Men Who Say 'Red Dog' Officers Fondled Them Will Not Sue City

By Jim Burress

Atlanta, GA – The incident is alleged to have happened last June in downtown Atlanta. Atlanta police say they observed a car run a stop sign and pulled it over.

The police report claims the passenger, Brian Kidd, was nervous. Kidd had a bench warrant in DeKalb County. But it's what happened next, Kidd tells WSB-TV, that went too far.

"They searched to see in our private areas if we had any drugs or anything," he said.

Kidd says officer T. Britt reached into his pants and touched his testicles. The car's driver, Shawn Venegas, also said officers fondled his genitalia.

APD spokesman Carlos Campos says there is an ongoing internal investigation into the allegations.

"There's evidence to suggest that some of the officers actions during this traffic stop were inappropriate. As a result, Chief Turner intends to move swiftly to discipline some of the officers up to, and including, dismissal."

The police officers in question, officers Britt, Meredith, and Mayes, aren't just regular officers -- they're members of the small but highly visible "Red Dog" unit, a military style team organized to fight drug crime.

Two of the three officers were also involved in the botched 2009 raid on the Atlanta Eagle, a Midtown gay bar.

"The city's defense of the Eagle case, I think, emboldened officers to keep breaking the law," said attorney Dan Grossman, who successfully represented the Eagle bar patrons in a million-dollar federal lawsuit against the city.

Grossman is also co-legal counsel for Kidd and Venegas. He said he's pleased with Turner's handling of the situation, and that his clients, will hold off filing a lawsuit.