Changes ahead in how Broadway bars handle patrons after Riley Strain death
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WZTV) — After the death of University of Missouri student Riley Strain, 22, there’s been a push to make Music City more responsible.
Strain was on a trip with his fraternity to Nashville in March, when staff members at Luke Bryan’s Broadway bar asked him to leave for over-drinking. His next path was his last.
"He's my best friend. He's everything," said Strain’s mother Michelle Whiteid through tears, at the height of the search for her son. "He’s my baby."
Strain’s family endured 14 days of agony, relentless searching and debilitating uncertainty in an unfamiliar city.
Strain was clearly showing signs of being under influence according to staff at Luke’s 32 Bridge, when he was escorted out. He wasn’t described as disorderly, but rather having been overserved. Strain’s fraternity brothers did not follow him out.
Surveillance video showed the unmistakable 6 foot 7 inch college senior walking from Broadway in the wrong direction of his hotel. He can be seen staggering on the sidewalk, and then slamming into a pole. In one video, he held his head, disoriented.
WATCH | Surveillance videos show last sightings of missing student Riley Strain in Nashville
A Metro Police officer’s body camera video shows Strain saying hello, as he continued up Gay Street, which borders the Cumberland River. In that moment, Strain appeared coherent. However, witnesses have said he soon after fell into the brush.
The last place anyone reported seeing Strain, or tracking his cell phone, was as he approached the James Robertson Parkway bridge.
What exactly happened next is still unknown.
Two weeks later, Strain’s body was pulled from the Cumberland River after exhaustive searching by his family, MNPD, volunteer groups and some 71,000 people online following the case.
“You’ve helped us get some closure here and let us take our boy home,” said Ryan Gilbert, Strain’s father the day his son was found, thanking all those who helped in the search.
MNPD said Strain’s death appeared accidental. Although Strain’s family has expressed doubt, considering a preliminary autopsy found no significant signs of trauma to his body, that would indicate he fell from the steep embankment underneath the bridge.
Strain was also found without pants, a belt or shoes. Strain’s cell phone has not been recovered. Although his bank card was found on the embankment below the James Robertson Parkway bridge.
READ MORE | Nashville Police respond to scrutiny over investigation of missing student Riley Strain
Strain’s parents are currently waiting for the conclusion of an autopsy to determine an official cause of death.
Meantime, others both locally and across the nation are taking action to make sure this never happens again.
“When I saw this case with Riley, it was very disturbing,” said Deborah Borza, a Florida resident and advocate for families impacted by missing loved ones.
More than 31,000 people signed her online petition for a “Riley's act” that would require bars to find a safe ride home for anyone asked to leave for overdrinking.
Currently, the Tennessee Alcoholic Beverage Commission confirmed to FOX 17 News in an email that there are no specific statutes that govern escorting out intoxicated patrons or providing assistance in getting someone home.
It would be mandatory for any person that’s disoriented or intoxicated or not themselves to have a safe ride home,” said Borza.Borza has since sent the petition to multiple Tennessee legislators.
Metro Nashville Council member Jacob Kupin has introduced a resolution in Strain’s honor for safety improvements along the river, including better fencing, easily accessible surveillance video, cleaning up debris, and re-housing homeless people who live there.
Even one situation like Riley’s is too many, and we’re continuing the work to make sure that never happen again,” said Kupin.Kupin is also working to bring the non-profit organization Red Frogs to Nashville. The group sets up tents where people can get water, charge their phones, call a ride, or simply sober up, with the help of volunteers.
“We want to be that best friend that you never knew that you needed, and be able to get you home safely.” said Dan Terry, the U.S. director for Red Frogs, which is based in Australia.
“You see these at music festivals,” said Kupin. “Nashville kind of becomes like a huge music festival every weekend."
Kupin is also talking with Broadway bars on potential uniform policies in handling people who've had too much, like perhaps asking entire groups leave, instead of an individual.
What kind of emerged is a grey area, when someone may be asked to leave a bar,” he said. “They’re not so drunk that they need to be taken into police custody or sent to the hospital, but they’re not in a space where they’re really safe to go home by themselves.”“Red Frogs really exists to be the fence at the top of the cliff, not the ambulance at the bottom.” said Terry about the focus on easy and early intervention, before a situation becomes a crisis.
Strain's parents are also currently working to set up a foundation in their son’s name to help other families navigate the harrowing search process for a missing child or loved one.
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