Eyewitness accounts contradict statements from police on what happened at Rainbow Lounge Sunday morning
A number of eyewitnesses have given their descriptions of what happened at the Rainbow Lounge around 1 a.m. Sunday morning, June 28.
Most of these accounts are very consistent, even though they come from different people who do not know each other.
Here are a few of the eyewitness reports of the incident, as reported to Dallas Voice.
Todd Camp
Todd Camp, founder of Fort Worth’s LGBT film festival Q Cinema, had gone to Rainbow Lounge Saturday night with friends to celebrate his birthday. He said he was standing in line at the bar when "seven or eight cops," some wearing Fort Worth Police uniforms, others wearing clothing identifying them as "state police."
Camp said an officer "shoved me out of the way to grab the guy in front of me" in line at the bar. The officer "told the man, ‘You’re drunk,’" and took him out of the bar, Camp said.
He said there were "about six police cars" and a "paddy wagon" waiting outside the bar, and that officers had several people in zip-tie handcuffs lined up on the sidewalk.
"No one I saw appeared to be highly intoxicated, and the way they were choosing people just appeared to be random harassment," Camp said. "They were pretty violent in grabbing people, and one guy was shoved to the ground and handcuffed.
"I was absolutely stunned. They are saying this was a routine check by TABC. I have been in plenty of bars before when TABC checks happened, and this was not like anything I have ever seen before," Camp added. "People were just grabbed randomly, told they were drunk, spun around, put in handcuffs and taken out."
Camp said straight friends who were there with him were frightened to the point of tears by what they saw.
Justin McCarty
Justin McCarty said he was working security for the Rainbow Lounge at the time of the raid early Sunday morning. He said an officer approached him and asked how much he had had to drink.
"I told him I was working and hadn’t had anything to drink, and that’s when he told me, ‘Then you need to make yourself scarce.’ So I did. I went to the back out of the way. I took that as a threat that if I didn’t, I would be arrested, too," McCarty said.
McCarty said that he saw officers throw Chad Gibson to the floor, adding that, "There were people standing there watching it happen and crying. They were scared. It was just brutal."
Brandon Addicks
Brandon Addicks said he had brought his girlfriend and "some of her friends" to the Rainbow Lounge on Saturday night to dance. At first, he said, they noticed "a small trickling of cops" coming into the bar, one of which "was wearing a shirt that said ‘Vice’ on it." Then the trickle grew.
"I saw a cop walk up behind a guy who was sitting at a table. The cop told him to stand up, and when the guy asked what for, the cop said, ‘You’re intoxicated,’ Addicks said. "Then there was that guy getting the crap beat out of him there in the back.
"I have been in bars before when police have come in, and I have never seen anything like this," he added. "It all just had a really nasty vibe to it. They seemed to be specifically singling out certain people to arrest. It was really unnerving."
Randy Norman
Randy Norman is general manager for the Rainbow Lounge. He said he saw a man on the dance floor, dancing, who was approached by police officers.
"They threw him down, put the zip ties on him and took him out," Norman said. "He told them he was not drunk, and asked that they do breathalyzer on him. But they refused."
Norman said that after the bar had closed Sunday morning, an officer came back in and gathered the club’s employees on the dance floor. The officer told them police and TABC had been there for a routine check and that they club was not being targeted because it caters to the LGBT community.
"He said, ‘I don’t partake in being gay, but I don’t care if you do,’" Norman said. "I don’t know about you, but I can’t see why someone would say something like that."
Alison Egert
Alison Egert said several members of her family have been in law enforcement, and that she has learned over the years that if you treat a police officer with respect, that officer will treat you with the same respect in return. But that’s not what she saw Sunday morning at Rainbow Lounge.
Egert said when she first noticed an officer in the club she "made a point of going up to him to tell thanks for coming out to make sure we’re safe. ‘This is kind of a rough neighborhood, and we appreciate you.’ But he told me, ‘That’s not why we’re here.’"
When Egert asked why the officers were in the club, she said he told her they had received a tip from "a disgruntled former employee" who claimed the club’s bartenders were over-serving customers.
At that point, Egert said, she told the officer that she had had several drinks herself, but that she had a designated driver. The officer, in return, told her she had nothing to worry about.
It was shortly after that conversation, Egert said, that she saw a patron in the bar "thrown against the wall" and then pushed to the floor. (That man was later identified as Chad Gibson.)
"Here you had this gay man who looked like he weighed about 100 pounds thrown to the floor with six cops on top of him," she said. "That’s when I started noticing that they were only arresting men, and they seemed to be targeting the
smaller men."
Egert said her experience that night was proof the officers in the bar were there specifically to harass gay men.
"They said they were arresting people for public intoxication. I told them I was intoxicated, but they left me alone," she said. "It was disgusting."
Egert also said she didn’t see anyone make sexual advances toward any of the officers and that she didn’t see anyone grope any of the officers.
"The people in there were scared. They were all getting out of their [police officers’] way," she said. "No one resisted arrest. They were singling out specific people, the men who seemed more effeminate. It just seems like it was a deliberate jab at the community."
E-mail nash@dallasvoice.com
From: John Copeland
To: opr@tabc.state.tx.us
Sent: Tuesday, June 30, 2009 5:59 PM
Subject: Rainbow Lounge Incident
Dear Commissioners:
Mr. Jose Cuevas
Dr. Steven M. Weinberg, JD
Melinda S. Fredricks
I am writing to express my concern and outrage over an incident at the Rainbow Lounge. From the reports available to me it appears that the officers involved in the incident used excessive force during what I consider to be an unjustified and unlawful action resulting in serious injury to a United States Citizen.
I have contacted the TABC by telephone today to make my outrage known and to stipulate that your internal affairs department immediately begin an investigation. I ask that you make this investigation a priority for the internal affairs department and that all officers involved in this incident be put on unpaid leave until the matter is satisfactorily resolved.
It is my hope that those citizen’s who were attacked and injured file criminal charges against the officers and ask the F.B.I. to investigate this matter for civil rights violations.
The actions of these officers has definitely tarnished the reputation of your agency and the State of Texas.
This incident is being emailed to millions of citizen’s in this country and abroad. The gay community will begin immediately to call for an investigation and criminal prosecution of all officers who have abused their constitutional responsibilities and duties.
Regards,
John Bradley Copeland
3621 “A” Wilmot St.
Columbia, SC 29205-2876
This may be just another injustice in the LGBT community but it’s awful none-the-less and upsets me very much. But I can only send love, understanding, and positive energy out to those officers who offended their fellow humans so badly. They made an irresponsible mistake that simply reflects their own lack of connection and vision. But I hope everyone will forgive them and elevate above such negativity. Such behavior poisons the offender more than the offended I think.
You say that eyewitness accounts were consistent. Then you list the eyewitness accounts. But each account describes something different going on. There’s only 6 people and 6 different descriptions are given. In the entire bar, only 7 people were arrested, right? No 2 eyewitnesses could corroborate the same thing except someone being thrown to the ground that they said was resisting arrest? And the cops managed to do that much damage that quickly? And one of the eyewitnesses references people crying or acting scared. But the picture that has been posted to the internet of people taking refuge at a house across the street clearly shows a relaxed crowd that’s hanging out. Nothing adds up. I’ve seen TABC come into bars in both Dallas and Fort Worth and this story seems to show something really different than I’ve ever experienced. I’ve been reading the internet all day, and several sites have eyewitness accounts posted that are way different and say that these people are blowing everything out of proportion. What about the people who were arrested? Why haven’t they said anything yet? Whose gonna figure out what’s going on here? I’m scared that we’re all reacting with mob mentality instead of thinking…some of us are going to have to take a step back and think this out some more.
Tammye,
Any update on Chad?
…and its all just some strange f…in
coincidence that it happened at 1AM Sunday the exact time/day to the hour of the 40th aniversary of Stonewall.
From the witnesses it looks like there is a serious problem here. You the Ft Worth public have a right to answers.
Let Ft worth PD explain what happened to cause violence and harassment to come to the Rainbow Lounge this past Saturday night.
Concerned in Dallas unmask yourself and disclose who you are. If you are brave enough to blog…be brave enough to give your full name.
This is police brutality/discrimination in full force by the Ft. Worth Police Department.
All Dallas GLBT people need to step up to the plate as we are now being watched by the world over this horrific event that occurred Sunday morning in our sister city, Ft. Worth.
I hate the ft worth police dept I never go to Ft worth to party because I feel unwelcome there. I’m a female and the last time I was there I was harass and put to jail sorry but I’m not a big fan of Ft Worth and I’m a very loyal Dallas candidate!
Chad has TBI. I hope it’s mild. Does he have medical insurance? He may need a long rehabilitation. Maybe a lifetime of care. Does he have an attorney? He needs one now.
ITS not Just Fort worth … a lot more cities in America are Like this.. its called a Police State. and thats were we are Headed ! Brutal Police forces keep that Masses In-line !!
Dave you are so right. Those that live in “big cities” forget how the smaller towns are far less tolerant about our rights.
That’s why we need FEDERAL legislation to get full equality.
Texans and other smaller states/cities will be the very last in line to gain full equal rights if dependent upon the “popular” vote to give us our rights.
It has to come to us through the federal level….via S.C. decisions or senate enacted laws. The time is now to march on Washington.
At 50, I am too old to wait for Texas to catch up with the rest of the country. I want to marry my partner IN TEXAS before I die and not in the New England States.
We are organizing a Dallas group heading to DC. https://www.gaymarchonwashington.com
I will await the details about what happened before actually making judgement. I am sorry for those that were hurt in the incident. However, it appears that there might be a broader issue with TABC’s raid percentage on LGBT bars and/or clubs. Over the past three weeks, I have witness three different TABC raids on just one club in Dallas. Are the straight clubs seeing the some type of attention? We might look as a community beyond Fort Worth to the State. What is the percentage of raids by the TABC? Is it available? Is it tracked by type of bar or club? We might want to seek answers. It might not be anything just concerned.
How could it be a “regular TABC check” if they put someone in the hospital???
Meanwhile, I can not believe no one wiped out their iPhone and caught any of it. Granted I would have been scarred to do so had I been there, but still if the Iranians can do it in what is a real police state…
What made this insensitive, ham fisted and completely without merit, is the fact that the FWPD has “sensitivity training”. You’d think they’d check the MLK dates to avoid raiding a march, or lets invite ICE to Cinco de Mayo. Engender the love of your citizens, not. Let’s be the biggest idiot town west of Dallas. All the museums, art, music, and theater – and all the people who make it happen have to recreate in Dallas. Hey Fort Worth, watch how it is done in Dallas – get GLBT officers to patrol GLBT locations. Trust us, you don’t get it. The TABC didn’t remove barfy drunks at Embargo, or the 3 foot long plastic phallus filled with beer as she hit people with it at the Pour House. File a Freedom of Information request for TABC records for raids with paddy wagons. The lack of awareness of the date was mistake number one. Mistake number two was a “random raid”. Time was not taken to really observe and pick the drunks (which ruin the fun for everyone). They picked easy targets, quick, due to their level of discomfort and being tired from the three previous bars, and that was a lack of professonalism and quality police work. Third, they picked weak and easy targets and said random things to random people that had unclear meanings. Fourth, they beat the crap out of a 100 lb guy and put him in the hospital. You can down a person with a finger applied to the right place in the shoulder. This is unnecessary. But hey, at least he wasn’t Tazed(!). If you show up with a wagon, you want to fill it. I am completely embarrassed. So the drunk Cowboy’s stadium manager, a good old boy in a pickup, gets a free pass, but a 100 lb twink no? Ironically, as a white guy, I couldn’t get hired to work for the City due to “quotas”, but if I’d been a transgendered American Indian with questionable immigration status, I could have been. I was told that the quote of white guys what already met. No kidding. The world has spun off its axis. Viva Honduras! Viva Iran! WTF Fort Worth?
Kcace is right on the money. It’s unbelievable that in 2009 a police officer would still try to use the “he grabbed my dick” canard to justify his bad behavior.
Even if it were true, it does not justify unprofessional conduct. Getting touched inappropriately is part of a policeman’s job. Any police officer who violently lashes out at ass grab doesn’t belong on a police force.
What is most disturbing is the inability of the police chief to actually come up with a compelling account of the raid, and his blanket reference to alleged sexual advances of the bar patrons. It looks like management incompetence on the part of the chief.
Any word from the Mayor of Fort Worth?
I seen a few council members and the police chief, n i think a city manager.
Allison is my girlfriend. I was there and witnessed two of the men being arrested including the one slammed against the wall and thrown to the ground. The guy (Chad) was not resisting arrest. He was scared. There is a bad typo concerning Allison’s statement by the way but I’m sure folks reading this realize that.
WFAA report tonight — more thorough than NBC… and not so apparently one sided.
Quote posted on screen from a recent email to WFAA from Chief Jeff Holstead, FT Worth PD says:
“You’re touched and advanced in certain ways by people inside the bar, that’s offensive. I’m happy with the restraint used when they were contacted like that.”
As soon as I read the cop’s claim that an intoxicated patron “grabbed an officer’s groin” I knew they were covering something up. This just screams of an all too conveniently stereotypical excuse for brutality. I’ve been pretty drunk a few times in my life and I’ve been arrested and I can guarantee the last thing on my mind was getting a little touchy. Who the hell would be that stupid? Oh yea, I’ve fallen down drunk a few times as well and I’ve never even bumped my head. It’s always my elbows or hands that take the impact.
And we don’t need a hate crime law for this sort of thing, this is an unmitigated violation of civil rights. Eric Holder has every reason to get the Justice Department and the FBI down there to investigate and if these bastards are guilty they need to do some serious prison time.
Also, what’s up with the absence of outrage on this thread?
@ Stone Cold
This is a repost from another post here about same subject. Hope it helps.
********************
Paul
Jun 29, 2009 at 12:33
I saw this posting on a chat board in the Fort Worth newspaper. “I am a Fort Worth criminal defense attorney. If you were arrested during this incident, I will represent you for FREE of charge, pro bono.
Call my office (817) 732-5297
Julya Billhymer
Attorney at Law”
Thanks, Julya, for your support!
I was there that night. One of the officers threatened my friend by telling him “next time, if you do not move out of my way, you will regret it”. My friend is close to 250lbs. I’m sure if he were much smaller, they would have thrown him against the wall/floor for no apparent reason as well. This was a BLATANT act of homophobia. I couldn’t care less what others have to say. You were not there to witness it.
The cops have really shot themselves in the foot Chad had to have had blood work when he arrived at the hospital, which means they probably got his BAC from the more accurate blood test. If it shows that he was no where near as intoxicated as the cops claim they will have a hard time explaining that.
It seems really odd to me that it takes 6-8 police officers to routinely check a club this size…
Mike,
I have e-mailed the mayor office on Monday morning and haven’t rec’d a responce from him as of yet. Will post it when I get one.
I don’t think anyone that was there that night is not saying people were not drunk…cause at 1AM I sure some had to many. It was the way people got handled and abused.
The pic of people standing outside someones house. Those people couldn’t leave because the police had there car’s blocked and they were scared to go ask the police to move so they can leave. Plus do you really think they would have moved the patrol car’s. And do you realize they sat on that porch for over 2 hour’s waiting to go home. At what point of time frame was this photo taken.
Domestic terrorism.
This is exactly why the Fort Worth PD and other officials of similar need some SERIOUS “sensitivity training” – it’s a legitimate standard of practice in several other departments across the state of Texas for this very reason – it may sound really odd but “LGBT Sensitivity Training” is a definite MUST in Fort Worth and other bars I have experiences similar stuff in – as this story develops it saddens me that in 2009 with Obama in office and military coming out you still cant order a cheap vodka drink at a secluded bar in Fort Worth without having been harrassed for it – very disappointing. That’s why when I left West tx I bypassed Fort Worth and went straight to Dallas – but even then it happens everywhere on occassion. I hope this changes policy from now on – if anything the light this incident sheds in Tarrant Co. is a NEGATIVE ONE on the City’s part – and people will remember.
I am outraged that people that are supposed to “protect and to serve” would do that and that it was a complete abuse of the badge that they were given! Also I find it extremely odd that the TABC had picked this particular bar on only it’s 2nd night of being open! I have several gay friends and I am a HUGE supporter of the LGBT community and I find that this is outragous! Thank God I live in Dallas where they are a lot more liberal and open-minded about this kind thing. Just because the last time the bar was open the bartenders were “overserving” customers does NOT mean that these new owners would be guilty of it. Also if you stop to think about it as the bar had just opened the previous night how could that “tip” be valid. No they were using that as an excuse to single out the LGBT community and let them know that they aren’t welcomed. What’s next arson just like the only gay bar that Denton, Tx had?! I just hope and pray they the department won’t try to cover this up and protect those “officers” from losing their badges. They are supposed to protect and to serve EVERYBODY that means gays, lesbieans, tran-sexuals, everybody not just a select few!
some of the witnesses from the incident are supposed to be on hand tonight at the freedom of speech night at buzzbrew’s.. i’ll be interested to hear it all first-hand, and if anyone has any questions that would most likely be an awesome opportunity to ask them.
just saying.
some of the witnesses from the incident are supposed to be on hand tonight at the freedom of speech night at buzzbrew’s.. i’ll be interested to hear it all first-hand, and if anyone has any questions that would most likely be an awesome opportunity to ask them.
just saying.
I’m sick and tired of these baboons and sociopaths posing as “peace officers” who think that shoving people around and barking orders and cracking skulls is the fun part of their job.
It’s time we put a stop to the abuse. It’s time for us as a community–gay, straight, whatever–to demand the respect, the courtesy, the upholding of our civil rights that we’re owed by law enforcement officers, who are employed by the taxpaying public to be our protectors and servants. If we don’t act now, then when will we act?
Greetings from Idaho – we are standing with you in solidarity – indeed I imagine that LGBT folks from around the world are watching.
Greetings from San Francisco, CA
I have family in DFW area and I take your pain and outrage very personally.
they can’t get away with this. MARCH ON FORT WORTH! From the bar to the Police Station. Who is local and can organize us?
And we are relying on the “eye witness” account of a girl who admits she was intoxicated, why, exactly? Because you know, I always make a point of telling the cops when I’m drunk. And yes, I am gay. Sheesh.
i spoke with the “intoxicated” girl myself and i can tell you she is a compelling witness. and she didn’t say she was intoxicated, she admitted to having several drinks. we don’t know how many exactly that was and we don’t know the amount of time it took her to ingest those several drinks. she is a very well spoken and respectful young lady and the story she tells pokes holes in the police account. i believe she shared with them that she had several drinks because she saw them targeting gay men and wanted to be able to prove they were there on a mission.
annie, have you ever been in a public situation where you were intoxicated? if so, you should have more sympathy for this story. and by public situation i mean bar, restaurant, hotel, march, rally, football game, parade, tailgate party, or concert.
What’s up with the police this weekend?
Here’s a story about two gay women in San Diego who hosted a party for a politician and ended up in a melee with police helicopters and pepperspray:
https://www3.signonsandiego.com/stories/2009/jun/29/1m29busby215750-candidate-confront-deputies-over-r/?northcounty&zIndex=124089
a woman trampled at the Houston Pride Parade:
https://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/metropolitan/6501652.html
a man taunted by teenagers at the Twin CIties Pride Parade while police watch and do nothing
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TfW9inRkTpU&eurl=http%3A%2F%2Fwww%2Ejoemygod%2Eblogspot%2Ecom%2F&feature=player_embedded
https://www3.signonsandiego.com/stories/2009/jun/29/1m29busby215750-candidate-confront-deputies-over-r/?&zIndex=124089
I know Chad Gibson and his family and I would like to know what hospital he is at, so I can go there. Can anyone contact me with that information? Thank-You Cindy Abell 817 317-1748 ckabell509@yahoo.com
I’m Incensed!
I’m a new north DFW resident (6months) from Laguna Beach CA. I have been with my partner for 25 years this November. I have been completely appalled at the police force here in the DFW area since our arrival.
I have been reading all I can on this horrid account, including the hate comments from “the local bigots†on other sites. I have never been one to comment on these matters but I feel now is time! Enough is enough!
It is easy to understand if you can read between the lines of the comments given by the FWPD. They say they did not know of any such day called “Stonewallâ€. WTF! If this place is called Dallas – Fort Worth and the Dallas police are aware of a permit filed for a parade that will possibly have thousands in attendance how then, can the FWPD deny they knew a Stonewall anniversary was the same day? They did know! And they could have come on Friday like they originally had intended. It seems FWPD got the great idea that they can cause more damage and put the fear of god into more queers by arriving on this day instead, by adding Injury to their Insult. If not that- then they are complete idiots who can’t communicate with the city that shares their fame and borders.
Shame on the FWPD and the TABC for continuing to show the rest of the nation why so many feel this State can be given back to Mexico without any regret.
I’m ashamed to reside here.
I had to move here for career purposes since my CA company was sold to a TX firm and with tenure, I had no choice really. I cant stand to disrespect where I live but I feel this is not “living†and now I’m afraid its going to take even more for me to feel this State will actually even let my partner and I survive. Sad –sad- state.
I am a professional video camera operator and freelance photographer/videographer and I also install surveillance systems for residents and businesses.
I wish there was a camera rolling on this sickening Raid – it undoubtedly would have revealed the truth. The world would then again be able to see the pain so many of us have had to endure. I would gladly volunteer my free time to assist the owner of the Rainbow Lounge to install a surveillance system. Maybe this little token will help me re-direct my sadness and opposition for these events into something positive. The Dash-Cam is a cops worst enemy.
I truly hope Chad Gibson recovers soon, and all those that were harassed and arrested take it to the Jury Trial level.
“I have tasted freedom. I will not give up that which I have tasted. I have a lot more to drink. For that reason, the political numbers game will be played. I know the rules of their game now and how to play it.” HARVEY MILK
The last time I vacationed in Dallas I visited one gay bar. A man came up to me and told me he was going to kill me because I’m a fag (I am, incidentally, very masculine in appearance). Just then my straight friend appeared to give me a ride home. (My friend was a larger man that the person who threatened me). The ‘killers’ gonads shrunk so much his voice changed to a high pitch and he left. TEXAS is TOXIC. They’ll get NO MORE of my vacation money…EVER.
It’s commendable to call for forgiveness. But you have to be angry first. Without anger, there can be no change. Get angry, demand change and accountability. Then seek to forgive.
Like I said yesterday I am outraged by how the Fort Worth Police abused the badge that they were given in order to effect this “raid”. I also yesterday emailed the mayor of Fort Worth and let him know that because of this incident that I wouldn’t trust his Fort Worth P.D. interenal affairs to make sure that those “officers” lost their badges but I would like to see another law enforcement agency like the TEXAS RANGERS (as in the show “Walker, Texas Ranger) to investigate the horrible matter! Also I am more than ready to foward that email to the legislators that are over Fort Worth if need be. I am a huge advocate of the LGBT community and I REFUSE to take this laying down! As I am proud to call myself I’m a straight B*tch with a hell of a lot of gay pride and nothing with shut me up! I know that Fort Worth is nicked named Cow Town but it’s ludicrous for some of the police to take it upon themselves to act like they are still in the old west! I moved from Denton, Tx to Dallas because Denton is as uptight and conservative as Fort Worth. I’m asked the mayor of Fort Worth what was next the Rainbow Lounge being falling victim of arson and the cops trying to convince people that it wasn’t a hate crime just like in Denton 2 year ago???? I wouldn’t be to terribly shocked to also put it past those close-minded, bigotted hater “officers” if they used the exact same reason that the TABC closed the same bar down under a different owner to “justify” the raid this time. Nobody with an active brainstem believes the excuse of “a disgruntled former employee said that the bartenders were overserving”; unless nobody else picked up on it, the place had only been open for 2 nights! There could be no “disgruntled former employee” this is common sense people.
Now that we’ve had the public meeting with the Chief, it’s even less clear than it was… “not my guys”. I do feel that the City of Ft. Worth is not ignoring this, and it’ll get the attention it deserves.
I’m a little dismayed that someone can say “an officer” came in after it was over but cannot name that officer. I hope they told Internal Affairs.
Meanwhile, since you’re all so interested in expressing yourselves, surely someone by now has posted these addresses:
Chief of Police Jeffrey Halstead at jeff.halstead@fortworthgov.org and Assistant City Manager Thomas.Higgins@fortworthgov.org
Please be civil and constructive in your questions; these are the civil servants who’ll have to help figure this out, no matter how defensive they seem right now without enough information.
https://www.tabc.state.tx.us/enforcement/enforcement_policy.asp
Review TABC policy here….on Enforcements. I am scanning for random unprovoked arrests…cant find anything?
SHAME ON ALL OF YOU
Officer K. Gober, #3656,
Officer J. Ricks, #3484,
Officer M. Marquez, #3655,
Officer J. Jenson, #3731,
Officer J. Back, #3863,
Officer J. Moss, #3722
Sergeant Morris.
NO ONE should have to be on the receiving end of this sort of ignorant, violent behavior. Shame on anyone who allows their bigotry to rule their lives in such a manner as to think they can hurt others because they don’t agree with their lifestyle. I agree with Marty, shame, shame, shame on all of them.
Well all I can say is if this was an act of gaybashing or hate crime, then someone should pay for their actions. Every bar has people drunk in them for heavens sake. But some of them have DD’s or are sobered up before leaving. And as far as Concerned in Dallas. You really need to come out of the closet and face reality. This happens all across the country. And we are tired of this type of treatment from state officials. We have rights just as much as everyone else does. Wake up and smell the coffee Concerned in Dallas. It could happen to you one day. God forbid. I had alot of friends there that night. And all of them stated that the “Officers” were really rough with all the people they arrested. And look what they did to Chad Gibson. That man is fighting a brain injury for what? A cheap thrill for some cops? Seems to me someone needs to step up and stop lying about what they did to him. Karma will get that person one day for what they did to him. And lord knows I don’t wanna be around when that happens. There are so many people blind to what really happens in the gay community. They think its all ok. But it is far from that at times. Its people like this that causes our community to be held back in so many ways and judged. So all I ask is for everyone to stop in their everyday lives for a minute and say a prayer for Chad Gibson and his family. No one deserves this type of treatment. I only hope for Chad to recover and have no affects of this injury in any way.
Am I wrong in thinking that people go to bars to drink and quite often get drunk? Maybe I don’t understand the concept of a bar.. but I did believe it was to drink and dance.
I am outraged that this sort of thing still happens in this day and age! I was born in Dallas and at a very early age I knew enough to want to get the hell out of Texas because of the Toxic repression fousted upon GLBT people. After living in Washington, DC, New York and now South Florida it sickens me to see the people I left behind still suffering at the hands of the “Good Ol’ Boy” establishment.
The date of this raid was no accident. If their department had sensitivity training they’d know June is traditionally pride month. To have raided the Rainbow Lounge on the very same day in history as Stonewall smacks of intimidation and opression.
But the fact of the matter is this. The police raided a bar. They randomly picked people out of a crowd and without so much as a breathalizer or a sobriety test threw people in cuffs and to the ground with such force that they gave a suspect brain damage. That is BRUTALITY. That is EXCESSIVE FORCE.
Gay or straight suspects, panicked or otherwise the cops had a duty to perform and they did it outside the bounds of their own rules and for that they should be prosecuted and sentenced. The city will have to endure the lawsuits the cops have now exposed them to by their actions. I hope this young man survives to sue the living P-Jesus out of them.
Perhaps the taxpayers of Fort Worth will remember this as they pay out more for their city’s liability insurance after the civil lawsuits are settled. The GLBT folks didn’t stand for this 40 years ago. There is no reason we should endure it now.
I’m not at all convinced of the sincerity of Chief “Take a Deep Breath” (where have I heard that before). If his department is going to conduct a fair and unbiased review of the incident, then he needs to stop parroting the ridiculous accounts of his police officers that they were either groped or sexually harassed. These are incredible allegations by the officers, and are contradicted by eyewitness accounts. If a police officer tackles a bar patron and pins his arms behind him, and in so doing the patron makes contact with the officer’s groin, that is NOT a sexual come-on. That’s a homophobic police officer’s CYA Panic Defense. I do not believe that any officer was groped OR sexually propositioned. Period.
@marty he officer you noted:
Officer K. Gober, #3656,
Officer J. Ricks, #3484,
Officer M. Marquez, #3655,
Officer J. Jenson, #3731,
Officer J. Back, #3863,
Officer J. Moss, #3722
Sergeant Morris.
Are they ftw officer or tabc or both?
….
I was at the Police forum at the church Yesterday,and from what i seen n heard was not much difference, but i do know well felt the Police Chief still does not really what to deal with the gay community, Not one time did he say GAY or Lesbian etc. just community,group,etc. He was saying people that live in FTW should not be discriminated against, based on Race,age,sexuality.Gender.
I did not stay after and go up and listen to anything the Chief or staff had to say.
Another thing i noticed was the officers at the church were REAL REAL friendly smiling pointing the way,thanking for coming etc.
Time will tell.
The response to an Open Records request to the TABC :
Mr. Weaver –
This is in reply to your June 30, 2009 email to the Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission regarding any records/reports relating to the June 27, 2009 incident involving the Rainbow Lounge in Fort Worth.
Currently, the commission has an open investigation into possible violations of the Texas Alcoholic Beverage Code. Once complete, the findings may become the basis of a possible administrative action against the permittee. If so, the permittee will, however, have the opportunity to settle the administrative action with the commission before it is forwarded to our legal department to be set for hearing.
Due to any pending administrative action against the permittee, settlement or possible prosecution based on the outcome of the investigation and settlement negotiations, all documents currently in the possession of the commission dealing with our open investigation have been withheld pursuant to §552.103 of the Government Code. Once any administrative action is resolved, certain documents will become an open record available to the public. If the agency does not settle with the permittee, the administrative action will be docketed and set for hearing.
Please feel free to resubmit your request at a later date. If you have any questions, please contact me at any time.
Amy Igo, Paralegal & Open Records Coordinator
Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission
5806 Mesa, Ste. 380, Austin, Texas 78731
512-206-3491 • Fax 512-206-3226
amy.igo@tabc.state.tx.us
http://www.tabc.state.tx.us
I’ve been wrong about Texas. I usually tell people that it’s 20 years behind the more civilized parts of the country, but now, 40 years after Stonewall, I realized that it’s more like…40 years behind.
Absolutely sickening that FWPD Chief Jeff Halstead (he of the porn moustache) is trotting out the Heterosexual Panic Defense to deflect blame for his officers’ misconduct. If the TABC officers are responsible for the young man’s injury, then the FWPD officers are just as culpable for failing to prevent it. And Chief Halstead is compounding the misconduct by lying about what happened, and trying to stir up anti-gay sympathy in the community.
The FW City Council needs to demand that he retract his allegations, let internal affiars conduct their whitewash, and then wait for the lawsuits.
Sec. 49.02. PUBLIC INTOXICATION.
(a) A person commits an offense if the person appears in a public place while intoxicated to the degree that the person may endanger the person or another.
(a-1) For the purposes of this section, a premises licensed or permitted under the Alcoholic Beverage Code is a public place.
Does it appear this law is obscure?
All the first hand accounts of that night at the Rainbow Lounge indicate that the standards for definition of sec.40.02 PI – where ineffective to result in arrest.
Everyone denied there was any indication that anyone arrested was intoxicated to the point of endangerment of he/she or others.
I guess they (fwpd-tabc) contend that if due to your intoxicated levels you cant defend yourself or others from assault by thugs with a tin badge then you must then be guilty of endangering yourself.
Why were these people arrested? Does this law require any blood alcohol levels to be determined? Or is this just a way to give the cops an out -when an effeminate walk appears to be a stumbling drunk? The approached us with a sexual swagger…..
What a defense – “he was walking gay“.
What do you think people? Has anyone on here ever had a PI arrest? What was the outcome?
Thanks for you input. Peace!! G.
Thank God that, since all those “intoxicated” patrons were arrested or hospitalized, the community is SO much safer. TABC seems to be a little bit excessive with their compliance checks. I mean, come on, aren’t there plenty of murderers and robbers these officers can go after?
DID THE FWPD AND THE TABC KNOW IT WAS A SPECIAL NIGHT? ARE THEY CONNECTED TO REALITY? DO THEY ALSO HATE THE NEW LAWS OF THE LAND?
Obama signs
Pride Month
proclamation
President Barack Obama has signed off on
a proclamation establishing June as Lesbian,
Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Pride Month
2009.
The proclamation is as follows:
Forty years ago, patrons and supporters of
the Stonewall Inn in New York City resisted police
harassment that had become all too common
for members of the lesbian, gay, bisexual,
and transgender (LGBT) community. Out of
this resistance, the LGBT rights movement in
America was born. During LGBT Pride Month,
we commemorate the events of June 1969 and
commit to achieving equal justice under law
for LGBT Americans.
LGBT Americans have made, and continue
to make, great and lasting contributions that
continue to strengthen the fabric of American
society. There are many well-respected LGBT
leaders in all professional fields, including the
arts and business communities. LGBT Americans
also mobilized the Nation to respond to
the domestic HIV/AIDS epidemic and have
played a vital role in broadening this country’s
response to the HIV pandemic.
Due in no small part to the determination
and dedication of the LGBT rights movement,
more LGBT Americans are living their lives
openly today than ever before. I am proud to
be the first President to appoint openly LGBT
candidates to Senate-confirmed positions in
the first 100 days of an Administration. These
individuals embody the best qualities we seek
in public servants, and across my Administration—
in both the White House and the Federal
agencies—openly LGBT employees are doing
their jobs with distinction and professionalism.
The LGBT rights movement has achieved great
progress, but there is more work to be done.
LGBT youth should feel safe to learn without
the fear of harassment, and LGBT families and
seniors should be allowed to live their lives
with dignity and respect.
My Administration has partnered with the
LGBT community to advance a wide range of
initiatives. At the international level, I have
joined efforts at the United Nations to decriminalize
homosexuality around the world. Here
at home, I continue to support measures to
bring the full spectrum of equal rights to LGBT
Americans. These measures include enhancing
hate crimes laws, supporting civil unions
and Federal rights for LGBT couples, outlawing
discrimination in the workplace, ensuring
adoption rights, and ending the existing “Don’t
Ask, Don’t Tell†policy in a way that strengthens
our Armed Forces and our national security.
We must also commit ourselves to fighting
the HIV/AIDS epidemic by both reducing the
number of HIV infections and providing care
and support services to people living with HIV/
AIDS across the United States.
These issues affect not only the LGBT community,
but also our entire Nation. As long as
the promise of equality for all remains unfulfilled,
all Americans are affected. If we can
work together to advance the principles upon
which our Nation was founded, every American
will benefit. During LGBT Pride Month, I call
upon the LGBT community, the Congress, and
the American people to work together to promote
equal rights for all, regardless of sexual
orientation or gender identity.
NOW, THEREFORE, I, BARACK OBAMA, President
of the United States of America, by virtue
of the authority vested in me by the Constitution
and laws of the United States, do hereby
proclaim June 2009 as Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual,
and Transgender Pride Month. I call upon the
people of the United States to turn back discrimination
and prejudice everywhere it exists.
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set
my hand this first day of June, in the year of
our Lord two thousand nine, and of the Independence
of the United States of America the
two hundred and thirty-third.
<B>Two Fort Worth lawmakers seek independent inquiry into Rainbow Lounge incident</B>
By MITCH MITCHELL
mitchmitchell@star-telegram.com
FORT WORTH — Two legislators called Wednesday for an outside agency to investigate how a Euless man was injured early Sunday in the custody of Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission agents at a gay bar south of downtown.
State Rep. Lon Burnam and state Sen. Wendy Davis, both Fort Worth Democrats, said they met with commission officials Wednesday about what happened at the Rainbow Lounge, 651 S. Jennings Ave.
“We had more questions than they had answers,” Burnam said. “But that’s understandable at this point.”
In their joint statement, Davis and Burnam said they thought an independent review of witness accounts and the completed investigative reports of the Fort Worth Police Department and the commission would be the best way to find out the truth.
They have not decided the appropriate agency to conduct the review or how the process might be initiated, Burnam said.
“I’m hoping that Mayor Moncrief and the governor will visit and talk about how best to address the need for an outside review,” Burnam said.
“Both departments need enough space to complete their own investigations. But because we are already detecting discrepancies in the reports from both agencies, we think we need an independent investigation.”
On Wednesday, the commission issued its first statement about the disturbance, which occurred about 1 a.m. Sunday. According to the statement, agents and police officers “conducted joint inspections of three TABC-licensed locations in Fort Worth to ensure compliance with state alcoholic beverage laws and local ordinances.”
They went to the Rosedale Saloon and the Cowboy Palace, both on West Rosedale. Nine men were arrested at those bars, as was one man “at an unlicensed location.”
Then they went to the Rainbow Lounge, a few blocks north of Rosedale. According to earlier police reports, some Rainbow customers made “sexually explicit motions,” and one grabbed an officer’s crotch. Officers took more than 20 people outside for questioning and seven were arrested, according to police. The commission’s statement said six people were arrested
Chad Gibson, 27, was injured while being arrested by agents, the commission said.
Gibson was listed in fair condition at John Peter Smith Hospital on Wednesday, an improvement from Tuesday, when a hospital official said he was in serious condition. According to the statement, the agents turned Gibson over to paramedics “who treated him for alcohol poisoning and a head injury before taking him to a hospital for treatment.”
The two agents involved have been assigned to desk duty, Carolyn Beck, a commission spokeswoman, said in an interview
Christopher Neu, 39, of Fort Worth, a customer at the Rainbow that night, said police mistreated other patrons while other officers watched.
“I will not say that all the officers at the lounge were involved in the brutality, but I can guarantee that not one of them tried to stop it,” Neu said. “I just hope that this doesn’t all get washed away.”
Can you help? The Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission asks anyone who “witnessed employee misconduct” to call 512-206-3405 or e-mail opr@tabc.state.tx.us. Information about how to file a complaint against a commission employee and about agency policy on employee investigations is at http://www.tabc.state.tx.us.
Fort Worth police have asked people who were at the Rainbow Lounge about 1 a.m. Sunday to call 817-392-4270.
MITCH MITCHELL, 817-390-7752
My deepest sympathy for those who were there and hurt. As an ex-police officer I ask you to understand something, there are police officers out there that do understand and care. NOT ALL POLICE officers are bad. Yes there are some, but not all. Although I am straight, I have many gay friends who I hang out with, go to dinner with and yes, even party with on a regular basis. It would be like me stereotyping my gay friend and saying you “all act that way”. We know this is not true. All I can say is I myself think what happened was wrong and intolerable, however, you are blaming the WHOLE FWPD, when actually the raid was HEADED by a STATE agency. I guarantee that there is audio available from every officer in there, they all wear audio, and probably some video running from the police cars that were there. Get together, get the facts straight, then take and plead your case. I hope Chad will recover 100% and get back to his life, as I am sure he will with the help of his family and friends.
The basis for all this bigotry is religion, just like in the mideast. Let’s not lose sight of that.
Texas sucks. Leave the gay people alone and free the weed. Isn’t that why we hired Obama?
Enjoy.
I am so trembling right now. I just got off the phone with the internal affairs department for the Forth Worth Police, and the lady was not at all sensitive to my concerns. She was so cold the entire time, despite my passive nature during the call. She kept telling me the investigation is ongoing, so the dept. can’t comment. I asked then why did the police chief say what he said? Why wouldn’t he wait for the investigation to be completed before making public comments defending his officers? She did not have an answer. Here is the big bombshell: When I said this could happen to me or any of my gay friends, she asked, “Oh, are you coming to Fort Worth some time soon?” Unbelievably cold. Please call and let her know you want your concern logged for the police chief.
Call 817-392-4270.
“Positive energy”?
“Irrisponsible”?
“Forgiveness”?
Holy cow, where were you raised? Every Gay man knows what these cops deserve.
Every gay man knows what happened here.
Every gay man knows why it happened. Fort Worth needs to riot and burn squad cars.
Greetings and Love from Canada! Move to our country we love everyone in the GLBT community! It’s legal for gays to marry across all of Canada because we believe in equal rights for ALL not some. I am sorry you are still dealing with such injustices.. the world wishes the States would just progress already! The government invades other countries for suppressing their citizens but the same thing is going in their own backyard. Wake up and fix the abuse going on at home before trying to “fix” other countries!
Texas police are all about brutalizing the weak and innocent. Get over it.
Before people are arrested for driving while intoxicated they take a breathalyzer test (or other BAC test). If they refuse to take the test they are arrested.
Were any of the people arrested given a BAC test? If not, why not? What is the relevant law or statute that criminalizes being drunk inside a bar?
It’s one situation to see someone stumbling down a street who seems clearly impaired by alcohol or another substance. Inside a bar, a private business, it’s another matter.
How often are bars in Ft. Worth checked for intoxicated patrons? How many arrests are made each month? How often does serious injury occur to the person arrested? I think we all know the answers to these questions.
Pardon me if I fill some space while I rant.
I have live in this homophobic hell hole (102 degrees today) all my 5+ decades. Texas is tea bagger HQ for a reason (conservative protesters bless them don’t even get it).
I have worked professionally with lots of police officers. Personally I have no doubt most of them are dedicated professionals attempting to serve the public good. Unfortunately the career attracts more than it’s share of idividuals that have come up short physically, emotionally, or mentally in society and they see their power as a way to get even for past slights by others.
Officers are about 3rd in line behind in covering the asses of their imcompetent colleagues, right behind physicans and attorneys.
I would bet my home that a demographic study would determine that a higher socioeconomic status renders you immune from the effects of ethanol as determined by the number to TABC arrests for PI in the watering holes frequented by the higher SES group.
Don’t forget to celebrate your freedom this July 4th!!
How any Visitors and Convention Bureau attacts major groups to Texas is beyond me. I suspect they don’t meniton TABC little penchant for arresting people here to have a good time. Incredible.
If I had anything to do with where my group went it would not be Texas.
Dallas is no enlightend promisedland either. I have friends that visit from San Francisco and New York that can’t get into bars there. Neither has Texas ID. Both has passports. One has a US passport (ya know some parts of the country you don’t need a car to live!!). He’s from Wichita Falls until he had the wisdom to move at age 18. He can fly all over the world and get into any bar on earth, except Dallas. Same goes for my NYC buddy who is here on a student visa from the Carribean going to Columbia Univ. He can fly all over the world and US and drink but we can’t go to Cedar Springs and get into a bar. Well maybe 1 out of 3 or 4 ifthe “bouncer” will likes our looks. I have got so mad. They settle me down. It’s happened to the three of us and when I’ve been with them as just the two of us. Not one bar in Cedar Springs/Oaklawn…all of them. Oddly, Fort Worth bars have accepted their internationally recognized ID’s.
I might remind everyone that it was only 2003 when the Texas State Attorney General supported before the U.S. Supreme Court the state’s right to break into my home to determine where I had my dick parked. They didn’t like certain guy parts and it was a jailable offence. Texas is not the promised land for equal treatment.
All the public perception progress made in overcoming Texas’s reputation as a third world country relating to human rights the past few decades is deminished by some two bit redneck…or two. The damage is real and has consequences, economic and otherwise.
Sad and tragic, and no…sorry…a blow to the head like the victim suffered will affect him in subtle ways the rest of his life. And, Fort Worth’s Police Chief using the 3rd grade retort, “he touched me first”, without waiting for the internal affairs report exemplifies the problem that is institutionally based. Tragic, sad, and embarassing. I’m getting the hell outta here as soon as I can afford it.
oh..just so I don’t mislead. The friends that can’t get into Dallas gay bars (maybe other bars too..I don’t know) on their passports, one is 26 and the other is 33. I don’t frequent the bars often and have no trouble when I do, but it was an eye opener for me to see them denied admittance. Ha..what an international city. Such a joke if it weren’t sad.
This is an issue that demands support from the straight community. At 17th largest city in the US by population, we are big enough to not tolerate this kind of abuse of ANY group of people.
How can we think of the city we’ve built, our museums, downtown, stockyards, etc, and not be completely outraged that still, our police force is out harassing and beating up gay people? Fort Worth is bigger than that and better than that. But the message is not going to be come across strongly enough if we hetero folks are not just as outraged as the LGBT community.
It has been a long time coming, but now is the time to make it clear that, at least in Fort Worth, when you say “Don’t Mess With Texas” you also mean “Don’t Mess with Gay People”.
TEXAS WOULD NOT DARE TO ATTACK JEWISH PATRONS IN A JEWISH LOUNGE, BUT GAYS …?
Replace the label GAY with the label JEW and the entire western world would be in an uproar. One Jewish organization after another would threaten a boycott of Dallas/Fort Worth as conference centers for professional organizations (physicians, lawyers, teachers, librarians, etc.).
And what do we get? No apology from the police chief and a lecture from the local newspaper, the fairly influential FW Star Telegram. By throwing in a few crumbs, the Public Relations Dept. knows only too well that time will probably work in their favor with gay people being grateful that a little education program may get started some time in the future, and then it’s back to a subtler form of homophobia.
The local press has much to answer for. Imagine the following editorial in the Star Telegram:
“The Police Department informed THE STAR OF DAVID Lounge management in advance that an inspection would take place the night of PASSOVER. Why didn’t the managers educate the officers about the date’s significance? That’s need-to-know information for uniformed law enforcement officers showing up at a JEWISH bar on that date.
It’s also need-to-know for any JEWISH bar patron that laying a hand on a police officer will result in a quick trip to jail.
Drinking to the point of intoxication is a crime even in a bar. Officers tasked with enforcing alcohol laws must make sure local and state statutes are observed regardless of the date on the calendar, PASSOVER OR NO PASSOVER. The residents of Fort Worth who share the streets with bar patrons throughout the city expect as much.
Law enforcement officers also must follow agency procedures to make sure inspections are conducted professionally and legally.
Why would a police supervisor, six officers and two TABC agents knowingly risk their own careers, the reputations of their departments and a public relations nightmare WITH THE JEWISH COMMUNITY by engaging in targeted or overly aggressive enforcement against a RELIGIOUS minority group? We’re not sure they would, but as we said, there are more questions than answers at this point.â€
Excuse me while I go throw up my breakfast–INDEED.
For the original editorial from the Star Ledger (identical to the one above, minus the JEWISH reerences, courtesy of Mark Reed, posted on July 3rd, 2009 at 7:27 am, click here:
https://dallasvoice.com/instant-tea/2009/07/03/letter-from-chief-halstead/#comment-11934
The eyewitnesses were amazingly consistent in their description of the criminal abuse of patrons by police officers.
Their “selective enforcement” is despicable, also. The woman told them she was intoxicated???!!! Then only men arrested? WTF?
These thugs need to be prosecuted to the full extent of the law.
It was obvious to several eyewitnesses that this was no “routine bar check”.
Jail these despicable thugs and protect the honest citizens of Ft. Worth from further abuse of power. It appears there needs to be substantial oversight of law enforcement in Ft. Worth. The leadership is “Ft. Worthless”.
This is not news.
Hell DFW,
I live in Madison Wisconsin. I went out that night in DFW. Now I left early that night, But I am so happy that I did. I would like to say Thanks to the bartenders for making my partner and I feel so welcome. It was like we never left Madison. I will be more than happy to come back down to march with you, and yes even DC. I always have liked DFW but never seen anything like this. I dont know if we will ever go again. If we do I am sure we will be very VERY sober….
I hate Dallas.
I am truly sorry for the incident that happened in Ft. Worth. Yes, I believe an Texas investigation should be done, but one not from DFW or the Federal Government (Obama Admin). This is a mess that we as Texans need to address. All I ask of others is to know the facts completely before you judge. Maybe this hearing should be done in Austin. I am appalled at the persons who are bad mouthing our state, we as any other states/cities do have our idiots. But I thought gay persons as myself would not play the games that the Demacrats and some republicans are playing with the blaming of all persons or a city/state. I have a guestion “If you moved from other parts of the country to DFW, was it because of situations like this? Maybe now you can make a difference as as a person who doesn’t judge on heresay. This is no reason to put down all of Texas, because of bad results you got from where you came from. I have owned a bar and know many bar owners who had TABC come into their bars without a incident like this. You should helping us with your experiences at other cities instead of critizing a city/state as a whole. Bringing (Obama/Demicrats) politics into this, all I can say is ” shame on you. These people only want your vote.
This just in: The gay community complains about Texas not being tollerant to gays, in other news the rest of the country gasps in surprise at other blatantly obvious things.
Nope they are not storm troopers and they don’t like to f**** guys just hit them really really hard. So why did they not raid Kiss n Fly in Austin where they worried the governor’s son might be there? Oh now that would be very bad the governors son getting a P.I.. Why won’t Rick Perry come out in support of gay rights? Many Republicans have. Oh well he must still be on that you have to fake it to make it kick. Let me guess they did it before Federal law could apply to their discrimination?