First of two parts.
Jersey City Councilman Steve Lipski recently agreed to a plea deal to settle the assault case against him based on his behavior on Nov. 7 at a Washington, D.C. club.
“It’s not a copout; it’s a blackout.” – Steve Lipski
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Now the 45-year-old Lipski is putting out a plea for understanding of his long-time battle with alcoholism.
“Some people have said that I’ve used alcohol as a copout,” Lipski said. “It’s not a copout; it’s a blackout. It’s not an excuse; it’s a misuse of alcohol.”
In an interview last week, Lipski went into detail about the incident for the first time, and its impact on his personal and professional life. Lipski is the president of the CREATE charter school, and has represented the Journal Square area as a councilman since 2001.
Lipski was arrested on Nov. 7 for simple assault for allegedly urinating from a balcony during a Grateful Dead tribute concert at Washington D.C.’s “Nightclub 9:30.” Lipski is a known fan of the band.
The day after the incident, Lipski went to court and entered a not guilty plea. A few days later, at a November city council caucus meeting, Lipski apologized to the public, acknowledging that he is a recovering alcoholic.
He received his sentence in a Washington D.C. courtroom on Jan. 13: one year’s probation. His probation could be reduced to six months based on good behavior, performing community service, and seeking counseling for alcoholism. He also paid a $50 fine.
His sentence was based on entering what is known as an “Alford plea,” in which the defendant does not admit the act and asserts innocence, but admits that sufficient evidence exists that could convince a judge or jury to reach a guilty verdict. Lipski said he was facing six months in jail and a $1,000 fine if he did not agree to the plea.
Lipski had also been arrested for drunk driving in 2006 in Pennsylvania.
A long, strange trip
Songs about the road, traveling, or letting one’s self go are common themes in many of the songs of the Grateful Dead, who Steve Lipski has idolized since he was a teen in the 1970s.
Their song “Truckin” comes to mind, with its signature line: “What a long, strange trip it’s been.”
That sums up what happened to Lipski on Nov. 7, when he drove down from Jersey City to Washington D.C. with a childhood friend and a different friend. They planned to meet a third childhood friend coming in from Virginia. The four expected to take in an evening performance at the “Nightclub 9:30” on V Street, enjoying the tunes the Grateful Dead cover band known as the Dark Star Orchestra.
But not before he went over to a bar across the street from the club, where he broke a 23-month sober period in his life by downing three Tanqueray-and-tonics.
“I had my first one and I didn’t get lightheaded, I didn’t get unbalanced, so I said to myself, ‘I can handle this,’ ” Lipski said.
He then went into the nightclub before Dark Star started their performance. He recalled telling a waitress, “Don’t be shy, keep the booze flowing.” That meant a couple more Tanqueray and tonics. Lipski said he was feeling lightheaded but relaxed, standing on a balcony overlooking the stage.
The next thing he knew…
He said he started dancing to the music as the opening band for Dark Star played. That would be the last moment he would remember, Lipski said.
His next conscious moment would be waking up in the back of a police car.
Lipski said he blacked out in the interim, and it was up to his childhood friend standing next to him to fill in the blanks.
“My one childhood friend from Virginia says to me, ‘You did it,’ ” Lipski said. That was when Lipski realized that he may have urinated off the balcony.
Lipski received further verification of his act when he visited the website for Dark Star Orchestra and read a posting from another person who was in the club that night, who expressed disbelief that Lipski “peed” on him. The next day, he got ahold of a police report detailing what happened in the club.
As to how Lipski ended up in the police car, his friend told Lipski that he was told by one of the club’s bouncers to leave after a brief argument. When Lipski and his friend left the club, they were met by police, who arrested Lipski, but not his friend.
‘I was disgusted’
Lipski found himself in a holding room at D.C.’s 3rd District police station, then in a nearby hospital for an overnight stay after he complained of being ill.
The next day, he sat in a cell with about 200 people waiting to see a judge after being processed and fingerprinted. Keeping him company was a homeless man charged with smoking marijuana in a federal building, and another man charged with drug trafficking. There was one bathroom for everyone.
“I was disgusted that I was going through this ordeal, [the police] had taken my shoelaces, they had taken all my possessions,” Lipski said, “and I had wounded a night out for my friends coming down to D.C. They missed seeing Dark Star as a result of my selfish behavior.”
Lipski also worried whether his friends would be in any trouble, and how to break the news to his wife.
Once in the courtroom, Lipski and his attorney listened to an initial offer by a prosecutor of a 90-day suspended sentence, with five days in a cell.
“I said, ‘unacceptable’,” Lipski said. “I am not a felon and I can’t go to jail. This experience was just punishing itself, and this was before the press hit.”
The prosecutor and Lipski’s attorney looked at his record, saw there were no prior arrests (the one in Pennsylvania had been expunged), and noted his work as a teacher, councilman, and other work in the community. There came a proposal of one year’s probation and a fine.
He had to wait another two months before entering a plea and the case was put to rest. One of the persons who filed a complaint wanted a harsher sentence.
But the next two months would be as harsh and challenging for Lipski as any sentence handed down.