The state Department of Consumer Protection ran checks on liquor stores selling alcohol to minors last Friday, Dec. 4, in Redding and Ridgefield. Sixty-percent of Ridgefield liquor stores failed the test and both liquor stores in Redding failed.
The cause of failure has not been released for Redding Wine & Spirits, on Black Rock Turnpike, or Georgetown Liquor Store, on Main Street; but a 20-year old volunteer was involved in checking compliance, Redding police said.
According to Redding Police Chief Douglas Fuchs, no arrests were made as a result of the checks, but administrative action will be taken by the DCP’s Liquor Commission.
According to a police narrative about the integrity checks, while Redding and Ridgefield officers waited outside the stores, DCP agents and a 20-year old volunteer entered each store.
“There is no deception” used by the DCP during these checks, Fuchs said.
The checks were done after a request from the Redding and Ridgefield police departments, Fuchs said, because both had heard rumors that underage residents — especially those returning from college — were able to purchase alcohol locally.
“We’re going into the holiday season, and students are coming home. The behaviors they’ve grown accustomed to at school do not translate well here,” he said, referencing two recent, alcohol-fueled fights involving college students at home in Redding. “Historically, this has been the case.”
The names of the stores in Ridgefield were Ridgfeield Liquor, 125 Danbury Road; Best Cellars, 48 Danbury Road; Route 7 Wines and Liquor, 971 Ethan Allen Highway; Cheers Ridgefield, 393 Main Street; and West Lane Deli, 127 West Lane Ridgefield.
All those stores which failed checks will now be referred to the DCP’s Liquor Commission.
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