LAMBDA LEGAL ARCHIVE SITETHIS SITE IS NO LONGER MAINTAINED. TO SEE OUR MOST RECENT CASES AND NEWS, VISITNEW LAMBDALEGAL.ORG
Atlanta, police department sued over gay bar raid
Find Your State
Know the laws in your state that protect LGBT people and people living with HIV.
Legal Help Desk
Publication Source & URL:
Associated Press
11/24/2009
"A national gay rights group filed a federal lawsuit Tuesday against the city of Atlanta and the Atlanta Police Department on behalf of 19 people who say they were illegally searched and detained during a late-night raid on a crowded gay bar.
"The lawsuit filed by Lambda Legal and other groups contends that the police department backed an illegal policy of searching and detaining every patron of the Atlanta Eagle Bar, regardless of whether they were suspected of a crime. It said terrorized patrons were forced to lie on beer-soaked floors while police conducted background checks and hurled anti-gay slurs.
"None of the 62 patrons were arrested during the Sept. 10 raid on the midtown Atlanta bar, but eight employees were charged with code violations."
Read more on statesman.com