You would think with the Baltimore police commissioner's crack down on troubled bars, padlocking some and calling on them to be more responsible, that his cops would actually show up to testify at a liquor board hearing when an establishment gets into trouble.

But the liquor board was forced to drop a case against Carl Reefer's Bar and Grille this afternoon when the city officer, Fredericko E. Dickens, didn't show up at the hearing. The officer had responded to the bar in the 700 block of South Broadway in Fells Point to help other officers breaking up a fight on Feb. 21, about 1:15 a.m.

Dickens' police report says that the fight ended outside the bar that ended with the arrest of one of those involved, who was too young to drink, the officer then checked all the patrons' IDs. The owner then shut the bar down.

One of the better known attorneys in town, Peter Prevas, was on hand to defend the bar and told the board he had a good argument to make. But all of that was moot because Dickens wasn't there. A city Sheriff's deputy testified that he personally served a summons on the officer.

Prevas, noting the missing cop, moved to dismiss the charges, and Liquor Board Chairman Stephan Fogleman said, "The board has no choice but to grant the motion."

Other cops managed to show up for their hearings -- two Maryland State Police cadets who conducted as sting on Inner Harbor restaurants and three sheriff deputies all made it to the hearing just fine.

The bar could've been fine in the thousands of dollars. Instead. it gets another break, and the next time there's a fight or neighbors complain, this potential offense won't be part of its official history.

I'll add comments from the Baltimore Police Department's chief spokesman when I get them.