who has been arrested for meth use as well as multiple arrests for walking in the middle of traffic completely intoxicated. The drunkards typically congregate around the sellers of alcohol such as liquor stores. Liquor stores often do not require ID the same way that chain stores do, so homeless drunkards gain easy access to their favorite drug…a bottle of liquor, even if they lack ID.
We have activated our team of dedicated volunteers who are now routinely filing complaints against these ABC-licensed businesses for selling to obviously intoxicated persons.
Our very smart attorneys researched this and discovered the following California statute: Business and Professions Code section 25602 (click to read it)
It is a misdemeanor to sell or give any alcoholic beverage to any public drunkard or an obviously intoxicated person and if that drunkard causes any injury such as walking out in the street and causing an injury vehicle accident, the person who sold or gave that alcohol to the drunkard can be sued.
This is a very powerful weapon in the fight against drunkards and if you wish to report an ABC-licensed business for selling to a drunkard, you can find the form here:
ABC Complaint Form to Report Public Drunkard
Click here to see an actual Burbank resident complaint to ABC
