APD Chief Says Undercover Officers Twice Visited Gay Bar

By Jim Burress

To hear Chief Richard Pennington's press conference in full, press the "top" play button. To hear the audio version of the above story, click on the bottom "play" icon.

Atlanta, GA – (Note: To hear Chief Richard Pennington's press conference in full, press the top "play" button. To hear the audio version of the story below, click on the bottom "play" icon.)

Atlanta's top law enforcement officer says allegations of police misconduct during last week's raid of a Midtown gay bar are "unfortunate." But he defends the need for the raid. WABE's Jim Burress reports.

Atlanta Police Chief Richard Pennington says the department is obligated to act on all allegations of criminal activity:

"When people call us about how minor a crime may be, so if we overlook all these minor things, those minor things lead to bigger things."

Twenty-one officers were involved in Thursday night's raid of the Atlanta Eagle. They arrested eight bar employees on business license violations.

Undercover officers had visited the bar twice before, and outlined illicit sexual activity both times.

Chief Pennington says as a result of complaints about how the raid was handled, the department is changing its policy.

He says LGBT liaison , officer Darlene Harris, will be involved in future raids, and they will be videotaped to ensure professional standards.

Jim Burress, WABE News.

Meanwhile, the eight employees of the Atlanta Eagle arrested Thursday night appeared in court Monday.

At the time the incident report was not yet available. The arraignment was postponed until September 29th.

After court, employees and some patrons involved filed formal complaints with APD's Office of Professional Standards. Their attorney, Alan Begner, says officers violated their civil rights.

"Their pockets were searched for drugs without asking for consent. Even their IDs were looked at without the right to look at an ID under these circumstances."

An APD spokeswoman says the department must now initiate a formal investigation, and thus cannot comment on the specific allegations.