Administrator Steen acknowledges his agents violated policies, says FW supervisor has stepped down
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FORT WORTH — 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.
>> Listen to audio of the interview with Alan Steen here.
"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.
Steen said he doesn’t think there was sufficient cause for the inspection, which apparently was based on the fact that one person had been arrested for public intoxication at the Rainbow Lounge on Thursday, June 25. Steen also indicated that the eight law enforcement officers and the paddy wagon that were present likely constituted an excessive show of force.
"You can read that policy and you can figure out really quickly, TABC shouldn’t have even been there," Steen said. "If our guys would have followed the damn policy, we wouldn’t even have been there. … We have these conversations all the time, and we don’t participate in those kinds of inspections when there’s not probable cause or reasonable suspicion or some public safety matter to be inspected."
Steen added that the agents also shouldn’t have been wearing "special events uniforms," which are prohibited during bar inspections. TABC agents typically conduct bar inspections in plain clothes.
The TABC agents and Fort Worth officers went into the Rainbow Lounge at 651 S. Jennings at about 1:30 a.m. that Sunday morning.
The raid, which has made national headlines in recent weeks, occurred on the 40th anniversary of the Stonewall Rebellion, a police raid of a gay bar in New York City that’s credited with launching the modern-day gay rights movement.
The Rainbow Lounge raid left one man seriously injured and has prompted a huge outcry from the LGBT community in North Texas, with activists alleging that it was a case of anti-gay discrimination and harrasment by law enforcement.
TABC and the Fort Worth Police Department are conducting separate internal investigations, both of which are expected to be reviewed by the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
Patrons who were in the Rainbow Lounge at the time, said the officers seemed to pick individuals at random, using zip ties to handcuff them as they were arrested for public intoxication. Witnesses said the officers from both agencies treated several people very roughly, and 26-year-old Chad Gibson was taken by ambulance to JPS Hospital, where he was treated in the intensive care unit for bleeding in his brain.
Steen said he expects TABC’s internal investigation of the raid to be completed in the next few weeks, and he plans to release the results during a press conference in Fort Worth. He said investigators have been working to interview witnesses but are having difficulty determining who saw the raid firsthand and who is basing their accounts on hearsay.
"We need to hear from those who saw firsthand what happened," he said. "There’s a lot of miles between us, there are a lot of people to be interviewed, but this is our highest priority and we’re moving very quickly. I will have the findings and I will have what we did wrong and what we plan to do about it by the end of the month."
Steen also indicated that he’s "very, very interested in and committed to" the idea of appointing a liaison between his agency and the LGBT community. He said TABC has a pool of numerous openly gay and lesbian employees that it could draw from for the position.
"I’m not going to sit out here and say, ‘Well I don’t have the money, so the answer is no,’" he said of appointing an LGBT liaison. "I may have to be creative, but we’ll figure it out."
Steen said the agency already conducts diversity training for employees that includes sexual orientation, but he added that he’d be open to having the curriculum reviewed by experts in the LGBT community to ensure that it’s adequate.
Steen said he chose to contact Dallas Voice and schedule Wednesday’s interview so he update the LGBT community on his agency’s response to the raid.
"I just think the people of Fort Worth deserve to know that we’re very interested in this and very diligently working to get to the bottom of it," he said.
This article appeared in the Dallas Voice print edition July 17, 2009.
Seems like a very direct and sincere explanation. The investigation continues, professionally.
Remind me, why did we need angry protests? Why were people suggesting this is Stonewall-2009? Everything I’ve seen from EVERYONE involved seems to be very responsive.
This is encouraging.
If I could stand up and give this man a standing ovation, I would.
This State is so back Ass backwards…. too many good ole’ boys that are in the closet… and should come out!!!
I think we should start outing them… and you know who you are..
Biran– The only reason the police and TABC are doing anything at all in response to the issue is because of the protests and media attention. To think otherwise is frankly naive. Encouraging does not help Chad Gibson at this point. We need justice. And we need a community who demands justice. You obviously were not paying attention to the first several days of this event or you would not make such comment. If you are not angry about how our community was attacked, then your apathy is incredibly discouraging for the future of our LGBT youth.
Brian asked, “Remind me, why did we need angry protests?”
Because there was an injustice — and this would have easily been swept away, like many evils are in our world, if it had not had world wide attention. I know you don’t want to believe it, but I have seen it multiple times, when evil was done and covered up.
So, Brian, when are we going to protest the evil churches. I am waiting for you to organize. I have already been at one church protesting. I will join you. LOL
Later,
without the community outcry i highly doubt we ever would have even heard about this issue. the city of ft worth would have swept this quietly under the rug and the tabc would continue to carry out RAIDS like this.
i know that some people in our community find protesting distasteful and i understand that to some extent however, situations in my life have finally gotten to a point where i want to do something to change the situation instead of sit on my couch and complain about it.
that may sound like a swipe at certain commenters but it’s really not. i was that guy. i sat at home and bitched about the state of affairs the world is in and finally i realized that i had to do something, even if it was just going to a meeting or walking down the street with a sign in one hand and a fist raised with the other. even if it only changes the mind of a few people around me, i have to do something.
if someone has another approach, so be it. if they want help writing letters i’ll be happy to volunteer. if they want donations to further our cause, i’ll gladly give my money. but don’t sit back and tell me that protesting does nothing because for the first time in my life i’m proud of what i’m doing to help my community and i have seen the results with my own two eyes!
This is a good, forthcoming response. Steen has opened his agency to the type of scrutiny that may be able to clean out the nastiness of homophobia, given enough time and hard work. But it won’t go away overnight. Irrational hatred dies hard in Texas. Ask First Nations people. I believe that this response could not have been secured without street action. Perhaps there were good initiatives behind the scenes, too. But the visibility of the protests, and the dogged determination of thousands of North Texans to get justice put the eyes of the world on the TABC and the FWPD. Seems to me that some critics owe Queer LiberAction an apology, but probably the best thanks they and all who demanded justice for LGBT people will get is to see that this sort of thing never happens again. So, thank you, QL, Fairness Fort Worth, the witnesses who came forward, and sympathetic police. Still, I will not be satisfied until all this talk is set into real deeds that improve our lives in the Metroplex. We have much more work to do.
Very glad someone has found their moral compass and owned what happened. Congrats to the Voice. And congrats to the Fort Worth LGBT community for justice served.
And as far as who is responsible for making this happen, there were a lot of groups and efforts on a lot of fronts; media pressure and exposure from the protests, civil discussions, angry phone calls from citizens, political pressure to elected officials and don’t forget, the work we’ve done as a community to get allies and openly LGBT people elected to positions that can influence these agencies.
I am excited about the liaisons being appointed by both the FW Police and TABC. That is the long lasting silver lining from all of this mess.
if the TABC has such great policies and officers and supervisors in place, I’m waiting to hear how that lines up with the results of the investigation. Seems the paddy wagon making it to the scene, shows excellent supervision. and they called for authorization and received it when they shouldn’t have? Great supervision. We should all feel safe and secure in that information, Sraight, Gay, Caucasian, AFrican, Mexican, or whomever.
I consider the raid on the Rainbow Lounge justifiable in the attempt to detain those for public intoxication. How they handled it was all wrong. I agree that excessive force was used. If someone gets arrested for public intoxication, then hooray!! That would be one less drunk on the road. Having lost a family member to a drunk driver, I have strong feelings about the issue. All I’m asking is get a designated driver and stay off the roads.
I gotta admit- damn – BrAvO Steen! 🙂
It appears someone is finally taking ownership of this situation and attempting to right a wrong, however we must remember this is only one brick in a long pathway, and we are no where near the end. This movement started in the streets 40 years ago and at times still requires taking to the streets and, in the 21st century, the internet to show that we are powerful when we work together and we will not be content as second class!
Very good article. Glad to see TABC steppig up to the plate and accepting responsibility for this. Now FT. Worth PD needs to do the same. It is quite obvious that they wanted to make this go away as soon as possible by the chiefs homophobic remarks. The protest are what made them get off their asses and properly address this issue. But, I think the protest should cease until we find out we are getting f*d over again by either agency. We need to keep the pressure on them through community leaders and the media to make sure they follow through. All in all, it looks like progress is being made.
There was an immediate response to the incident by MANY members of the community BEFORE any protests.
To suggest that marching around with posters “demanding” action is responsible for the progress, just belittles the efforts of the gay community that simply “asked” for an investigation.
I’m still unclear why some think we need to dress up and shout demands. This is a good example of how responsive everyone was in this matter.
I do not believe we need a little “army” of in-your-face protesters “on-call.” If necessary, as the situation warrants, that army is already there and would respond. In fact, many were at the City Council meeting – participating, not trying to make a scene.
There is a time for everything – even direct action. All of us are committed to that. Perhaps Queer Liberaction has formed to “practice” demanding and protesting, but I don’t think it’s necessary either. If that time comes we can fall in line behind, Arthur and Marlin.
Steen also indicated that he’s “very, very interested in and committed to†the idea of appointing a liaison between his agency and the LGBT community. He said TABC has a pool of numerous openly gay and lesbian employees that it could draw from for the position.
“I’m not going to sit out here and say, ‘Well I don’t have the money, so the answer is no,’†he said of appointing an LGBT liaison. “I may have to be creative, but we’ll figure it out.â€
———–
He could start by appointing any of the dozen-plus lesbians at the very top levels of TABC Austin. Adminstrators come and go, they’ve been there for decades, they work the licenses and renewals.
He can appoint all the liaisons he wants, it doesn’t matter, the long-term mind-set at TABC, the Board, the gun-totin’ lawmen, isn’t going to listen to them.
It was better than a non apology apology like we are so used to getting but there were also many statements that are oviously false. Fir example: “we don’t participate in those kinds of inspections when there’s not probable cause or reasonable suspicion or some public safety matter to be inspected.†and: “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.†Those statements amy even represent what he honestly wishes to be true but neither of them are right now.
Have you read this
https://www.star-telegram.com/804/story/1491625.html
? The hero/victim hurt himself…not beaten by officers, and everyone claims brutality anyway. There’s a picture with Chad giggling with some minor scratches on his face.
You gays are a funny people…
I interviewed Kyle Trentham on my show The 10% last night and he gave disturbing, detailed explanations of what happened that night at the Rainbow Lounge.
We asked lots of questions and it was a very informative show. Watch it on TV tonight at 8PM.
“The 10%”
channel 95 – Time Warner Cable
channel 44 – Verizon Fios
or watch it online at 8pm
BrokenFace, we gays may indeed be a funny people. But let me explain to you what a photograph is: it is a split second snapshot at a specific second in time. It doesn’t really tell you what happened before, during or after, so it’s ludicrous for you to draw a conclusion about what really transpired that evening based on a single photograph. As for the “you gays” being a funny people, either (a) you’re one of “us gays” yourself or (b) you have more than a passing interest, otherwise you wouldn’t be here.
This is a great interview. Steen seems to be sincere. But he doesn’t really answer how these “violations” of policy came about. Clearly, the cops and agents came to the bar to bash heads. Why did they do this? As to why he is giving the interview, it is clear that the protests and outrage that the raid provoked from across the country has led to these developments. Remember the joking comments originally made by the police chief in which he blamed the bashing on gay men groping officers? That was supposed to be the official story, but it couldn’t be sustained because there were too many eyewitnesses and because gay people no longer will sit still for that kind of absurd defamation.
It is about time!
Star Telegram has a good story about the Rainbow Lounge incident here: https://www.star-telegram.com/804/story/1491625.html
The Police Report is also there – it’s telling and worth reading.
The picture of Chad smiling AFTER the injury and arrest still doesn’t add up.
“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.”
WHOA, WHOA, wait a minute! Who is this TABC supervisor who was in charge of the 2 TABC officers involved in the Rainbow Lounge Raid? Why has he been allowed to slip away into retirement? He must be brought to justice!
I agree that there were a whole lot of people working at this problem in different ways. I personally think they all helped.
When I worked at a consulting firm and had multiple clients, I always worked on the client that bugged me the most first. I knew I would get grief if I didn’t do everything they wanted and fast. I wanted to keep them off my back.
I know that I don’t want Blake protesting me, and neither does the Ft. Worth City Council. Do the people who are complaining hate the Stonewall protesters too? They were pretty angry.
It doesn’t help anything to argue amongst ourselves. Find your way to make a difference, allow others to do the same, and appreciate everyone who is willing to push for our rights. They’re long overdue.
“It’s real clear that however it is that we were doing business that night is not the typical TABC.”
This is a load of crap. This is exactly typical of how TABC conducts themselves. I live in Austin and have seen numerous instances of “excessive show of force” by TABC. They randomly pulled me out of a bar here in Austin to accuse me of selling drugs and when they determined that I wasn’t, oh well, I was still taken in for PI without even having a drink at that bar. Your words are hollow, Alan Steen.
It’s about damn time that somebody is taking responsibility for the agency fucking up like it did. There was no excuse as to why they did what they did and I bet the the sargeant that was in charge and approved it was given a choice to either retire (so he could leave with honor or get canned and lose all of his pension) to bad they just didn’t go can him and let him not have his pension.
It’s about damn time that somebody is taking responsibility for the agency fucking up like it did. There was no excuse as to why they did what they did and I bet the the sargeant that was in charge and approved it was given a choice to either retire (so he could leave with honor or get canned and lose all of his pension) to bad they just didn’t go can him and let him not have his pension.
James Simmons:
Let me explain to you what propaganda is. An unsubstantiated story of an innocent man beaten into near death unjustly by an oppressive society and it’s police state being spread around the nation in order to incite people to stand up for what is right….when, in actuality, a drunk fell on his face after vomiting, being conscious enough to smile for a camera….propaganda. I clicked on a link to get here, if I’m gay because of it, so be it…but I’ll try not to spread lies to make a possibly non-existent point.
I can’t say I particularly am happy with the outcome, the TABC addmitted its mistake, but in a way nothing seems to come from it. One person resigned, two more await more fact finding, and 6 Ft. Worth Police officers can just blame the sargeant who quit. Where is the justice? In a civil trial against the TABC, against the officers involved? Its clear that we have a long way to go if we want to see any change in policy. Between this and the fort worth’s mayor and city council, weak apologizing but then saying its not really an apology, I feel that the GLBT community will be constantly threatened by the fear of being in Fort Worth. If they can’t man up and handle this like adults, quit playing the save face and save your own job cards and just come out with the facts of what happened, that a man was critically injured by both TABC and the Fort Worth Police’s joint raid using an unnecessary amount of force and that the officers involved will be either removed from their posts or be restricted to desk duty permanently and forced to take sensitivy and cultural training. Better yet, have them work at such gay bars after said training for free as part of a community awareness for the next 2000 hours of service in lieu of getting their asses sued!
Fred:
There is NO evidence of any “excessive use of force” and it now looks like Chad was very drunk and fell on his face while vomiting. Of course we will now hear the chorus of voices claiming “cops are bad.”
Nearly 3 weeks after the incident it is becoming very clear what happened and that there was never a need to protest.
I am a 58 year old out lesbian who left TX in 1972 because it was such a dangerous and horrificly repressive place to live. I moved to Oregon where my daughter could be educated by a system that wasn’t brutally homophobic and racist as my home state was, where we both have been nurtured by a free-thinking, progressive and human rights-affirming community. I am so proud that my grandchildren have grown to be strong and liberal adults who respect all people.
Yet, I am so sad to see what has transpired in TX in those years and that it is still so resistant to progressive change and basic human rights. Everytime I think I might actually retire there to the family land I still own I am chilled to the bone by the sickening repression and violence that continues in TX.
I could hardly believe what happened in FW on the anniversary of Stonewall. I immediately sent emails to protest, as did so many around the country.
THIS CANNOT CONTINUE!
Thank you so much to all who still live there ‘in the belly of the beast’, who take the time & the energy to fight back as I did in the 60s and 70s. We will not be silenced.
Brian, the reason for the angry protest is that this raid should NEVER have happened. People with authority should not feel that they can use their authority to commit unjust violence against a minority group that they are clearly prejudice against.
Apparently angry protests were needed in order for the authorities to react & respond to our cry for justice.
We should NEVER stay silent when our rights are violated or when such crimes of violence are committed against us by the very individuals who are paid by our hard earned tax dollars to protect us. I say protest and protest until they hear us loudly and clearly that we will not stand for this. Especially from our law enforcement officers!
Brian,
There has always been bad cops, this isn’t the first time they have been in this situation and won’t be the last as long as the hearts of men are filled with hate and bigotry.
The fact is you are taking the words of one individual over the other, just cause they have a badge. The Nazi’s had badges too, so did the KGB. When society generally wants to silence others, they give you a badge and claim authority. If you have watched the movie V for Vendetta you would do well to remember the line, “People should not fear the government, the government should fear the people.” Protest is a way of showing that those who pretend to stand above the law of its citizens it is not. That we are all under a common banner and held accountable for our actions. The actions of the state and the Fort Worth Police Department are currently being called into account and I can only home the city of Fort Worth, the city council, and the mayor take notice and help support the actions of the community it serves. Otherwise I can’t wait for the next time elections roll around, I hope there will be a sweep of the local government till real change happens!
Thank God for the people who were rightfully outraged by this nazi like abuse of power. There must be real protections in place to protect us.
How lovely that Steen is so willing to hang the officers out on a wire without even having finished investigations. This was note a hate crime people – just cops doing their job and having the unfortunate luck of messing with a group of people whose past persecution has made them extremely sensitive. I suppose if TABC raids a casino, it will be because they are targeting Native Americans! Please – put on your big boy panties and support you law enforcement who are just trying to do their jobs!!!
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.
He only did this to keep his retirement package. If he stayed on and got fired, he would have lost his package but by retireing, get will get paid a retiremnet and be able to get a job somewhere else without this on his record. Great job protecting one of yours, Alen Steen.
Ya know what? Texas should secede from the Union again, as your Governor has suggested. Then we U.S. citizens can wall you in, sort out those who, by standards developed by you Texans, should be in an informed society with some sembelance of humanity and human dignity(Oh Please, drop the National Socialist Party comparison!) and let you leave if you want. Then, and here is the point, with thermonuclear fusion or fission sterilize the land which was once a State. Or for better justice, and certainly less controversy worldwide, just give Texas back to Mexico where it belongs. Maybe our beloved South cannot be redeemed, but at least this would be a warning to all the redneck, bible-thumpin’, holy rollin’, born agin’, Bush lovin’, queer stompin’ trash to think twice, maybe thrice, before they act on their basest desires.
Since when does TABC need probable cause or have to have knowledge that a public safety violation is occurring. If another agency ask for help then you help them…WHAT A CROC OF CRAP!
For this to happen on the 40th anniversary of Stonewall, and people think this is a ploy of some sort? Wow.
From a medical perspective, blood on the brain is hardly the result of “falling on the ground drunk”. If you believe that, in all probability you’re drunk.
From a vista view of civil rights, Pityr, you could be right by asking for Texas’ secession, but the same injustice would just happen somewhere else, as this tends to happen when people are insecure with their positions in life & society. Might I suggest supporting lawmakers with interests in upholding the constitution, rather than ones with a zeal for dismantling it…
James Byrd act perhaps?
At least they arrested those drunk patrons before they got in a car and killed innocent people. The patrons of the Rainbow are lucky more people didn’t get hurt since they tried to grab a police officer’s gun. This incident didn’t happen because people were gay, but happened because people were idiots (and I am not talking about the police). They should start fining every bar that serves alcohol to intoxicated people, since they obviously do not make wise decisions.
>>There is NO evidence of any “excessive use of force” and it now looks like Chad was very drunk and fell on his face while vomiting. Of course we will now hear the chorus of voices claiming “cops are bad.”<<
This is incorrect. There are multiple eyewitness accounts that when Gibson was tackled during the initial police assault his head was slammed into a wall. There is also indirect evidence that his head was mashed into the floor by one of the assaulting officer’s knees.
There is additional eyewitness testimony that Gibson had not been drinking anywhere near excessively prior to the raid. Therefore it is more reasonable to conclude that he vomited because of the violent blow(s) to his head. Vomiting is common in the case of concussions. It is also more reasonable to conclude that he was dizzy and disoriented from the blow(s) to the head, which, coupled with the wrist ties, affected his ability to balance himself when he vomited.
There is FAR more evidence to suggest that Gibson was assaulted by one or more officers/agents than that he fell due to intoxication.
The official response to the assaults by police at the Rainbow Lounge would NEVER have been as swift and NEVER would have resulted in investigations without vocal public response. The FWPD Chief was spreading disinformation regarding the behavior of patrons in the bar, glaringly omitting that the report (falsely?) alleged that it was a FEMALE patron who made sexually suggestive movements toward the officers. In attempting to defend the actions of his officers and create anti-gay/lesbian sentiment in the community, Halstead purposefully created the impression that MALE patrons were coming on to the police officers, and that therefore, their actions were justified. (Notably, the female patron who was arrested did NOT suffer a concussion.) At a minimum, Halstead owes the gay & lesbian community a public apology. It would probably not be inappropriate if he were allowed to resign.
Yes, public outcry and public protests were completely warranted. Without the publicity that the loud, public reaction received, this event would have gone unnoticed, and gays and lesbians in Fort Worth would have been on notice that no one would stand up for them, and that they were helpless. Clearly that is no longer the case.
To any one who thinks the Evil COPs, are in the right must be either stupid or evil themselves. Don’t even say the police are there to protect us, every time I call them they haven’t been there and a few times they didn’t show up, even after hearing gun shots in the middle of the nite.They are trying to STEAL our rights which leads to communism.
POWER to the PEOPLE.
Not to the cops or feds.
Joel
This is the most “responsible response” I have ever seen by any public official ever.
I expected them to (pardon the expression) “Stonewall” the issue.
My compliments to Mr. Steen.
Your Humble Jester,
Philip the Foole
Always tell the truth — or as much of it as seems safe. You will eventually end up with people around you who you won’t have to lie to.
– Ancient Kung Foole Proverb
Good first step, Chief Steen! HOWEVER, too little and WAY too late! How come he didn’t say this right afterwards, why 2 weeks later? Easy, only because it has caused such a local, state and even national uproar to make TABC & Ft. Worth police and the state of Texas as a whole, look really REALLY bad. Inadequate and not enough, and too late, Steen. YOU need to be fired, too. TABC is way overdue for being disbanded. It has a long track record of abusive, corrupt behaviour with employees behaving above the law. Let’s speed up the disolution of TABC. It’s inefficient, not to mention a toxic, corrupt agency.
If this is reason, the I have none.
https://restoring-reason.blogspot.com/
Ryan nailed it! When are all these people going to become adults and take responsibility for their own actions. It is not the cops who make people act like idiots! I would love to hear what Joel has to say after one day of having no police around. If I were a cop and someone reached for my gun, they would get more than a head injury caused by their excessive alcohol abuse.
“…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. He only did this to keep his retirement package. If he stayed on and got fired, he would have lost his package but by retireing, get will get paid a retiremnet and be able to get a job somewhere else without this on his record…”
That’s not how state employee retirement works, nor most, if not all governmental retirement systems. Getting terminated does not take away retirement. If an employee is vested in the system, they get the retirement package they’re eligible for, no matter how their employment ended.
TABC is out of control, police can’t set up unconstitutional roadblock checkpoints so instead TABC goes undercover and harasses resteraunts, and patrons. This is not limited to gay clubs, this happens in alot of places. Hope this incident changes the rules.
The Austin Statesman Has three interesting articles about the TABC today.
Previous Claims of Excessive Force
https://www.statesman.com/news/content/news/stories/local/2009/07/19/0719tabc.html
Similar Homophobic Situation in Austin
https://www.statesman.com/news/content/news/stories/local/2009/07/19/0719tabcside.html
Claims of Problems with Internal Investigations
https://www.statesman.com/news/content/news/stories/local/2009/07/19/0719tabcmeddle.html
I find it a bit curious that there has been NO responses from Blake (or Elizabeth Pax) lately especially since they ALWAYS have an opinion. But I must admit that this temporary silence sounds nice.
As a bisexual woman and an employee of the TABC, I am proud of my administrator for this interview and the steps he’s taking.
I’d like to address a few points. Some people say that the TABC has a history of abuse. I don’t know if that is true or not, but I do know that has been our reputation. Changing that reputation has consistently been on the top of Steen’s agenda since he entered the agency. We’ve done a lot to make the agency less authoritarian and more service oriented on every level of the agency.
Also, some said Steen would not have apologized without the outcry, and that he took to long. I’m all for demonstrating when something has gone wrong. I’m probably more vocal than some of you, I’ve been out for 21 years. But I think he would have apologized anyway. As he has explained to the agency, he was trying to get the facts of the situation straight before he spoke, so when he spoke he was able to offer a sincere apology.
It’s clear to any TABC employee (I’m not even a cop) that these agents were out of line with our policy. For one, with regular inspections, we don’t bring a wagon. For another, we don’t wear a cop uniform in bars, but jackets and ties. And Steen along with Chief Moreno (yes, the chief is Hispanic) has emphasized that we are to focus on taking out only those bars that had proven to be bad actors, not those that had been in business for only 9 days.
As far as I can tell, he’s done everything I could ask of him – he’s fired the supervisor (I’m assuming). He’s agreed to appoint a community liason. He’s agreed to look at revamping the LBGT training we get. And we’re continue to investigate the matter. I think it should be clear that while it’s hard to say if the cops involved were motivated by homophobia, they were acting as individuals. It’s not systemic to the agency, it’s not condoned by the big brass, and the big brass is taking steps to eradicate it from the system.
There a number of times I’ve cringed when the agency has gotten into the news or when I hear a story from someone about a bad cop. It might take a little while before all the cops and supervisors get on board with the new way of doing things, but they will or they will be asked to leave like this guy was. I am proud to be part of an agency that is trying so hard to turn a bad reputation around.