The Atlanta Citizen Review Board voted last night to recommend disciplinary sanctions against two officers for falsely arresting David Shepherd, the Eagle assistant manager who was watching TV in his apartment when he was arrested by police.

The CRB recommended sanctions against Investigator Bennie Bridges (left) and Sgt. John Brock (right), seen below at the March 11, 2010 trial of the “Eagle 8.”

Photo courtesy ProjectQAtlanta

Mr. Shepherd is one of 28 plaintiffs in a federal civil rights lawsuit filed against the city of Atlanta and 35 individual police officers including Investigator Bridges and Sgt. Brock.  Mr. Shepherd’s warrantless arrest in his home violated the United States Supreme Court ruling in Payton v. New York as well as other Supreme Court rulings, Georgia law, and the Atlanta Police Department’s own regulations.

Last night’s meeting concerned only the complaint filed by Mr. Shepherd.   The CRB will consider the complaints of other Eagle patrons and employees over the next few months.

UPDATE:  The GA Voice (Atlanta’s GLBT newspaper) has published an in-depth story about the CRB meeting which is worth reading.

{ 0 comments }

WSB-TV story

Six More Atlanta Eagle Patrons Join Federal Lawsuit: WABE-Atlanta/NPR

Reed calls Eagle lawsuit ‘threat to city’: ProjectQAtlanta

Reed clarifies remarks over Eagle lawsuit, probe: ProjectQAtlanta

Focus turns to federal lawsuit over Eagle raid:  GA Voice

Gay bar’s lawsuit against Atlanta police expanded: Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Bittersweet Victory:  GA Voice blog editorial

{ 0 comments }

Attorneys in the Atlanta Eagle federal lawsuit (Calhoun v. Pennington) today filed an Amended Complaint naming 35 individual Atlanta police officers as defendants and adding six additional Eagle patrons to the list of plaintiffs.

A copy of the Amended Complaint is available here:  Download PDF

The plaintiffs are represented by attorney Dan Grossman, the Southern Center for Human Rights, and Lambda Legal.

{ 0 comments }

The discovery process begins today in the federal lawsuit against the city and the individual police officers who conducted the raid.

Attorneys for the police begin taking depositions of raid victims this morning in a process that will last two weeks, and the plaintiffs will be requesting radio transmission tapes and other evidence for use at trial.

Listen to a story about the case at Atlanta’s NPR affiliate, WABE:  Atlanta Eagle Civil Lawsuit Gains Speed This Week

Last week the Eagle employees charged by police with “unlicensed underwear dancing” during the illegal raid on September 10-11, 2009 were found Not Guilty by an Atlanta judge.

The lawsuit was filed jointly by The Southern Center for Human Rights, Lambda Legal, and attorney Dan Grossman.

{ 0 comments }

The city ordinance violation trial of the four dancers and four Eagle employees taken to jail during the September 10, 2009 police raid has been rescheduled for March 11, 2010 at 8:00 AM.

The City of Atlanta has still refused to drop charges against any of the eight men, who include a doorman, a bartender, and an off-duty manager who was arrested in his home above the Eagle.

{ 0 comments }

Atlanta Municipal Court Judge Crystal A. Gaines has postponed the trial of four Atlanta Eagle employees and four dancers charged with city ordinance violations.  The trial was originally scheduled for February 4, 2010.  No new trial date has been set.

{ 0 comments }

The Public Safety Committee of the Atlanta City Council tonight voted to “hold” (or indefinitely postpone) a resolution to apologize for the actions committed by police officers at the Atlanta Eagle bar on September 10-11, 2009.

Councilman Ivory Lee Young, chairman of the Public Safety Committee, expressed his desire for the issue to be litigated in court, rather than resolved by the City Council.

{ 3 comments }