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The -Commissorier' added that he had, also ,learned the establishments <br /> had to hire the police because 'there had- been a- real neecfl for them. <br /> 3 He said - the Maplewood . police had told him. that -prior to hiring a <br /> 4 police officer., : there had been numerous problems in the parking lot <br /> 5 which they attributed to the young crowd going .into/coming out of <br /> 6 the Amusement Arcade establishment in that mall. He said .the <br /> 7 police reported -getting called at least twice a week prior to their <br /> 8 off duty officer working in the establishment involving numerous <br /> 9 problems with 'juveniles consuming in public; there were fights in <br /> 10 the parking .lot; and consuming on the lot, which the police <br /> 11 attributed to arcade customers, most of whom appeared to be <br /> 12 transient .type kids. Commissioner Werenicz also stated that the <br /> 13 establishment- was drawing from all over and the police were having <br /> 14 all kinds of problems. <br /> 15 Mr . Heilicher said they had a police officer on duty at Maplewood <br /> 16 from the first day they opened their establishment and a further <br /> 17 check would show there were many of the same incidents long before <br /> 18 the arcade opened. These are the type of problems all big malls <br /> 19 experience, he contended. Commissioner Werenicz told him the <br /> 20 type of traffic his business would increase to the mall would <br /> 21 generate more of these types of problems. <br /> 22 Mr . Heilicher told Commissioner Werenicz the vacant store next to <br /> 23 the bar had been the only space the Apache management had offered <br /> them for their arcade. Commissioner Werenicz told him he, for <br /> one, was dead set against that location especially with the <br /> 26 extended hours beyond the mall' s normal closing. He also perceived <br /> 27 having three pool tables would most - likely attract the adult <br /> 28 drinking crowd from the bar next door who could be expected to <br /> 29 start to hang around the arcade to play pool which the -bar doesn' t <br /> 30 have and to gamble over the pool games , all next to the juveniles <br /> 31 who would be playing the video games. The Commissioner said he <br /> 32 thought this couldn' t help but lead to all kinds of problems . <br /> 33 Mr. Heilicher told him they have pool tables in Maplewood, Har Mar <br /> 34 and Brooklyn Park and don' t experience any of the problems the <br /> 35 Commissioner was anticipating. He said his people watch the <br /> 36 players carefully to see there is no gambling, which is not <br /> 37 permitted in -the arcades. He told the Commissioner he might have <br /> 38 gotten some of his information from an officer in Maplewood who <br /> 39 doesn' t like children and had always given his establishment "a <br /> 40 bad rap. When he suggested the Commissioner talk to the police <br /> 41 officers who work in his establishments rather than someone on the <br /> 42 desk, Commissioner Werenicz indicated his conversations had been <br /> 43 with several of the chiefs , investigators , and patrol sergeants , in <br /> 44 the eight different departments where the arcades are located. <br /> 45 Problems With Crowds Attracted and Not With Arcade Company' s <br /> 46 Management <br /> • <br /> 13 <br />