LEXINGTON, Ky. (LEX 18) — Sean Ebbitt owns Bluegrass Tavern in downtown Lexington. He and other business owners have been concerned about the recent uptick in violence. He's heard his customers say they're concerned about staying out in the city.
He says, "Their concern for Lexington safety has gone up. So they're choosing to either just go to dinner and go right home or not go out as much — and that's certainly having an impact on kind of everyone."
Ebbitt says he knows that safety in the city is something that affects everyone.
"So I think maybe there are some people trying to implement policies with great intentions to kinda try to help the greater good — but the byproduct of that is actually more crime and more issues,” says Ebbitt.
Lexington police say some solutions have already been put in place. More officers are assigned downtown and additional lighting and cameras have gone up. Assistant Police Chief Brian Maynard says that while there's an increase in violence, most crimes aren't random.
"Both the victim and the suspect that they know each other, and it happens to be downtown in an area that's very, I would say, crowded at times. There's the discussion that people are fearful of coming downtown — but when we're downtown and working there's thousands of people downtown that are comfortable that continue to come, but it's that perception of what's going on,” says Maynard.
Lexington District Three Councilwoman Hannah LeGris says that the city has been in constant conversation with business owners to address their safety concerns through the mayor's downtown safety work group.
She says, "We want people to come share their experiences, share their ideas, and to learn what we're doing within government and to hear what they want more of."
Lexington’s Chief Development Officer Kevin Atkins encourages business owners to continue speaking with officers about their observations and concerns.
He says, "Get to know those officers that are literally right there steps from your business. Get to know your environment, get to know your customers — if you hear something, let one of the officers know."
Bluegrass Tavern's owner says if downtown businesses want to continue having events and entertainment, safety has to be prioritized.
"Kinda the overarching message that I’d like to send to anyone within the city is, any kind of additional projects or anything you kind of have in mind or want to implement kind of city dollars to — without safety, all of that is useless,” says Ebbitt.
Leaders and law enforcement continue to encourage community conversations.
