Employees Arrested During Raid at Atlanta Gay Bar File Formal Complaints Against APD

By Jim Burress

Atlanta, GA – Eight employees of a Midtown gay bar arrested during a raid Thursday night had their initial court hearing this Monday morning. WABE's Jim Burress reports.

The eight Atlanta Eagle employees are charged with operating without a proper license. Since the incident report was not yet available, arraignment was postponed until September 29th.
Immediately after the court appearance, several employees and patrons present Thursday night filed formal complaints with APD's Office of Professional Standards. They claim officers harassed them during the raid and violated their civil rights.
Alan Begner is their attorney.

"Either they did this on purpose, or they didn't know they couldn't do this to customers. Either way, I do not agree we should that let any officers violate the rights of non-criminal customers for any reason. They don't get a free pass."

LGBT liaison to the department, Officer Darlene Harris, says the complaints mean APD must open an official investigation, and cannot comment until that investigation is complete.

Jim Burress, WABE News.