Eagle bar in Atlanta raided by police for having dancers & “underwear night”
”No patron was arrested. I was under the impression the only time you needed a license… is if they’re strippers. These dancers were in their underwear.”
Richard Ramey, owner of the Eagle bar in Atlanta relaying his side of a raid that was conducted by police on his establishment Thursday night. He says the community complaint was over noise, and that patrons were handcuffed and forced to floor where they were forced to empty their pockets in the search for drugs. (Atlanta Progressive News)
”Everyone was ordered to get on their stomachs and face down during this ordeal. As far as I could tell everyone was searched at least once, most of us twice. Most, but not all, of the officers were incredibly derogatory and insulting whether they found evidence of drugs or not…. When asking why, we were met with derisive remarks and no explanation. I am furious at how we were treated and can’t believe that this has happened in this day and age. The officers present were incredibly rude to anyone who dared to ask what was happening and several were openly hostile towards the gay patrons.”
Allan Vives, a patron who says he was at the Atlanta, GA Eagle bar when it was raided by some 15 police officers who handcuffed employees and dancers — anyone wearing underwear on their “Underwear Night” — and forced them to the ground without explanation. Several undercover officers are said to have been at the bar in advance. (Atlanta Progressive News)
”I’m thinking, this is Stonewall. It’s like I stepped into the wrong decade.”
Nick Koperski, another patron of the Eagle bar in Atlanta, GA. Early reports of a bar raid suggest 8 were arrested, and some anti-gay sentiment may have been expressed by officers involved, though these early details of the incident have not been verified. The police charged the owner and establishment of providing adult entertainment without a permit. A tip of illicit sex was said to have been reported to the office of Mayor Shirley Franklin. (Atlanta Journal Constitution)
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