Atlanta police raid gay bar, arrest 8

[Newsjock]

Source: Atlanta Journal-Constitution

The owners of an Atlanta gay bar say their establishment was unfairly targeted by police conducting a raid Thursday evening.

Several customers at Atlanta Eagle say they were harassed without prompting. They were forced to the ground and frisked, according to several witnesses.

... Eight employees of the bar were arrested around 11:30 p.m., charged with providing adult entertainment without a city permit.

“I’m thinking, this is Stonewall. It’s like I stepped into the wrong decade,” said Nick Koperski, 31, who had just gotten to the bar when the raid, involving more than a dozen police officers, some in plain clothes, commenced. Patrons at the Stonewall Inn staged a series of riots against New York police in 1969, saying they were routinely harassed because of their sexual orientation. The protests are credited with kick starting the modern gay rights movement.

Read more: http://www.ajc.com/news/atlanta/atlanta-police-raid-gay-136646.html

[joeybee12]

1. So, some fundie makes an anonymous call and the police get all

giggly and their fondest dreams come true...yeah, they would have gone right in if it were an anonymous tip about a straight bar.

[dmr]

7. If there really was an anonymous call

My jerk cousin was a Detroit cop back in the 60s, he told us how they would make an anonymous call from a phone booth just so they could barnstorm their way into a home or establishment. Of course, he told us they believed they had 'just' cause. It sickened me then, & I've never forgotten it.

From the above article I didn't read where the police found any illicit activity going on, nor did they find any drugs in the bar, nor in the pockets of their customers.

I see this as a harassing fishing expedition.

Shameful that normal citizens can't be left alone from those who have perverted personal issues.

[Art_from_Ark]

43. Your jerk cousin wasn't one of those Detroit cops

who insisted on arresting all 80+ people who had gathered at a bar at 12th and Clairmount in the summer of '67 to have a party for two returning Vietnam vets, was he? That has got to rank as one of the stupidest police decisions of modern times.

[mikelgb]

2. Were they starting a nuclear war?

[gratuitous]

42. Formulating a statement for school kids

"Work hard, stay in school, improve yourself." You can see how this kind of message would discombobulate some people, and the only reasonable response would be a police raid.

[xchrom]

3. ...

:grr:

[Name removed]

4. Deleted message

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[Pangolin2]

5. Brothel?

:wtf:

[msongs]

6. why do u assume it was a "brothel"? nt

[FreeState]

8. It was not prostitution - there is an Eagle in most cities

while these bars are not owned by the same organization they are all very similar in their cliental and attitudes. Generally the Eagle bars are levi/leather S&M bars that have a very 70's feel and influence in their attitudes towards sex. Its not uncommon to have specific cruising nights when the bar "looks the other way" while guys do what guys do in terms of sex (but not prostitution). I have no problem with this BTW. This is a specific subculture in the GLBT community - and yes there are straight bars that have similar sex positive attitudes.

[AngryAmish]

22. Chicago Eagle was connected to a bathhouse

And prostitution did go on there - but not everyone there was a prostitute. The management did not get a cut. More like some guys did it.

I suppose there may well be similar straight bars - but I have never seen them.

[TheDebbieDee]

9. So, what, all the crackhouses in ATL must have been run out of business

for the cops to have time to arrest people involved in victimless crimes?

[MadMaddie]

41. Exactly!

This is a pathetic abuse of power.

[JerseygirlCT]

10. What exactly were they arrested for?

That's scary.

[Historic NY]

11. What were the charges, poor journalism .

[Lagomorph]

12. charged with providing adult entertainment without a city permit.

Or.....Failing to pay off the local officials.

[orleans]

13. no shit it sounds like stonewall. wtf is going on in this city? n/t

[DainBramaged]

14. The question is when was the last time Atlanta police raided a White straight bar?

Inquiring minds want to know. The charge of providing unlicensed adult entertainment is bullshit.

[onehandle]

15. I would wait before passing judgement on anyone. Atlanta is very gay friendly.

We have the second or third largest gay population.

The Eagle has been there for many, many years.

I really doubt this is a "Stonewall."

Again, I would wait.

[bitchkitty]

29. Yea, I was going to say the same thing.

Atlanta is not so full of Southern Baptists and gay bashers as the rest of the state.

[IDFbunny]

16. OMG! A gay strip joint.

They're going to have to put up with all the same crap regular strip joints get harassed for. Fair is fair.

[FreeState]

17. It's not a strip bar it's a leather/Levi S&M type bar

They don't have strippers

[IDFbunny]

27. Do you know no cash was involved?

[riskpeace]

28. Were you there?

You're making assumptions and asking someone to prove a negative. It's usually quite free at any Eagle. Judge not....

[IDFbunny]

32. Who's judging

I have no issue with strippers, I did some time ago so blow it out your ass. If cash was involved it was a strip joint. If not, than the cops have no business there. Sometimes you have to read between the lines.

[Name removed]

40. Deleted message

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[ooglymoogly]

33. If there was no cash involved

more likely than not, the Eagle was not paying its payola. Before stonewall this was the norm; No payola expect lots of harassment and closings; And that folks is the way it was before gay folks began to fight back, from stonewall on. Whatever this was I don't think the community will let it go softly into this good night. Of course Georgia is not the village, New york city. Big diff there.

[FreeState]

36. Yes I do - they were there on an illicit sex charge (aka sex in a public place) n/t

[Newsjock]

18. UPDATE: Patrons gather at Atlanta Eagle to show support after police raid

Source: Southern Voice

Almost 24 hours after Atlanta police launched a controversial raid on the Atlanta Eagle, supporters of the popular gay leather bar gathered at the club to show their support and call attention to what they feel is police harrassment.

... Atlanta Police LGBT Liaison Officer Dani Lee Harris said five men who were dancing at the club were charged with operating an adult business without a license. The other three men arrested faced business license violations.

(Richard Ramey, co-owner of the Eagle) said the citations did not merit a trip to jail. He vehemently denied charges in anonymous complaints that police said prompted the raid.

According to Harris, police received two anonymous tips of sex going on inside and outside of the club.

Ramey said the club had always been a good neighbor and the allegations were untrue. No one was arrested on drug or lewdness charges in Thursday night's raid, he noted.

... Numerous patrons at the Eagle at the time of the raid have recounted what they deem harassment and harsh treatment from police, including all patrons being forced to lie on the floor and being searched. Several reported hearing anti-gay and racist comments during the raid.

Read more: http://www.sovo.com/thelatest/thelatest.cfm?blog_id=27160

[G Gordon Libby]

19. To be fair...

...the notion that dudes would be fooling around inside a leather bar and in the surrounding area isn't particularly hard to swallow. No pun intended. And if you need a specific license to have dancers and they didn't have one, it's their bad. Also, straight joints get busted all the time. But, if they were unfairly harassed and there were violations of civil rights the cops with hopefully get the shaft for it. It's also 2009, everything gets recorded on cell phones and cameras and the possibility that they were tossing homophobic epithets around seems unlikely.

[Tempest]

21. Unlikely?

It's Atlanta.

I can guarantee there were epithets spoken by the cops.

[ooglymoogly]

35. one more word to your sentance...This is Atlanta 'Georgia'.

Georgia is a red states red state.

[toopers]

37. While the state is very red . . .

the city of Atlanta is more blue than red. Most of the politicians within the city of Atlanta are Democrats. Most of the politicians in the suburbs are republicans.

[Regret My New Name]

38. Sounds like Austin, TX...

Lots of transplants.

[ooglymoogly]

24. Yes sex is a dirty thing and must be stopped at all costs

The Idea of men meeting up for sex is just outrageous; Equally outrageous is men looking upon a another nude man without a license, Micheal Angelo's David and facsimile's there of, take notice.

Men and women?; That's ok as long as, when they are in bed, they keep one foot on the floor and don't stray from the missionary position. To keep this in perspective we can just selectively enforce the mind bogglingly extensive laws on sodomy and the ones we like and those that suit our particular religion; That'll do the trick. Do I need a sarcasm button? I think cows jumping over the moon on a new moon or some such, is against the law in some very backward places, so we have to keep a watch on that as I myself have seen this happen with my very own eyes.

[Deja Q]

26. Your response is a joke, yes?

Your notion that the notion is ridiculous is what's ridiculous.

It happens.

It happens so goddamn much that gay and bi men are the ones stereotyped with the notion that ALL they want are anonymous encounters. (you'll find the truth is in the middle, but I digress.)

Uh, people DO anonymously go out just to have casual sex with each other. Pickups, one night stands... two men, two women, a man and a woman... it's wrong, period. Diseases are most often spread because of anonymous activity. Never mind unwanted children for the heteros. In short, real people suffer because of it. But that's what you must want...

Remember Larry Craig? He was LOOKING FOR SEX IN A PUBLIC BATHROOM. Ditto for George Michael. And here you are saying the notion is ridiculous?! Give me strength...

[ooglymoogly]

34. Your response is a joke, yes? nt

[RetroLounge]

39. All his responses are a joke.

RL

[Name removed]

20. Deleted message

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[superconnected]

23. It takes a judge to sign the search warrant for the raid, it takes the cops to get

a whole lot of people on duty to do the raid - over a dozen in this case, as well as have enough people on duty to handle their regular job, the mayor is in charge of the police and you can bet it took his opinion on this. This wasn't some instant reaction from someone who just happened to call 911.

This was a planned raid, given okay by several people - a judge, the police chief, and the mayor.

Sure it's likely bigotry, but it ain't knee jerk bigotry, it's organized.

[ooglymoogly]

25. Amen to that....The gay community needs to do all they can

against this mayor and judge to keep them from being re elected.

[KamaAina]

30. The mayor is a she, Shirley Franklin

you can bet it took his opinion on this

Usually one of the good ones.

[KamaAina]

31. One of my very favorite human beings is a member of the Atlanta LGBT community

being female, it is unlikely that she patronizes the Eagle -- but I'm sure she's royally P.O.'d anyway. :grr: :banghead: :argh: