Other officers came in, including the "Red Dog Unit," a special force that provides "aggressive police presence" in areas with high drug use, the suit said, citing the Atlanta Police Web site. "Several plaintiffs were in terror and feared for their lives, believing that the Eagle was being robbed or invaded by criminals or gay-bashers who might kill or injure them," the suit continues. and had a drink, then later "began screaming at patrons and employees to 'hit the floor' and get down on the ground." The suit alleges undercover officers entered the bar before 11 p.m.
"I was in the bar drinking beer, playing a video game, and I was dehumanized and humiliated and laid on the floor for no reason," he said. I do my part to make sure these officers go home. "I'm not doing it because I have a vendetta against the police. "People have asked me why I'm doing this," plaintiff Geoffrey Calhoun told reporters. "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 APD should change its procedures." "The illegal activity going on in the Atlanta Eagle that night was committed by the APD," Greg Nevins, supervising senior staff attorney in Lambda Legal's southern regional office, based in Atlanta, said in the statement. The suit seeks damages and alleges that police violated the patrons' constitutional rights and that the individual officers committed false imprisonment, assault, battery and trespassing. "Imagine if the police walked into a Wal-Mart and see someone shoplifting, and because they see what they think is a crime taking place in Wal-Mart, they take everyone at Wal-Mart, throw them on the floor, spread their legs, put their hands in their pockets, take their IDs, put their name in the computer, simply because they're out of place or someone else may or may not be doing something wrong," co-counsel Daniel Grossman said at a news conference Tuesday. The only charges filed were against Eagle employees, for allegedly violating the city's law about unlicensed adult entertainment "because four dancers were observed, in the words of the arresting officers, allegedly 'wearing underwear' and 'dancing,' " the lawsuit said. Bhandari's office told CNN on Tuesday that its response was the same, as it had not seen the suit. District Court for the Northern District of Georgia.Ītlanta City Attorney Roger Bhandari said in a statement Monday that the city had not been served with the suit or had an opportunity to review it, so he would not comment. "These actions were taken without particularized reasonable suspicion or probable cause to believe that any individual patron, let alone every person at the establishment, was involved in criminal activity whatsoever," said the suit, filed in U.S. Authorities searched everyone on the property, seizing their driver's licenses or other identification, the suit says. Some of the patrons were restrained with handcuffs, and officers used excessive force, including shoving some people to the floor and kicking others on the floor, the lawsuit says. "Eagle bar patrons heard anti-gay 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." "But inside the bar, the APD found no public sex, no drugs or illegal weapons." No patrons were charged with any crime, the organization said.ĭuring the raid, patrons were made to lie face down on the floor while background checks were run on everyone, the statement said. "The Atlanta Police Department dispatched about 20 to 30 officers to the Atlanta Eagle, including its 'Red Dog' unit dressed in SWAT team gear," according to a statement from Lambda Legal. The suit, filed by the gay-rights group Lambda Legal, names Atlanta Police Chief Richard Pennington and 48 officers who were at the Atlanta Eagle bar the night of September 10. Lambda Legal Defense and Education FundĪtlanta, Georgia (CNN) - A federal lawsuit was filed Tuesday against Atlanta police over a September raid at a gay club, on behalf of 19 patrons who say they were forcibly searched and detained.