Follow-up - Ft. Worth Raid

On The anniversary of the Stonewall Riots the Ft.Worth police and TABC raided a newly-opened gay bar in Ft. Worth. Once it all was over a patron at the bar was in the hospital in critical condition due to a skull fracture and internal bleeding while 4 others were in jail. It was one of the worst raids on a gay bar since Stonewall. Today the Police Chief apologized for the actions of the Ft. Worth police dept. - this comes 2 weeks after an apology by TABC officials.

Read the report...

Fort Worth Police Chief Apologizes for Gay Bar Raid

Tagged with: Fort Worth Texas Fort Worth Police Department Rainbow Lounge Texas Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission

8/18/09-by Paula Brooks
Fort Worth Police Chief Jeffrey Halstead told the Fort Worth City Council today, that at least some of the problems with the June 28 raid at the Rainbow Lounge LGBT nightclub arose out of “flawed policies within the police department.”

“On today’s progress report, I am apologizing for the actions and the reflection that this gave our community,” said Halstead. “This resulted from flawed policy within the police department.”

Five people were arrested and charged with public intoxication during that raid. Two others were arrested on charges of resisting arrest, but those charges were later dropped.

The Fort Worth Police Department and the Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission were accused of targeting the gay community and using excessive force in the raid.
Chad Gibson, 26, one of people taken into custody, had said he suffered a hairline skull fracture and internal bleeding from excessive force used during his arrest at the bar. Halstead said the department is sorting through conflicting reports of what happened to Gibson, but acknowledged that one Fort Worth officer used a pressure point technique on Gibson’s face as he assisted TABC agents in the arrest.

Police had previously said Gibson was intoxicated and had fallen down on his own during the arrest, but the TABC report said two of its agents moved him to the ground as they struggled to handcuff him.

Halstead’s apology comes almost two weeks after the TABC apologized because its investigation found three agents violated numerous policies in conducting the raid.
Two TABC agents and a supervisor, who has since resigned, could face disciplinary action ranging from a verbal warning to job termination.

Halstead also said he has learned that the Fort Worth Police Department lead the bar inspection, not the TABC as first supposed. The department has temporarily suspended all operations with the TABC.

Halstead said the investigations are not yet complete, but that a new, carefully structured policy on bar inspections has been written and will go into effect on Sept. 1, along with training on how to enforce the policy.

The Texas Local Government Code requires the Fort Worth Police Department to have its investigation of the Rainbow Lounge incident completed by Dec. 28. If the excessive force allegation is sustained, officers could face disciplinary action ranging from written reprimand to termination.