Okay, this is included in my post just previous to this, but I think it is important enough that I am going to repeat it.

The director of the TABC tonight issued a statement acknowledging that Chad Gibson was injured in TABC custody.

I just got back from the Fort Worth Police Department’s East Fort Worth Community Forum. Although this was an already-scheduled event to allow East Fort Worth residents to speak with Chief Jeffrey Halstead and other officers, a number of people showed up to question the chief about the raid Sunday morning at the Rainbow Lounge.

It was a two-hour meeting, and there was a lot going on. I am just going to recap a couple of the highlights here.

First: after the meeting had started, Chief Halstead announced that the director of the Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission had just issued a statement acknowledging that Chad Gibson, who has been hospitalized with a head injury since the incident, was injured while in the custody of TABC agents.

Chief Halstead said that determining who was responsible for Gibson’s injury has been the priority of his department’s investigation so far.

Now that that is settled, the chief said, the focus for his department will turn to getting as much information as possible regarding the actions of FWPD officers during the incident.

To that end, he is asking that anyone and everyone who was at the bar that night and was an eyewitness to the events contact Capt. Garcia at 817-392-4270 to give their account. He said it is vital to a thorough investigation to get as much information as possible from those who were there.

Chief Halstead, who only recently came from Phoenix to take the top spot in the FWPD, also said he wants to meet with LGBT community leaders, that he intends to appoint a liaison to the city’s LGBT community and that he wants to institute sensitivity training.

So now, on a personal note: I understand people in our community are angry and frustrated. We want answers, and we want them now.

But folks, we also have to understand that if we really want THE TRUTH, then we need to give Chief Halstead and his command staff the opportunity to conduct a complete and thorough investigation, and those who were there need to cooperate with that investigation.

Chief Halstead said tonight he knows the LGBT community wants to know the truth, and that he DEMANDS to know the truth. If, when all is said and done, he hasn’t lived up to his promises, then we take it from there. But we have to at least give him time to do what he has said he will do.

Found this in the comments section of earlier posts. So many people have asked, and so here is the info:

To donate to a fund for Chad Gibson, walk into any Frost Bank location in Texas and ask to make a donation to Q Cinema for the benefit of Chad Gibson (the donation is through Q Cinema in order to be tax deductible). The account number is 608439230. Ability to make online donations coming soon.

And to Shane, who posted this comment, when the online donation option is available, e-mail me at nash@dallasvoice.com so I can get it up here.

I just spoke with Kristy Morgan, the sister of the young man who was hospitalized with a brain injury following the early Sunday morning police raid on the Rainbow Lounge.

Kristy said the most recent CAT scans have shown that the blood clot on Chad’s brain has stopped growing, which is good news, but he is not out of the woods yet. She said doctors told the family that as long as the clot remains — whether it is growing or not — there is the chance that all or some of it could break loose and cause severe damage or death, or that the bleeding could start up again.

At this point, Kristy said, doctors are not talking about having to do surgery to repair the bleed or remove the clot. They believe that the clot will eventually dissolve and be reabsorbed into the body, but that could take anywhere from six months to two years.

Chad will likely be hospitalized at least for the rest of this week, and will then have to have follow-up appointments and consultations with a neurosurgeon.

Kristy also said that Chuck Potter had visited Chad and had talked to him about the possibility of establishing a fund to which people can donate to help pay medical bills. I don’t have details on that yet, but as soon as I can talk to Chuck, I will get that info, since I know a lot of people have been asking what they could do to help.

I also know that Chad’s mom, Karen Carpenter, met today with local filmmaker Robert Camina, who is already working on a documentary about what happened at Rainbow Lounge. Again, more on that as I find out about it.

Tonight, Chuck Potter and Todd Camp will be speaking at the Dallas Voice Freedom of Speech Night, starting at 8 p.m. at Buzz Brews on Lemmon Ave. Chuck and Todd were both at Rainbow Lounge when the raid occurred and were the main organizers of Sunday’s rallies.

Also tonight at 7 p.m., the Fort Worth Police Department will be holding a community forum at the New Beginnings International Church, 2000 East Loop 820.

And tomorrow night, at 8 p.m., there will be a candlelight vigil at the Rainbow Lounge, 651 S. Jennings St.

Just got this in an e-mail from the Human Rights Campaign:

Ms. Hicks is the Fort Worth City Councilmember who represents the district in which the Rainbow Lounge is located. She is also Fort Worth’s mayor pro-tem. I just found her statement regarding the raid on the Rainbow Lounge online at North Texas e-News.

“I want every resident of Fort Worth to have the confidence of knowing that when tough issues such as this arise, we will require a full accounting of actions and demand honest and complete answers. Rest assured that neither the people of Fort Worth, nor the city government of Fort Worth, will tolerate discrimination against any of its citizens.

“It is truly ironic and unfortunate that this incident occurred on the 40th anniversary of the Stonewall protests. Unlike 40 years ago, though, the people of this community have elective representation that will make sure our government is accountable and that the rights of all of its citizens are protected.

“For more information, please contact my assistant, Will Trevino, at (817) 392-8808.”  — Fort Worth Mayor Pro Tem Kathleen Hicks

 

I have just posted an article on DallasVoice.com containing accounts from five people who were at the Rainbow Lounge when the raid happened this weekend.

Go here to read their personal recollections about what happened.

Given my “relationship with Blake Wilkinson and Queer Liberaction,” I figured I better go ahead and play this one up HUGE!!! Queer Liberaction will host a community educational forum led by local gay historian Phil Johnson at 7 p.m. today at Resource Center Dallas, 2701 Reagan St. The 84-year-old Johnson, who founded Dallas’ first gay organization in 1965, was one of THOUSANDS (there I go, lying again) who attended the Million Gay March yesterday, and he in fact spoke during the rally at Lee Park (shown above). From the QL press release:

Whether speaking on the Dallas Gay and Lesbian bar scene in the 1940s or talking about the all male boarding houses that existed in Oak Cliff during WWII, Phil Johnson is sure to captivate and inspire us all through is stories and decades of experience in the Dallas GLBT movement.  This event is free and open to the public, so please bring a friend!

Todd Camp and Chuck Potter, who were eyewitnesses to the police raid and Saturday’s events at the Rainbow Lounge in Fort Worth will be speaking and taking your questions Tuesday, June 30, 8pm for Dallas Voice Free Speech Night at Buzz Brews on Lemmon Ave.

OK, this is pretty cool: Theatre Three’s current downstairs show is “Woody Guthrie’s American Song,” about the folk troubadour who became popular during the Great Depression. Well, we’re kinda in a not-so-great depression ourselves, so anyone who would like to see the show BUT who is unemployed can still do so… for just a nickel, the amount someone in 1930 might have paid. Proof of unemployment is required.

In other theater news, director-choreographer Joel Ferrell, who has directed Dallas Theater Center’s “A Christmas Carol” for several years and staged the dancing for “The Who’s Tommy,” has been named artistic associate at DTC.  Guess that means he doesn’t get the nickel tickets to T3.