City of Atlanta, Police Chief, and 48 Officers Sued for Gay Bar Raid

On behalf of 19 individuals forcibly searched and detained by Atlanta police on September 10 at the Atlanta Eagle gay bar, Lambda Legal is suing the City, the Chief of Police, and 48 officers, the group said in a press release:

"Dan Grossman, co–counsel in the case, has been working with victims of the raid since that night. "I’ve listened to dozens of stories from patrons who were mistreated by police at the Atlanta Eagle that night," said Grossman. 'The Atlanta Police Department is not above the law. They do not get to search and detain people who are not suspected of any crime.' On September 10, the Atlanta Police Department dispatched about twenty to thirty officers to the Atlanta Eagle, including its 'Red Dog Unit' dressed in SWAT team gear, but inside the bar the APD found no public sex, no drugs, or illegal weapons. During the raid, patrons of the bar were forced to lie facedown on the floor while background checks were run on everyone. Eagle bar patrons heard antigay slurs; were forced to lay in spilled beer and broken glass; and one was forced to lie on the floor even though he had injured his back in the Iraq War. Not a single patron was charged with any crime."

Said Supervising Senior Staff Attorney Greg Nevins: "The illegal activity going on in the Atlanta Eagle that night was committed by the APD. If it is APD procedure for elderly men and wounded veterans to be thrown to the floor and harassed simply for being in a bar having a drink after work, then the APD should change its procedures."

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Still Angry Over Eagle Bar Raid, Atlantans Hold Underwear Protest

(image  jim burress pba online)

Between six and ten people attended a protest at the corner of 10th street and Piedmont in Atlanta yesterday to demonstrate lingering anger over the September 10th raid on the Atlanta Eagle gay bar. Most wore visible underwear, some only underwear.

PBA Online reports: "Dressed in a T-shirt and boxer shorts on the corner of 10th & Piedmont, Laura Gentle says she's in her underwear to remind passers-by of what happened on September 10th at the Atlanta Eagle: 'The number one thing is they didn't find any sexual activity and they didn't find any drugs. People still seem to not know that they only arrested people on license and permit charges that had to do with underwear, essentially.'"

The Southern Voice reports: "Eagle co-owner Robby Kelley, holding a sign that read, “Where was the warrant?” said awareness of the raid need to continue. Kelley was one of the eight arrested and faces a Nov. 3 arraignment date in Municipal Court. The case is being prosecuted by the Solicitor’s office and a plea agreement is attempting to be reached before Nov. 3. If one is not reached, the employees will go to trial in January. 'We need to keep the focus on this so it doesn’t happen again,' Kelley said, wearing an Atlanta Eagle t-shirt and blue swim trunks. Business has been hampered as well by the raid, he acknowledged, because people are afraid to come into the bar thinking it might be raided again by the APD. 'It’s kind of understandable, but they have to understand they didn’t have the right to come in the first time and they are not going to come in again,' he said. Kelley also said his charge of not having a license for go-go dancers who were wearing attire to what he was wearing on the street was 'absurd.' ... 'I think it’s stupid that you need an adult entertainment license to have people dance on your bar in their underwear … it would be different if I was having people naked on the bar,' he said."

Image below: Atlanta Journal Constitution.

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