HIGHLAND PARK, Mich. – Police are shutting down the Deja Vu nightclub on Woodward Avenue in Highland Park.
Officers searched the building before locking it up for the next 6 months, per a court order.
Highland Park police said a sting in December uncovered all kinds of violations including strippers selling sex to customers. The club also was raided back in 2016 by police and twice has violated a consent agreement with the city.
Neighbors have been fed up with the club which cops say is often over-capacity.
"Broken glass all the time. Bottles, cars parked where they're not supposed to be parked. A lot of break-ins over here around the time that they're open. So, definitely going to be good to have them gone," said Eric Thomas, who lives near Deja Vu.
Another neighbor said she agrees with shutting down the place, but she worries about the girls with families to support. She herself was a dancer some 30-plus years ago.
"I didn't like it," said Faith. "But 'the show must go on' and I kept doing what I had to do. And then when I came to a conclusion that that life was not for me because it was detrimental for me. It was dangerous -- drugs, pimps, all that stuff."
Faith said she hopes the dancers use this interruption of business as a way to get out of the club and back into a classroom like she did.
"If they could relive their lives, I think they need to learn how to re-do their lives. Don't give up and go to another place and start it over again, because they're going to age-out. They're going to age-out. As you age-out, who is gonna look at (you)? ... they need to be better prepared to come out of that line of work," she said.
The club will be closed until Nov. 9. Whether its owners have to file any paperwork or sign another consent agreement with the city before they can reopen is unclear for now.
