I got a phone call at 3 this morning from Todd Camp, the founder of Q Cinema and former reporter for the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. It was Camp’s birthday and the night of a special Q Cinema screening of two Stonewall documentaries… because it was ALSO the 40th anniverary of Stonewall, as anyone knows.
Except, apparently, the Fort Worth PD.
Or maybe worse, they DID know and wanted to make a point.
The horrific details after the jump.
According to Camp, the newly-opened Rainbow Lounge is “the only cool gay bar in town,” but the police raided it, arresting numerous patrons for no reason.
I got another perspective in my in-box this morning:
The not awesome thing was the paddy wagon of homophobic police that showed up … looking for trouble. My group and I were sitting on the back patio at a picnic table. Nobody was being wild out there. [The police] came through with flashlights, being loud asking what was going on out here, then asked why everyone was all the sudden being quiet. When one group started up their conversations again, they took one guy away. I left shortly after and as I walked through the front bar there were numerous cops with plastic handcuffs all ready to go. I [left] the bar and they [had] a big van in the parking lot and numerous cars on the street. And just so you know, it wasn’t fire hazard crowded or seedy wild in there. … The worst part is [friends later told me] that [the police] had numerous people face down on the ground outside. I just moved to Fort Worth from Dallas, so this is such a shock to me. I know Dallas would not put up with this. … I am still so shocked it is 2009 and this just happened.
Anyone else there last night? Write to me (jones@dallasvoice.com) or my editor (nash@dallasvoice.com).
Sounds like a bunch of closet case Repukes to me. I bet those pigs went home and jacked off after the bust.
I hope someone that was there can come to Free Speech Night at BuzzBrews and fill us all in on Tuesday.
Wow…it’s a well known documented fact that the Dallas Police department is corrupt, but Fort Worth? I thought they held themselves to higher standards.
I think that its time that we go and all make a point at the police station today.
THE FT WORTH POLICE STATED THAT SOMEONE REPORTED A SEXUAL ASSAULT AT 651 S. JENNINGS
THE FT WORTH POLICE STATED THAT SOMEONE REPORTED A SEXUAL ASSAULT AT 651 S. JENNINGS
Great. The next time the Baptists do something to piss me off, I’ll just pick up the phone and report a sexual assault at one of their churches. When someone reports a sexual assault at a private residence, do they cuff and arrest everyone in the house? Clearly they’re already back peddling trying to weasel their way out of this. Looks like they took lessons from the Dallas cops.
Interesting, if that’s true then why was the State Police there also?
Judging from what I’ve heard and seen, as well as what I know about the police, this was a planned raid. Otherwise the State Police and the Paddy Wagon would not have been there.
We need to hold them accountable for this and not let them off the hook.
Where can we find this Fort Worth Police statement?
Even if they did get that call, it does not jive with what went down in the bar according to eye witness accounts that we have heard so far. Makes no sense at all. In fact, there’s NO justification in my mind that can be dreamed up to warrant this type of treatment of the patrons by the city and state police at the Rainbow Lounge last night.
Someone needs to contact the FBI and ask for an investigation – sounds like a civil rights case to me
WHAT aholes! even on the special day they still do the raid, we need to protest them by doing a march! anyone up for it?
Hopefully the ACLU will jump in and try to have the FWPD up on charges based on the Texas Hate Crimes Law [Tex. Code Crim. Proc. art. 42.014 (2002); Tex. Penal Code § 12.47 (2002)] which sexual “preference” IS listed as a potential victim of bias.
Sounds like a case of shoot first and ask questions latter. It will be interesting to track the follow-up on this; both from victims and any action by the ACLU.
Officers arrived at the Rainbow Lounge to conduct the scheduled inspection. The Fort Worth Police Officers who participated in this bar check included the following:
Officer K. Gober, #3656,
Officer J. Ricks, #3484,
Officer M. Marquez, #3655,
Officer J. Jenson, #3731,
Officer J. Back, #3863,
Officer J. Moss, #3722
and Sergeant Morris.