Council Suspends Whitetail MKE

Site of Whitetail MKE, 1110 N. Martin Luther King Jr Dr. Photo taken Nov. 2022 by Sophie Bolich.

Whitetail MKE will be closed until March 1 as a result of a suspension handed down by the City of Milwaukee.

The Common Council on Tuesday morning unanimously approved a 20-day suspension for the downtown bar, 1110 N. Martin Luther King Jr Dr., based on a four-item police report which detailed multiple physical fights and one shooting.

The suspension went into effect Wednesday, Feb. 8. On Feb. 6, the bar shared a brief social media post thanking its staff and customers, and noting plans to reopen March 1.

Whitetail was the site of a non-fatal shooting on Aug. 28. According to a police report, officers heard a “loud bang” in the vicinity of the bar. Further investigation revealed that two patrons began to argue inside the bar and were escorted out by security. Outside, the argument escalated and one patron produced a firearm, firing one round into the ground, the report stated. One victim was struck in the leg, and was transported to the hospital for treatment.

At a Jan. 24 renewal hearing, Ald Robert Bauman expressed alarm that the patron was able to carry a firearm into the bar.

“Anybody with one ounce of common sense doing business on Water Street, King Drive, those entertainment districts, given the history of disorder, the history of violence, the history of gunshots, the significant issues that have arisen over the last three years, in those two entertainment districts, anyone with an ounce of sense, for the benefit of their patrons, for the benefit of the Water community, would be checking for guns,” said Bauman, who represents the district where Whitetail is located.

Attorney Samantha Huddleston Baker appeared before the committee on behalf of licensee Nathan Tusler. Edward DeShazer, a stockholder in the business, was also present at the Jan. 24 hearing.

According to DeShazer, the bar previously had two points of entry and only one wand. After the Aug. 28 incident, he said ownership “made proactive changes” including having only one point of entry, wanding every patron and adding security.

“I don’t have any excuses for what has happened, but I am taking accountability for everything that has happened,” DeShazer said, noting that there have been no further incidents since Aug. 28.

Members of the Licenses Committee further inquired about de-escalating fights after patrons are removed from the premises.

“If you’re putting people out at the same location, depending on the situation, it could just move the altercation from inside to outside,” said Ald Milele A. Coggs. “It should be done with the thought necessary to always be attempting to diffuse it, not to just move it. It’s not clear to me in these police reports that kind of thought was given when these altercations occurred.”

“The goal is to de-escalate and talk people down rather than antagonize,” DeShazer said.

The bar’s ownership did not file a written objection ahead of Tuesday’s Common Council meeting.

Whitetail MKE opened in 2019. In 2022, the bar received a 10-day suspension from the Common Council.

DeShazer and Tusler did not respond to a request for comment by the time of publication.