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Atlanta Police LGBT Advisory Board to weigh proposed Eagle raid punishments

The Atlanta Police Department’s LGBT Advisory Board will meet Monday, Jan. 31, after the board’s previous meeting was postponed due to the early January snowstorm.

The group will meet at Atlanta City Hall in City Council Committee Room 2 at 7 p.m.

The meeting follows the Atlanta Citizens Review Board’s recent recommendations that the supervisors of the raid on the Atlanta Eagle in September 2009 receive letters of reprimand and training on the 4th Amendment.

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CRB: Written reprimands, training for supervisors of illegal Eagle raid

The Atlanta Citizens Review Board recommended Wednesday that the Atlanta Police Department supervisors involved in the illegal raid on the gay bar the Atlanta Eagle receive written reprimands and as well as have training on the Fourth Amendment.

The more than 20 officers involved in the raid were recommended to have 3-day suspensions, written reprimands and training on the Fourth Amendment.

These recommendations seem to stray from the original intent of the board after they stated several times in prior meetings that written reprimands for the supervisors — as outlined by APD policies, which the board must abide by — were not tough enough punishment. The board members requested an in-depth investigation into the supervisors of the raid to potentially recommend stiffer penalties.

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Citizens Review Board: Police used abusive language in botched Atlanta Eagle bar raid

The Atlanta Citizens Review Board on Thursday sustained allegations of abusive, anti-gay and racist language used by Atlanta Police Department officers during the botched raid of the Atlanta Eagle last year. But the board chose not to make recommendations for disciplinary action until more investigations into complaints by employees and patrons were completed.

The Eagle is a gay bar located on Ponce de Leon Avenue. It was raided in September 2009.

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Citizens Review Board weighs Atlanta Eagle cases

Citizens Review Board Chair Joy Morrissey

The Atlanta Citizens Review Board will discuss the cases of Atlanta Eagle co-owner Robby Kelley and doorman Ernest Buehl at its July 8 meeting. The two men allege that the Atlanta Police Department, including members of the notorious Red Dog Unit, used abusive language toward them during the Sept. 10 raid on the gay bar.

The CRB took up its first of a total of 14 Atlanta Eagle complaints on June 10 when it upheld manager David Shepherd’s complaint that he was falsely arrested during the raid. The board also recommended Officer B.E. Bridges be issued a written reprimand to go into his personnel file and Officer John Brock be punished with a three-day suspension for their roles in Shepherd’s arrest. Atlanta Interim Police Chief George Turner has 30 days to respond to the CRB recommendations.