Did BPD crackdown in Dudley Square snare innocent liquor-store worker?

Jeff Daniels acknowledges he walked out of his father's liquor store in Dudley Square holding an open bottle of beer on Aug. 12. But, he said, he was only going outside to dispose of the bottle - opened inside the store, he says, by a customer from whom he immediately grabbed the bottle and ordered out of the store.

Unfortunately for Daniels, two police officers on bikes happened to be riding by at that moment and they stopped to arrest him on a charge of drinking in public - and issue a citation to Daniels's father, Richard, longtime owner of Giant Liquors at 2371 Washington St.

The two Daniels appeared before the Boston Licensing Board today to plead their case that the board not punish them for the incident, and a similar one involving an allegedly drunk customer caught with an open beer outside a few days earlier.

The elder Daniels' lawyer, Jack Milgram, told the board his client, who once owned interests in five liquor stores in the area, has never before been in trouble with the licensing board - despite the challenges of operating in Dudley Square.

"It's a challenging location, being in the heart of Dudley Square and being across from the Dudley stop of the MBTA," he said.

Beyond his record, though, Milgram said Daniels went so far as to fire another son and a nephew, both of whom also worked in the store, along with some other employees, and posted signs warning people not to drink or loiter outside the store.

A police report says one of the bicycle officers observed Jeff Daniels exit the store and open a 12-ounce bottle of Guinness around 7:50 p.m. on Aug. 12. Later, officers observed numerous empties by the store's front window, the report says.

The younger Daniels, however, told a different story: A customer bought the beer and then, while still in the store, opened it. Daniels testified he told the customer he couldn't do that, that he was jeopardizing the store's license, then took the beer away from him and ordered him out. He said he was bringing the bottle to a trash can outside when he was spotted.

Daniels said he explained that to the two cops but that one said it didn't matter because "Boston Police had a lower tolerance level for the Dudley Square area." Neither of the officers attended today's hearing; their report was ready by a detective.

Daniels said there were no empties outside the store when the officers took him away for booking.

In the other incident, the elder Daniels acknowledged selling the man in question a can of beer, but said he did not appear at all drunk - he was steady on his feet, his eyes were not bloodshot, he wasn't slurring his words, he didn't smell of alcohol. A police report said he was in "a high state of intoxication."

The board decides Thursday what action, if any, to take against the store. It could do nothing, issue a warning or suspend the store's license to sell liquor for a certain number of days.