The ACRB has submitted 10 subpoenas for Atlanta Police Officers for allegations of misconduct on a raid on the Eagle Bar last fall. All 10 officers have refused to make statements to the ACRB, and now it is up to the Committee on Council to issue subpoenas requiring them to comply. Mayor Reed is refusing to take a strong position on compliance with the ACRB (Full article posted on the BLOCS site).
WE NEED TO COME OUT IN FORCE ON MONDAY, MARCH 1ST AT 11AM AT CITY HALL to demand the Committee on Council issue subpoenas for these officers and the other 18 which have not complied with the ACRB requests.
Eagle staff were in court early this morning and everyone was the hoping the City of Atlanta would do justice by dropping the trumped-up license and permit charges.
After two postponements, the Eagle trial date is set for February 4, 2010. This is unacceptable, and community members are currently planning a demonstration.
Please continue to encourage anyone present during the raid to contact attorney Dan Grossman to discuss their rights and legal options: AtlantaEagleLawyer@gmail.com, (404) 654-0326 People can remain ANONYMOUS and still exercise their rights, please help get that information out to the community at large.
******************** These statements and others by arresting officers, were heard by the patrons of the Eagle, an Atlanta gay bar while being forced face down in broken glass, beaten, harassed, intimidated, threatened and imprisoned for 19 hours without charges for an alleged violation of city code that normally results in a $1,000 fine to bar owners.
Both the Fort Worth Texas and Atlanta police departments choose the anniversary of the Stonewall tavern raid to "do it to fag bars". Fort Worth Police Chief Jeff Halstead's reluctant apology was weak and to this day there has been no official report, regulations governing joint TABC raids or disciplinary actions taken against the Fort Worth police officers involved in the Rainbow Lounge raid.
It should be noted the officers of the TABC at the Rainbow Lounge were fired and/or disciplined with appeals denied. The TABC stepped forward, took action and apologised and we are proud of these fellow Texans.
In common is the reluctance of both police forces to investigate or even acknowledge that criminal activities were being conducted by "elite" renegade units within there forces.
In common also, is that both departments fabricated falsehoods to justify the brutal apprehension of law abiding citizens with treatment that is normally reserved for the arrest of armed gang members during drug raids. In both occurrences these fabricated lies have been invalidated in the absence of illegal drugs or criminal activity that would have warranted the physicality or even justified targeting ether gay bars.
Source: IPS new service Eagle co-owner Robby Kelly present during the raid recalls hearing some of the officers statements and actions.
"According to one complaint, police officers were laughing and high fiving each other. "And they made the statement 'this is fun, we should do it to a fag bar every weekend'. I actually heard that," Kelley said."
"According to another complaint, one officer said, "This is more fun than than raiding niggers with crack." This complainant also said the police kicked him in the ribs while he was lying down and that he saw police grab other patrons by their necks and push them to the ground if they did not immediately get on the ground."
I wonder what that fat Atlanta Police Officer liked most? Is it beating black people, smoking and selling their crack or keeping it so that after running down a 120lb athlete they could pin point a finger nail size crumb in a bush that was "thrown" away during the chase? Yeah honey, gasping for air and sweat pouring into your eyes and in the dark you still know the exact spot in the weeds where a cookie was tossed. They were trained to do that or.........
Something must have been real fun.
Think that couldn't happen? Betcha the Eagle and Rainbow lounge patrons beleive it could. Betcha if you are a golf playing fat cat you will never experience a police raid face down in your favorite 19th hole.
Demand JUSTICE for Eagle Atlanta at City Hall!
