Hammond gas stations will be required to close between midnight and 5:00 a.m. or seek an exception from the city, starting November 1. The city council approved the gas station ordinance Monday by a vote of seven-to-two, following weeks of discussion.
Mayor Tom McDermott Jr. said police are being pulled away from protecting neighborhoods because of violent crime at gas stations. "They don't care," McDermott told council members. "They're selling beef jerky 20 minutes after somebody gets shot. We need to fix this problem. This is our job!"
The ordinance does let the board of works grant yearly exceptions, allowing certain gas stations to remain open 24 hours a day. Specifically, the city would look at gas stations' recent track record when it comes to crime and police calls, whether they're easily accessible to interstate travelers, and their own security measures — including adequate lighting and making their camera feeds available to Hammond Police — according to language added before final passage.
Gas station owners argued that much of the crime they experience happens during the daytime. They also felt that new regulations should apply to everyone, with no exceptions.
Council member Barry Tyler Jr. voted against the ordinance. He worried that it tried to oversimplify a complex issue.
"There is a chance that this could help. There's also a chance that the issues that we're seeing at these gas stations — whether they be carjackings, burglaries, whatever — could move to other businesses that are open during that time," Tyler said. "And so, I just want to make sure that if we're going to pass something, that it is as effective as possible."
Tyler said there are other ways of holding businesses accountable, without forcing them to close overnight. Efforts to hold another public hearing and delay the vote for another two weeks were voted down.
Mayor McDermott, meanwhile, acknowledged that the city may get sued over the new regulations — and then proceeded to list a number of recent lawsuits involving the city. "If we get sued, we will win. And if we don't win, let me tell you something. You want to hang that on my head? 'That Mayor McDermott tried to shut down the gas stations to save his city of Hammond's crime rates and he lost. What a jerk, huh? He lost that case.' Hang it on me! I don't care." McDermott told council members.
