Lambda Legal to file discrimination lawsuit against City of Atlanta, APD in Eagle raid case
November 23, 2009 at 11:47 pm by Patrick Saunders in News
National LGBT rights organization Lambda Legal is holding a press conference Tuesday morning to announce a discrimination lawsuit against the City of Atlanta and officers of the Atlanta Police Department in regards to the Sept. 10 raid on the Atlanta Eagle.
The press conference will take place at Lambda Legal’s Southern Regional Office downtown at 10 a.m. and will include Senior Staff Attorney Greg Nevins and co-counsel Dan Grossman as well as three plaintiffs in the suit.
CL spoke to Lambda Legal’s Public Informations Officer Jonathan Adams tonight but he could not offer any specifics of the suit or the names of any particular police officers that will be mentioned in the complaint.
“That’s all we want out tonight,” Adams said. ”The story comes tomorrow. We’ll be filing a lawsuit. Everything else will come tomorrow.”
The APD, with assistance from the Red Dog Unit, raided the Atlanta Eagle on Sept. 10 after a months-long investigation following two anonymous complaints of public sex and drug use. They arrested eight employees, four for “providing adult entertainment without a license” and four for operating an adult entertainment business without a permit. No one was charged with anything related to the original complaints that led to the raid.
Following the raid, numerous claims of harassment were made, rallies were held at the Eagle and City Hall and a forum was held Oct. 10 between members of the LGBT community and the APD.
All has been quiet since then. A lawsuit against the city by a national LGBT rights organization will likely bring the issue to the forefront again with just a week to go before an election pitting two mayoral candidates fighting for the LGBT vote.
Full text of the Lambda Legal press release below:
Lambda Legal to Announce Discrimination Lawsuit Against City of Atlanta
Save the Date: Tuesday, November 24, 2009 at 10:00 a.m.
(Atlanta, Georgia, November 23, 2009) — Tomorrow Lambda Legal will hold a press conference announcing a discrimination lawsuit against the City of Atlanta and officers of the Atlanta Police Department.
When: Tuesday, November 24, 2009 10:00 a.m.
Where: Lambda Legal Southern Regional Office
730 Peachtree St. Suite 130
Atlanta, GA 30308Who: Greg Nevins, Supervising Senior Staff Attorney in Lambda Legal’s Southern Regional Office in Atlanta
Dan Grossman, local co-counsel, Law Office of Daniel J. Grossman
Three plaintiffs
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