Atlanta to settle for $1 million with gay bar after aggressive police raid
The council voted 14-0 to make the payment of $1,002,500 in the case of Calhoun v. Pennington, but it reserved deep discussion on the matter to executive session…. As part of the settlement, the city will also oversee reforms within the Atlanta Police Department. The settlement must now go back to a federal judge for final approval.
From the Atlanta Journal Constitution’s report about a year-long argument between the Atlanta Eagle and that city’s police department. (AJC.com)
The Eagle bar and Lamba Legal filed the lawsuit in 2009 after numerous officers reportedly engaged in a raid of the venue. The police allege they were tipped off to drug usage, but found nothing at all. Patrons were forced to lie on the floor and claimed to hear officers using anti-gay language. The Case is called Calhoun v. Pennington. (Lambda Legal)
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