TEXAS: Fort Worth Recommends $400K Payoff To Man Injured In Gay Bar Raid

After the Fort Worth police and the Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission staged a widely criticized raid of the Rainbow Lounge in June 2009, authorities from both organizations admitted wrongdoings that resulted in the firings of three TABC officers and a rewriting of the rules regarding nightclub raids. Now the Fort Worth city attorneys are recommending a $400,000 settlement with Chad Gibson, the Rainbow Lounge patron who suffered a brain injury after being thrown to the ground by police.

"In light of the circumstances, city staff believes proceeding with this settlement is the right thing to do, not only to bring closure to those involved but also to prevent lengthy and even more costly litigation," Jason Lamers, a city spokesman, said Friday. Lamers said the city has also agreed to pay $40,000 to another patron, George Armstrong, who said he suffered a torn rotator cuff during his arrest for public intoxication at the bar. Because the settlement is for under $50,000, council authorization is not needed, he said. Don Tittle, the civil attorney for Gibson and Armstrong, said all parties have worked together for months to reach a resolution without a lawsuit. "Everybody worked toward a resolution that was fair," Tittle said. "I thought that the city, at least in this regard, they recognized that there was significant legal exposure. I think there was also just an element where they felt like it was, on some level, just the right thing to do." Tittle said Gibson is still seeking treatment for injuries. "He had some significant injuries and is still getting treated and will be for quite some time," Tittle said.

An internal police investigation had concluded that no excessive force was used during the raid. But they're going to pay anyway, apparently.

OUTRAGEOUS: Fort Worth Police Press Charges Against Rainbow Lounge Patrons

After the Fort Worth police and the Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission staged a widely criticized raid of the Rainbow Lounge last June, authorities from both organizations admitted wrongdoings that resulted in the firings of three TABC officers and a rewriting of the rules regarding nightclub raids. But despite all of that and an abject apology to the gay community from the mayor of Fort Worth, police are pressing charges against two of the victims of the raid, including the man who suffered a severe brain injury at the hands of sheriff's deputies.

City prosecutors in Fort Worth, Texas, announced on February 24 that they would press charges against two patrons of the Rainbow Lounge Gay bar who were injured in a police raid last June. Chad Gibson suffered a severe brain injury while in police custody that kept him hospitalized for a week. Officers said he fell and hit his head while handcuffed. He said he was injured when officers slammed him against a wall inside the bar. Gibson is being charged with "public intoxication" and "assaulting a state agent." George Armstrong suffered severe bruising and muscle strain while being arrested. He is charged with "public intoxication." Adam Seidel, the attorney for both men, said his clients are not willing to accept a plea bargain and asked that a date be set for the trial. He declined to state categorically if prosecutors offered a deal, but said he was surprised they did not drop the charges entirely. "The city's message has been, 'Let's learn from this and move forward and get past it,'" Seidel said. "That doesn't seem to be consistent with prosecuting these two victims."

Good for the two men for refusing a plea deal. This bullshit needs to go to a VERY public trial.

TABC Fires Three Agents Involved In Gay Bar Raid

The Dallas Voice is reporting that the Texas Alcoholic Beverages Commission has fired two agents and their supervising sergeant in the wake of public outrage over their brutal handling of a raid on the Rainbow Lounge. Other agents have been suspended or been issued written reprimands. The TABC is also rewriting its rules for bar inspections and has changed the requirements for writing a "use of force report" after a Rainbow patron suffered a severe head injury during his arrest. The Fort Worth chief of police initially claimed that patrons had sexually groped the officers as the raid began, a ridiculous and outrageous charge that was immediately denied by witnesses.

Rainbow Lounge Fallout: Fort Worth Cops Rewrite Rules On Bar Raids

After enduring a firestorm of criticism and demonstrations over their violent raid of the Rainbow Lounge, Fort Worth police are completely revising their rules on conducting inspections of nightclubs.

The Fort Worth police chief said Tuesday that he is revising bar inspection policies in the wake of a raid on a gay bar that left one customer seriously injured and several officers facing allegations of wrongdoing. Chief Jeff Halstead told the City Council that problems happened at the Rainbow Lounge in the early morning hours of June 28 because the department's bar inspection policy lacked specific guidelines, which he said was why no policies were violated. He said a revised policy should be in place by Sept. 1 with rules for a three tiered-system: bar checks, inspections and investigations. The department is also trying to mend its relationship with the gay community — which held several protest marches after the raid — by having meetings, appointing an officer as a liaison and providing more diversity training to officers, Halstead said. "Once the policy is complete, we're never going to come here again," he said after giving his preliminary report on the investigation into the raid. "We are recovering from this, and I'm very proud of that."

You may recall that the above-quoted police chief initially claimed that Rainbow Lounge patrons groped the officers involved in the raid. Investigations continue against those officers. No lawsuits have yet been filed by customers.

Numerous Violations Found In Raid Of Forth Worth's Rainbow Lounge

The investigation of the raid of Fort Worth's Rainbow Lounge has uncovered numerous violations of procedures and the involved TABC agents and their superiors will likely face discipline.

"There were so many violations that one could readily assert that they had no business walking through the door," said state Rep. Lon Burnam, D-Fort Worth, who met with Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission officials Wednesday to discuss the report. The 32-page document outlines what happened during the controversial bar check by Fort Worth police and TABC agents at the gay bar, which led to six public intoxication arrests and left one bar patron, Chad Gibson, seriously injured. The report says agents Christopher Aller and Jason Chapman violated agency policy because they:

-Participated in the operation with Fort Worth police without approval.
-Were dressed in "unapproved" attire.
-Failed to follow bar inspection procedures.
-Failed to report using force against patrons.
-Failed to report that Gibson was injured.
-Disrupted business, among other things.

Aller told investigators that he violated some policies, according to the report. "I hope I’m not the scapegoat for some things.  . . . I’ll take the responsibility for the things I did wrong," Aller said.

A spokesman for the TABC said, "We know we violated the rules and bruised our relationship with the gay and lesbian community and the community as a whole. We want to do what we can to mend that." How about starting by firing everybody involved?

TABC Chief: We Messed Up

The head of the Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission yesterday admitted that his agents violated their own procedures in their raid of the Rainbow Lounge in Fort Worth. The Dallas Voice has an exclusive interview:

The administrator of the Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission said this week that two TABC agents involved in a raid of the Rainbow Lounge on June 28 committed multiple “clear violations” of agency policy. In an exclusive phone interview with Dallas Voice on Wednesday, July 15, TABC Administrator Alan Steen also said the supervisor directly responsible for the two agents — a sergeant in TABC’s Fort Worth district office — announced his retirement last week in the wake of the raid and amid an ongoing internal investigation. Steen didn’t identify the sergeant or the agents by name.

“I don’t think you have to dig very deep to figure out that TABC has violated some of their policies,” Steen said. “We know that, and I apologize for that. Like I said in my original press release, we have in the past and we will in the future act very swiftly in making sure that those issues are corrected. It’s real clear that however it is that we were doing business that night is not the typical TABC. ... I have good policy in place, I have good training in place, and I have good supervision in place to ensure that things like this don’t happen.” Steen said if the two agents, who are on desk duty pending the outcome of the investigation, sought approval from the supervisor before the Rainbow Lounge inspection, it shouldn’t have been granted. The agents were accompanied by six Fort Worth police officers.

As ugly as this entire situation has been, heads have rolled, investigations continue, and the voices of the LGBT community are clearly being listened to Fort Worth. That, at least, is satisfying. Expect a big settlement for Chad Gibson.

New Evidence In Ft. Worth Bar Raid

Fort Worth police have released more information about the raid of the Rainbow Lounge. According to the report, police returned to the bar two days after arrested a departing patron for public intoxication.

That weekend, officers returned to the lounge with TABC officers for a bar check. A police radio recording revealed that an officer called for help after they went inside the Rainbow Lounge. "I need help in here," he could be heard saying. "I'm by the restroom." That call came when officers said a customer blew a kiss at the officer, and then struggled with police as they tried to arrest him. The customer told News 8 his arm was injured. In police records, officers also said a woman's hips touched an officer in a sexually explicit way. The reports also said Gibson tapped an officer's genitals. "[It] didn't happen," Gibson said. "It's a big lie."

In records, a Fort Worth officer admitted involvement in the physical struggle with Gibson inside the bar, which ended with Gibson on the ground as they arrested him. At some point, Gibson suffered a brain injury. "We've got a guy, alcohol intoxication," an officer could be heard saying in a recording. "Also, a bruised head." The big question is whether the injury happened inside with Fort Worth officers or outside with TABC agents. TABC agents said Gibson fell on concrete. Pictures show Gibson covered in vomit outside and his head bleeding. The sudden nausea, his family said, is evidence the injury happened inside the bar.

Somebody blew me a kiss! Send in a SWAT team!

Fort Worth's Mayor: I'm Sorry For Bar Raid

Fort Worth Mayor Mike Moncrief has issued an apology for the raid of the Rainbow Lounge.

About 250 people packed council chambers and another 150 watched on televisions in the hallway or overflow rooms as officials briefly discussed the June 28 joint raid by the Texas Alcohol Beverage Commission and the Fort Worth Police Department at the Rainbow Lounge, which left one man hospitalized with a serious head injury. Moncrief told the meeting neither the TABC nor police had finished investigations into the raid, which initially had been called a routine license inspection. But the mayor said he has asked the U.S. Attorney's Office to review the department's findings. Someone in the audience then called out for an apology. "If you want an apology from the mayor of Fort Worth: I am sorry about what happened in Fort Worth," Moncrief said, as the crowd erupted in applause and stood. Seven members of a gay rights group were escorted out of the building earlier after demanding council members let them immediately comment on the raid.

Yesterday Fort Worth police chief Jeff Halstead appointed an LGBT liaison to the police department.

Bar Raid Victim Calls For Prosecution

Rainbow Lounge bar raid victim Chad Gibson wants the cops involved in his arrest prosecuted and says the city is covering up the real details of the incident.

Although the city has asked the U.S. Attorney General to review the investigation, Gibson said he has lost all confidence in law enforcement. "You used excessive force and that's why I got hurt," he said. After seven days in the hospital, he’s not out of the woods. There is still a blood clot in his brain, behind his right eye. "I'm scared that something might happen," Gibson said. "It might start bleeding." Gibson said the city and officers have pointed the blame in the wrong direction. "They have blamed it on me, that I was drunk [and] that I hit my head," he said. "I groped the officer. I did this. I did that. You know what, no ... Accept responsibility." Gibson said he is also frustrated at the city pointing the blame at the TABC. "Even if the Fort Worth Police didn't touch me, they watched it," he said. "They watched other people do that to me."

The Fort Worth police department is still interviewing eyewitnesses.

Ft. Worth Bar Raid Investigation Launched

The Texas Alcoholic Beverages Commission has begun an investigation into the raid of the Rainbow Lounge in Fort Worth, Texas.

The agency is conducting an internal investigation of the incident at the Rainbow Lounge on Jennings Street, according to a news release issued Wednesday afternoon. The TABC also conducted inspections at two bars on Rosedale Street. Meanwhile, the man who was hurt in the raid on the Rainbow Lounge, 26-year-old Chad Gibson, was listed in fair condition at John Peter Smith Hospital in Fort Worth. He had earlier been listed in serious condition.

"We are saddened that this incident occurred and extend our sincere hope that Mr. Gibson recovers quickly," said TABC Administrator Alan Steen. "I have initiated an internal affairs investigation to answer questions about how these locations were chosen, to review the agents' actions, and specifically to establish the facts surrounding Mr. Gibson's injury." The inspection of the Rainbow Lounge has drawn protests from the gay community, including a demonstration later Sunday by about 100 people.

Fort Worth Chief of Police Jeff Halstead claims that Chad Gibson was in the custody of TABC agents, not his officers, and is changing his tune on what went down.

"We’ve got to work together," Halstead said. "Be patient, and you will see that this is just not lip service. I will meet with you wherever you want to meet. I will go to your restaurants, your house, we can eat barbecue, whatever you want to do. But we’ve got to talk. We will heal beyond this."

He'll eat barbecue with us? Oh, that's makes everything OK!

Dallas Paper Calls For Inquiry Into Fort Worth Gay Bar Raid

The Dallas Morning News doesn't seem to believe the Fort Worth cops.

The Fort Worth Police Department still has some explaining to do about what happened early Sunday at a southside gay bar called the Rainbow Lounge. Or some clarifying or some illuminating or some supplementary detailing – anything to mitigate the apparently self-administered public-relations shot-to-the-foot it suffered after what it keeps calling a routine "bar check." 'Cause – Problem No. 1 – bar patrons who were there say it wasn't a "check," it was a "raid." Problem No. 2, this particular "check" ended with a kid in the intensive-care unit with a head injury. Problem No. 3, in what I can only hope is a spectacularly infelicitous coincidence, all this took place on the 40th anniversary of the Stonewall Raid. [snip] Fort Worth is a fine and tolerant city.

The police officers I personally know over there are decent, stand-up people. But today, in the Twitter-and-blog-enabled process of rapid dissemination, they're getting an ugly reputation. And the flames of indiscriminate opinion about Texas being a stagnant backwater of vicious, insular, hate-crazed xenophobes dance higher. So, Fort Worth, we need some answers, please, and quickly. This is no time to stonewall.

One bar patron remains in intensive care with a brain injury. The cops claims he fell and hit his head because he was so drunk. On the Dallas Voice, one of the club's dancers saw one of the arrests go down this way:

I was still standing near the entrance to the VIP lounge with a friend when an officer approached a man standing there. The man had water in his hand. The officer asked him how much he had had to drink and the man said that he didn’t have to answer that. The officer then said that he was going to arrest him for public intoxication. The man said,”You can’t do that I am just standing here right now drinking water.” At the time the officer shoved the man over towards the wall near the dressing room and then back to the rear wall near the men’s restroom, then down onto the floor. Several other officers, made their way back there to hold that ONE MAN down on the ground as they placed restraints on him. At the time I noticed that all of them did not have FWPD uniforms on. Some of them were actually State Police.