A gay-bashing took place at Queer Social Club ( QSC ) at Archie's Iowa Rockwell Tavern, 2600 W. Iowa St., on Dec. 8. QSC is a low-key neighborhood gathering for West Side LGBTs held the first Wednesday of each month.
According to eyewitness accounts, three men walked into Archie's sometime after midnight and began calling patrons "faggots" upon realizing an LGBT event was taking place. When Archie's staff and several customers asked the men to leave, a physical fight erupted.
Several guests said they experienced severe bruising as a result of being shoved, beaten and tossed into furniture. At least one patron called 911.
The Chicago Police Dept. ( CPD ) dispatched officers to Archie's at approximately 1:15 a.m. to answer a "battery in progress" call, said Police News Affairs Officer Daniel O'Brien. By the time officers arrived, the three instigators had already left, allegedly vandalizing patrons' bicycles as they went.
No official police reports were filed at the time. O'Brien said it was likely that those present did not wish to file or that their injuries were not severe enough to necessitate official documentation. No ambulances or medical personnel were ever called to the scene.
In the days following the Dec. 8 incident, many community members grew increasingly angry with Archie's perceived indifference. The family-run bar never issued an official statement or filed a police report.
"You need to issue some kind of statement to the patrons of your bar just explaining to everyone what happened," said Paul Hartman, one of the patrons injured in the scuffle. "That's a responsibility you have. You need to take action and file a police report… My question to [ Archie's ] is: Why aren't you doing anything? This just doesn't make any sense to me."
On Dec. 21, several community members created a "Pink Panther Justice Bureau" Facebook page that details the Dec. 8 events and criticizes Archie's "minimal response."
Archie's issued an official statement on its own Facebook page the following day. Katrina Prorock, whose family owns the bar, said it was never her intention to keep Archie's regulars in the dark.
"It never occurred to us to issue a public statement because we were more interested in cooperating with the police department on the investigation," Prorock said. "Our first thought wasn't PR. Our first thought was cooperating."
Prorock said she's spoken with the police and would gladly share security footage if the CPD requested it. To date, no such request has been made.
Although some patrons have pushed Prorock to file a police report, she doesn't plan to do so since Archie's didn't experience property damage as a result of the incident. Prorock does, however, support victims of the attack as they file individual police reports for injuries sustained.
"There are accusations on Facebook that the bar prevented people from talking to the police," Prorock said. "That is wholly untrue. I don't even know how to defend myself against that because it's blatantly untrue."
Prorock said events that transpired were isolated and completely unprecedented for the small bar, which she describes as having a Cheers-like atmosphere.
"We are so sad that something like this happened," she said. "We want to be a community bar where the neighborhood comes together. For this to happen to any one of our customers—gay or straight—it hurts us because we don't run that kind of establishment."
Archie's has been hosting QSC gathering since March 2010; the bar plans to increase security measures at upcoming meetings.
"It's a risk when you take a queer party and put it in a straight bar," said Erik Roldan, a Chances Dances co-organizer. "It's a risk that's definitely worth taking, but it comes with responsibilities with regards to making sure that if you're trying to carve out a safe space for the LGBT community, that it's actually safe."
Roldan, whose monthly Chances Dances events are comparable to QSC events, said much of the backlash against Archie's can be attributed to the slow speed with which the bar responded.
"Targeted violence against the LGBT community happens everywhere and all the time; sometimes we can forget that," Roldan said. "The queer community in Chicago is really solid. We look out for each other. To have something like this happen and not know, not have it publicized, that's crazy. I think that's what the initial concern was."
