Cotnoir, a decorated Marine who provided exemplary service to his country in Iraq under horrifying conditions, fired a shotgun blast out of the window of his apartment at a rowdy crowd. Revelers had poured out of two city clubs into a parking lot next to Cotnoir's home above the Racicot Funeral Home at 256 Broadway just before 3 a.m. on the morning of Aug. 13, 2005. After someone threw a bottle through Cotnoir's bedroom window, he fired a shot into the pavement of the parking lot. Fragments of the shot hit two Lowell residents.

Cotnoir was charged with two counts of assault and battery with a dangerous weapon and discharging a firearm within 500 feet of a building. He faced up to 20 years in prison if convicted.

But a Salem Superior Court jury found Cotnoir not guilty. A member of the jury said the panel believed the Marine was acting in self-defense to protect his family. Cotnoir had testified that, in addition to the bottle that went through the window, the mob was throwing rocks and bottles against the side of his home. Cotnoir said he believed he was defending his wife and two daughters from an attack on his home.

As much as we understand Cotnoir's frustration with the noise and violence of Lawrence after dark, no one should think this was a smart way to handle such a situation.

Cotnoir was lucky he did not hit anyone directly with the shotgun blast. He was lucky no one was killed. And he was lucky to have a jury that was sympathetic to his plight.

Law-abiding Lawrence residents should not have to feel, as Cotnoir did, that they are under siege in their own homes. That they do is the fault of city officials who refuse to give the police the tools they need to get the city's night life under control.

Police Chief John J. Romero has been begging the city's Licensing Board, which has authority over clubs and restaurants that serve alcohol, to set a closing time of 1 a.m. rather than the current 2 a.m. Romero has said the city's later "last call" encourages people to drive to Lawrence for a few final drinks on weekend nights. The later closing makes the span of 1 to 3 a.m. on weekends the city's "bloodiest hours," the chief said.

City leaders need also to scale back the number of establishments serving alcohol. Lawrence has 70,000 people living in six square miles. Living in a crowded city creates enough tension. Too much alcohol served from nearly 70 licensed establishments just makes matters worse.

Lawrence on weekend nights can resemble a war zone. People continue to be beaten and even shot outside clubs after closing. The most well-known incident involved the shooting of Lawrence High basketball star Hector Paniagua outside the Jubilee nightclub on Easter morning 2005. Paniagua, an innocent bystander, took a bullet intended for another. The shooting left him paralyzed.

On one weekend in March, two men were shot after closing outside Melinda's Restaurant on Broadway and police responded to a report of gunshots outside the Vivid nightclub. Another man was beaten in a street fight outside the Jowa club on Essex Street.

In February, the Police Department had to divert an entire shift of officers to the Galaxia nightclub to control a crowd angry over the cancellation of a singer's performance.

This simply cannot continue. Responsible city leaders would put a stop to it.

All clubs need a 1 a.m. closing time, and those where problems continue need to be shut even earlier. Yet the Licensing Board fails to act despite Romero's reasonable recommendations. When the chief of police says he needs help getting a dangerous situation under control, city officials should listen.