Under siege by Atlanta's gay and lesbian community, as well as by supporters of social tolerance, the Atlanta, Georgia Police Department is scrambling to justify a violent raid on a popular barthat caters to a leather clientele. In a city that is not known for having solved all its problems with crimes against people and property, Atlanta Police Chief Richard Pennington argues that the raid on the Atlanta Eagle was justified because ... well ... there was consensual sex among adults going on in the establishment.Seriously. That's the police excuse for a raid by more than 20 officers, during which, says the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, "62 patrons were ordered facedown on the bar’s floor, some for more than an hour. The customers were searched illegally and some were taunted with anti-gay slurs by some of the officers..."Co-owner Robert Kelley told CBS, "The only thing they'd tell us is we need to sit down and shut the (expletive) up, and if we asked any questions, they'd bash us with a bar stool."All this because of allegations of open sex on the premises, as well as the presence of illicit intoxicants.Even when it comes to pursuing a full-court press against victimless "crimes," the police walked away empty-handed. Eight bar employees were ultimately arrested -- for permit infractions.But even if there was sex on the premises, the police have raised no allegations that the conduct was anything but consensual, in an enclosed and seemingly safe environment. As for drugs ... I've written often enough about the pointlessness of trying to dictate to people just what intoxicants they may and may not use, as well as the individual rights violations inherent in any attempt to enforce such rules. The report of sixty-two people verbally abused while handcuffed face-down on the ground -- without the police even making arrests for violating those laws against sex and drugs -- amply illustrates that point.Honestly, why should the police care how people are enjoying themselves in a place and with companions of their own choosing? And why should the police expend such resources on this raid in a city where the murder and nonnegligent manslaughter rate edged up, according to the Bureau of Justice Statistics, from 20.9 per 100,000 people in 2005, to 22.6 in 2006 to 25.9 in 2007? Admittedly, that's a vast improvement over the rate of a decade ago -- so are all crime statistics in Atlanta -- but it would seem the police still have plenty of real offenses against people and property to occupy their attention.In the end, it's none of the government's business what consenting adults do with each other, on their own property or in an establishment owned by somebody who welcomes them.Ironically, it was a raid much like this one, at the Stonewall Inn in New York City in 1969, that launched the modern gay rights movement. At the Stonewall Inn, gays and lesbians fought back, defeated the police and claimed a little respect for the right to be left alone.With the Atlanta Eagle raid following so closely on the police assault on the Rainbow Lounge in Fort Worth, Texas, maybe it's time for another Stonewall-style push-back.Or maybe the authorities could just learn, finally, to mind their own business and tend to more important concerns.Councilmembers hear community outrage over Eagle raid
Creative Loafing ReportingMembers of Atlanta’s gay community came to City Hall Tuesday afternoon to voice outrage over and demand answers about the controversial Sept. 10 police raid at the Atlanta Eagle.
“Everyone’s concerned that this will continue to go on,” Midtown resident Laura Gentle said to members of the Atlanta City Council’s Public Safety Committee. “If this can happen at the Eagle, this can happen at any venue in Atlanta. This is not just a gay rights issue.”
Last Thursday, 21 officers — acting on undercover officer reports and anonymous complaints alleging sexual activity at the Eagle — raided the popular Midtown gay bar and arrested eight employees for providing adult entertainment without a proper license.More than 60 patrons were ordered to the ground and searched during the raid. Approximately 11 complaints have been filed by Eagle patrons and employees accusing officers of using anti-gay comments and rough treatment, among other claims.Chief Richard Pennington, who said the raid was the result of a three-month investigation into the bar, publicly apologized on Monday and promised a full investigation into alleged officer misconduct. But citizens still have questions.Gentle said the talk of dancing permits was “a waste of time.” If the APD was concerned about illegal dancing, she said, it should have approached the Eagle’s owners about the issue — not dispatch “three paddy wagons and 21 officers for 62 innocent people.”
“[The APD has] failed to make a connection between the charges that led to the raid and what they actually arrested the eight people there for,” she said. “That’s what we’re concerned about. We want answers to that as a community. Make that connection for us, because we don’t understand it.”
Grant Park resident Brad Ploeger thought the raid was a waste of resources and questioned the APD’s leadership.
“When has the [Atlanta Police Department] made the investigation of allegations of public sex between consenting adults in private clubs in Atlanta a greater priority than the crime that is happening on our streets?”he asked. “I know that the reports have come out that violent crimes are down in the last year, but property crime is up — crimes with victims. The victims here were the 62 people who had to lie down on the ground for over an hour — because of an allegation.”
Midtown resident Patti Ellis, whose son is gay, told committee members that the raid and officers’ alleged actions have caused her to worry that city’s taken steps backwards when it comes to gay rights. She questioned why the department was focusing its resources on a gay bar when she and fellow Midtown residents were afraid to walk down the street.
“Why aren’t these undercover officers standing around my street corner looking at these people coming up with guns?” Ellis asked.
She told councilmembers that the community wants more answers about the raid — including who authorized it — and whether homophobia exists in the department’s ranks. Ellis said she and her husband had fought for years for her son’s right to be gay, and was disappointed such an incident could happen in a city as diverse as Atlanta.APD Deputy Chief Carlos Banda — who was unable to answer some questions because of the department’s — told councilmembers that the Eagle wasn’t targeted because it was a gay bar. He noted that officers have conducted similar raids at six Atlanta bars and clubs in the last several months — none of which, to his or councilmembers’ knowledge, served a predominantly gay clientele. Those include: Pleasures, Gold Rush, the Candy Shop and Playground in Southeast Atlanta, Foxy Lady on Moreland Avenue, and the Masquerade on North Avenue.Banda told councilmembers that the department’s Office of Professional Standards has received 11 complaints about the Eagle raid. Because each complaint must be handled separately and includes multiple interviews, the cases might not be resolved until late December or January — news that was met with disappointment by residents in attendance. Ploeger of Grant Park said the new mayor will have already appointed his or her pick for police chief at that time.Councilmembers Anne Fauver and H. Lamar Willis said Eagle patrons who think they were unfairly treated by officers could also file a complaint with the Citizen Review Board, which can request council re-examine laws.
Atlanta Police said they are conducting an internal investigation following a Thursday night raid at a popular Midtown Atlanta gay bar. A police spokesperson says they’ve launched an internal investigation in response to multiple complaints about officer misconduct during the raid at the Atlanta Eagle.Bar patron, John Curran said, “They were really rough and aggressive.” Curran adds, “I heard one police officer say he ‘hated gay people.’”Police said they raided the Ponce De Leon Avenue nightspot after receiving multiple complaints from neighbors about “public sexual acts.” Police arrested eight people for not having proper permits, including five male dancers. The club remains open to the public.An independent rally-style demonstration in protest of these actions is scheduled for Sunday, September 13, assembling at 5:00 p.m. in the Atlanta Eagle parking lot (off Argonne Ave. behind Ponce de Leon Ave.).After a short summary statement, those who were allegedly harassed during the incident will be invited to share their stories, if they wish to do so.Following this, the group plans to conduct a short, peaceful march to the steps of City Hall East at 675 Ponce de Leon Ave., for reading of one or more additional prepared statements. A statement by a representative of GLBTATL will specifically address the conduct of Atlanta Police Department officers in this incident, and will include an open invitation to APD to address these issues in a civil and direct manner. obertson, intervened.
Texas' liquor board fired two agents and a supervisor, disciplined two other supervisors and changed several policies in the wake of a raid at a gay bar that left a customer with a serious head injury, officials announced Friday.The Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission said agent Christopher Aller and agent trainee Jason Chapman, who participated in the June 28 raid at the Rainbow Lounge, were fired Friday. Their supervisor, Sgt. Terry Parsons, was not at the Fort Worth bar that night but also was fired, effective Sept. 2.Aller and Chapman failed to report that they used force when arresting the customer or that he was seriously injured, according to a report on the agency's investigation released earlier this month. They also were accused of participating in the raid without their supervisor's approval, disrupting the business during the raid and wearing improper attire, the report states.Parsons failed to ensure that the agents submitted a report on using force during the arrest, did not take appropriate action after learning they didn't wear proper attire during the raid and did not notify supervisors that multiple arrests had been made that night, the report states.The commission said Parsons' direct supervisor, Lt. Gene Anderson, would be suspended without pay for three days and be on probation for six months for his lack of monitoring the training of new agents and inadequate oversight of his employees and their activities.Also, Capt. Robert "Charlie" Cloud, who oversaw the Dallas and Fort Worth TABC offices, has received a written reprimand for not following the incident notification policy, inadequately monitoring new agents' training and inadequately supervising Fort Worth employees and their activities, the agency said.In announcing the disciplinary actions Friday, the agency's chief of field operations, Joel Moreno, said he was confident that Anderson and Cloud could make the necessary improvements.
"The first step is by working more closely with their employees, mentoring them and serving as positive role models by exemplifying the agency's four cornerstones: service, courtesy, integrity, and accountability," Moreno said in a statement. "It is essential that every employee understands our core value: We do the right thing, not what we have the right to do."
TABC Administrator Alan Steen, who will make the final decision on any appeals, was not available to comment Friday, agency spokeswoman Carolyn Beck said.The five may protest their disciplinary actions by submitting a written grievance in the next 10 working days.Aller, who had worked for the agency for five years, and Chapman, who was hired in April, had been on desk duty during the investigation. Parsons had planned to retire Sept. 2 after completing 20 years with the agency but had been using vacation time.Another sergeant will be transferred from the Fort Worth to the Dallas office next week "for the betterment of the agency and to create change in the office," but that is not considered disciplinary action, Beck said.Aller and Chapman accompanied six Fort Worth police officers on a raid of the Rainbow Lounge in what police initially billed as a routine liquor license inspection for a new business. Six people were arrested for public intoxication, and one patron, Chad Gibson, was hospitalized with a severe head injury he suffered while in the agents' custody, the agency and police have said.Gibson was hospitalized for a week but has said he has a blood clot behind his right eye.Since the raid, the agency has changed several policies — including how it uses force in certain situations — and is shortening agents' shifts, increasing cultural diversity training and reviewing the agent trainee field training program, Moreno said. Many of those changes were in the works before the raid, Beck said.
"Most of these were not as a direct result of this incident, but we hope they will prevent a similar incident from happening," he said Friday.
A report addressing whether the agents' use of force was appropriate during the raid is expected to be released in September.Associated Press Reporting
Fayetteville, NC Police confirmed on Tuesday afternoon the identity of a homicide victim found near a local gay and lesbian bar. According to the Fayetteville Police Department, officers found drag performer Jimmy Ali McCollough (Imaje Devera), 34, shortly after midnight on April 14 in front of 119 Joseph St. The body was found near Club Emages, formerly Club Spektrum.Police are not releasing any more information at the time, including how the victim died, citing the sensitive nature of the case.Club Emages owner Dy’Mond Cartier told Raleigh news station WRAL that police said McCollough had been stabbed and that the case was being investigated as a hate crime. The club was not open on Monday evening, so it is not immediately clear why McCollough was in the area. However, sources have told Q-Notes that he was involved in prostitution as a way to support himself. In many instances, transgender and other gender-variant individuals are forced to engage in prostitution as a livelihood, due to high rates of anti-gay and anti-transgender employment discrimination.The Joseph St. and Bragg Blvd. areas are known to have a high crime rate. Since the end of March, the Joseph St. area has witnessed an arrest for prostitution, an armed robbery and an aggravated assault wherein the victim was shot. The identification of the victim was accompanied by a photograph taken after a prior arrest. No details regarding a prior arrest were immediately available.
Is LL Cool Jay gay or just gay friendly? It has been reported by numerous sources that he is and that he has been frequently seen in gay bars. Many of the straight people think that because he so "fine" there isn't a chance in hell that he could be gay. Just because some man has a wife doesn't clear them from having at the very least - homosexual tendencies. Nonetheless, TMZ caught up wih LL Cool Jay and was asked, "If you get hit on by a gay guy, does that change your nickname?" and LL responds, "No, just expands your options. Decisions, decisions ..."
One LL Cool J fan said, "I think ll cool j was in the gay bar with Ciara."
Have you seen this guy in your local gay bar? The Maricopa County Sheriff's Office added a special bulletin to its Web site today about escaped child rapist Adrian Cruz, displaying more photos of Cruz in the hopes someone will spot him. Scroll down to see the new pictures. As you'll recall, Cruz was the guy who slipped past inattentive deputies at the Superior Court last month while awaiting a hearing on sexual misconduct charges. At the time, he was already serving a life sentence in prison for having sex with -- and impregnating -- a 9-year-old.Cruz, a former ice-cream truck driver, is believed to be "frequenting gay-friendly establishment and day-labor sites," the sheriff's Web site states. Here's what one sheriff's official told KTAR news (92.3 FM):
"Since he's been in custody with the department of corrections, he has somewhat changed his sexual orientation," said Deputy Doug Matteson with MCSO.
"It's not necessarily that he doesn't prefer one over the other - he wants to get his sexual appetite fed any way he can. So it doesn't matter whether he'll take women, men or young girls."
Under siege by Atlanta's gay and lesbian community, as well as by supporters of social tolerance, the Atlanta, Georgia Police Department is scrambling to justify a violent raid on a popular bar that caters to a leather clientele. In a city that is not known for having solved all its problems with crimes against people and property, Atlanta Police Chief Richard Pennington argues that the raid on the Atlanta Eagle was justified because ... well ... there was consensual sex among adults going on in the establishment.
Seriously. That's the police excuse for a raid by more than 20 officers, during which, says the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, "62 patrons were ordered facedown on the bar’s floor, some for more than an hour. The customers were searched illegally and some were taunted with anti-gay slurs by some of the officers..."
Co-owner Robert Kelley told CBS, "The only thing they'd tell us is we need to sit down and shut the (expletive) up, and if we asked any questions, they'd bash us with a bar stool."
All this because of allegations of open sex on the premises, as well as the presence of illicit intoxicants.
Even when it comes to pursuing a full-court press against victimless "crimes," the police walked away empty-handed. Eight bar employees were ultimately arrested -- for permit infractions.
But even if there was sex on the premises, the police have raised no allegations that the conduct was anything but consensual, in an enclosed and seemingly safe environment. As for drugs ... I've written often enough about the pointlessness of trying to dictate to people just what intoxicants they may and may not use, as well as the individual rights violations inherent in any attempt to enforce such rules. The report of sixty-two people verbally abused while handcuffed face-down on the ground -- without the police even making arrests for violating those laws against sex and drugs -- amply illustrates that point.
Honestly, why should the police care how people are enjoying themselves in a place and with companions of their own choosing? And why should the police expend such resources on this raid in a city where the murder and nonnegligent manslaughter rate edged up, according to the Bureau of Justice Statistics, from 20.9 per 100,000 people in 2005, to 22.6 in 2006 to 25.9 in 2007? Admittedly, that's a vast improvement over the rate of a decade ago -- so are all crime statistics in Atlanta -- but it would seem the police still have plenty of real offenses against people and property to occupy their attention.
In the end, it's none of the government's business what consenting adults do with each other, on their own property or in an establishment owned by somebody who welcomes them.
Ironically, it was a raid much like this one, at the Stonewall Inn in New York City in 1969, that launched the modern gay rights movement. At the Stonewall Inn, gays and lesbians fought back, defeated the police and claimed a little respect for the right to be left alone.
With the Atlanta Eagle raid following so closely on the police assault on the Rainbow Lounge in Fort Worth, Texas, maybe it's time for another Stonewall-style push-back.
Or maybe the authorities could just learn, finally, to mind their own business and tend to more important concerns.
Councilmembers hear community outrage over Eagle raid
Creative Loafing Reporting
Members of Atlanta’s gay community came to City Hall Tuesday afternoon to voice outrage over and demand answers about the controversial Sept. 10 police raid at the Atlanta Eagle.
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Atlanta Police said they are conducting an internal investigation following a Thursday night raid at a popular Midtown Atlanta gay bar. A police spokesperson says they’ve launched an internal investigation in response to multiple complaints about officer misconduct during the raid at the Atlanta Eagle.
Police said they raided the Ponce De Leon Avenue nightspot after receiving multiple complaints from neighbors about “public sexual acts.” Police arrested eight people for not having proper permits, including five male dancers. The club remains open to the public.
Fayetteville, NC Police confirmed on Tuesday afternoon the identity of a homicide victim found near a local gay and lesbian bar. According to the Fayetteville Police Department, officers found drag performer Jimmy Ali McCollough (Imaje Devera), 34, shortly after midnight on April 14 in front of 119 Joseph St. The body was found near 
Is LL Cool Jay gay or just gay friendly? It has been reported by numerous sources that he is and that he has been frequently seen in gay bars. Many of the straight people think that because he so "fine" there isn't a chance in hell that he could be gay. Just because some man has a wife doesn't clear them from having at the very least - homosexual tendencies. Nonetheless, 
Have you seen this guy in your local gay bar? The Maricopa County Sheriff's Office added a special bulletin to its 
