NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WTVF) — Following a suspension summary by the state, Whiskey Row has agreed to pay a civil penalty of $26,000 in relation to unlicensed security guards at the bar in 2021.
Last August, security cameras showed a group of men holding down 22-year-old Dallas Jordan Barrett during an altercation with security staff at the Whiskey Row bar. He became unresponsive and later died. The medical examiner determined his cause of death to be asphyxiation.
Staff at the bar told detectives Barrett became unruly and was asked to leave, but he allegedly then began to fight with security staff. They said he was approached after pushing through the crowd.
The $26,000 will go to the Tennessee Department of Commerce and Insurance. As defined, the department's role is to regulate businesses and licenses. Because the department isn't a law enforcement agency, it can only regulate licenses as it relates to the incident at the bar.
"Indeed, Dallas Jordan Barrett had to be murdered by Whiskey Row and its employees before the State of Tennessee Department of Commerce and Insurance felt any need to attempt to bring Whiskey Row into any semblance of compliance," attorneys Sarah Cripps and Jon Slager said in a joint statement. "No amount of civil penalties paid by Whiskey Row will restore Dallas Barrett to his mother. Additionally, the payment by Whiskey Row of such a paltry penalty is negligible in view of this establishment's considerable revenue stream."
The order issued to the bar contains several provisions to ensure ongoing compliance in this matter in the future. Officials with the TDCI said Whiskey Row had paid the penalty.
In early January, NewsChannel 5 learned that four of the six security guards charged in his death at the Lower Broadway bar were not properly licensed with the State of Tennessee at the time of the incident. By late 2021, the Davidson County grand jury indicted six security guards working for Whiskey Row — Dylan Larocca, Tarrell Gray, John Eustace, Jaelen Maxwell, Mallet Meneese and Mark Watkins — for reckless homicide and aggravated assault in connection with Barrett's death.
Videos of the incident showed Barrett on the ground with at least four security personnel on top of him as the music continued to play in the background. Throughout the nearly four minutes, others are trying to pull security off of Barrett, while the four security officers continue restraining him to the ground.
One passerby yelled Barrett couldn't breathe.
NewsChannel 5 has reached out to Whiskey Row for a comment.
