TABC admits it was wrong in Fort Worth bar raid

[Tomorrow]

Link (with video) below.

The chief of the Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission has come out (pun not intended) and said that agents violated policy in their raid on the Rainbow Lounge in Fort Worth.

Even more significant - or so they say - is that he chose to publish his public apology in a local gay-friendly publication.

I'm curious what folks here think of the apology - I apologize for the video link, I didn't immediately see a printer-friendly version.

http://www.wfaa.com/video/index.html?nvid=381411&shu=1

[Queso]

It's a start, but the comment about the supervisor being "retired" disturbs me. If the current investigation reveals that this person ought to have been sacked they've been let off the hook.

Interesting also is that the agents should never be in uniform during a raid, yet were that night. This IMO proves what their motives were, to spook Them ******s on the Stonewall Anniversary.

[leekohler]

Well- anybody still want to claim homophobia wasn't at work here? They admitted the raid should never have happened- someone has resigned over it too. The next step is to prosecute the cop who hospitalized the patron. That will go a long way toward healing the wounds.

[Gelfin]

I'm going to drop a little cynicism here: I'm smelling a little finger-pointing campaign between the TABC and the Fort Worth cops.

TABC's move: "Here are the things we did wrong: we were in uniform and might not have had probable cause, and we're very, very sorry. So, um, that's about it for us. Now, to apologize for any other bad things that may or may not have happened while we were busy shamefully wearing uniforms, here's the FWPD. Take it away, guys."

[Desertrat]

Interesting. This is the first time I've ever heard of the TABC guys in any sort of uniform. All I ever saw was plain clothes guys. Not undercover; they just didn't have uniforms, SFAIK.

It used to be the Texas Liquor Control Board. The name was changed so that the initials were less difficult for the agents to remember.

[leekohler]

Interesting. This is the first time I've ever heard of the TABC guys in any sort of uniform. All I ever saw was plain clothes guys. Not undercover; they just didn't have uniforms, SFAIK.

It used to be the Texas Liquor Control Board. The name was changed so that the initials were less difficult for the agents to remember.

Well- they obviously weren't supposed to be in uniform. That was stated in the video. So gosh- wonder why they were? Honestly- it's not a mystery to me. I said this before- I hope the bar has video cameras outside and in. This won't be the last visit the TABC or the cops pay to that place.

[Desertrat]

I've always said that the TABC was a weird outfit. As near as I can tell, many of those who hire in as agents act as though it's some sort of moral deal to shut down evil-doers whenever possible. Anti-booze, like some BATFE guys are anti-gun.

[leekohler]

I've always said that the TABC was a weird outfit. As near as I can tell, many of those who hire in as agents act as though it's some sort of moral deal to shut down evil-doers whenever possible. Anti-booze, like some BATFE guys are anti-gun.

Trust me- they weren't there to protect homosexuals from the evils of alcohol. It's becoming more apparent that a message was indeed being sent.

[Rodimus Prime]

I'm going to drop a little cynicism here: I'm smelling a little finger-pointing campaign between the TABC and the Fort Worth cops.

TABC's move: "Here are the things we did wrong: we were in uniform and might not have had probable cause, and we're very, very sorry. So, um, that's about it for us. Now, to apologize for any other bad things that may or may not have happened while we were busy shamefully wearing uniforms, here's the FWPD. Take it away, guys."

That is my though on it. I smell CYA here. TABC going to blame Fort Worth. Fort Worth is going to blame TABC's

I do not think Stonewall had anything to do with it other than just really bad timing. I bet most people have no clue what Stonewall case was.

I had no clue what it was until after the event and many people I talk with did not know what it was. We all though at first it was something to do with Stonewall Jackson which has nothing to do with the Gay rights movement.

[Tomorrow]

I do not think Stonewall had anything to do with it other than just really bad timing. I bet most people have no clue what Stonewall case was.

I had no clue what it was until after the event and many people I talk with did not know what it was. We all though at first it was something to do with Stonewall Jackson which has nothing to do with the Gay rights movement.

I won't lie - I hadn't heard of it before this incident, either.

I wouldn't be surprised if TABC really is posturing themselves so that FWPD can take the brunt of the bad publicity from this.

[Gelfin]

I've always said that the TABC was a weird outfit. As near as I can tell, many of those who hire in as agents act as though it's some sort of moral deal to shut down evil-doers whenever possible. Anti-booze, like some BATFE guys are anti-gun.

I did think it was a little odd that the state liquor board takes such a hands-on role, particularly in caring what patrons do.

So far as I am aware, in most places those sorts limit themselves to licensing and regulation of the business. "Inspections" would be like the Department of Health inspecting a restaurant.

I bet most people have no clue what Stonewall case was.

A point exceptionally well made.

[leekohler]

I did think it was a little odd that the state liquor board takes such a hands-on role, particularly in caring what patrons do.

So far as I am aware, in most places those sorts limit themselves to licensing and regulation of the business. "Inspections" would be like the Department of Health inspecting a restaurant.


Like I said- there was a point being made and message being sent. It's pretty obvious after the statements made in that video.

[Gelfin]

Like I said- there was a point being made and message being sent. It's pretty obvious after the statements made in that video.

Oh, I agree. I just wonder what those guys even have uniforms for. If they were performing the role that such boards do in most places no such message could have been sent.

The police would not have been able to instigate a raid under the pretense of a liquor control inspection if the TABC were not seemingly designed by somebody with Eliot Ness fantasies.

[thegoldenmackid]

I won't lie - I hadn't heard of it before this incident, either.

I wouldn't be surprised if TABC really is posturing themselves so that FWPD can take the brunt of the bad publicity from this.

They are, the finger pointing has already started. FWPD broke off all relations with TABC a couple days after the incident and in that press conference it sounded like Ft. Worth (Mayor, I believe) basically said "we were along for the ride, we had no clue what they were doing or what we were doing there.)

[Rodimus Prime]

I did think it was a little odd that the state liquor board takes such a hands-on role, particularly in caring what patrons do.

So far as I am aware, in most places those sorts limit themselves to licensing and regulation of the business. "Inspections" would be like the Department of Health inspecting a restaurant.



A point exceptionally well made.

I do not find it odd that TABC has a very hands on role. Hell knowing what I have heard about them they are just finger pointing. I never went to college bars while I was there but I been told people knew when TABC showed up at a bar and who TABC people were. TABC was very good at busting people. Also it was quite common to have either local PD either out side or very close behind them in going into bars. TABC bust them and the local PD hauls them away.

TABC saying local PD not supposed to be there is complete BS. TABC likes the local PD to be there for the arrest.

While the guy getting beaten up was wrong I see this going way to political, to much finger pointing, and making a big deal out of stonewall. As I pointed out most people have no clue what a big deal about Stonewall. Big time in the southern states.

In the Southern States we hear Stonewall we think of Stonewall Jackson one of the better commanders of the southern confederate army.

[Desertrat]

Most cops I've known had a negative attitude more about redneck bars than rock or gay joints, just because of more problems with violence. In Austin, most cops showed no concern about straight or gay, and I casually knew a fair number of them from hanging around the 6th St. entertainment district.

And that's why I brought up the morality idea about TABC. Granted, it's a "maybe". To go into a gay club with a chip on the shoulder over its being a gay club is beyond normal law enforcement behavior. But I'll freely admit I'm biased against that particular agency.

[maestro55]

I really wonder how many TABC raids period shouldn't happen. Like most law enforcement agencies they are always looking for trouble, or so it seems. I wonder if this particular case was truly a case of homophobia or if was a case of TABC acting in the most unprofessional manner.

...and why would the TABC be involved in patrons leaving the bar drunk? That isn't the bar's fault and shouldn't that only be a local law enforcement issue?

[Rodimus Prime]

I really wonder how many TABC raids period shouldn't happen. Like most law enforcement agencies they are always looking for trouble, or so it seems. I wonder if this particular case was truly a case of homophobia or if was a case of TABC acting in the most unprofessional manner.

...and why would the TABC be involved in patrons leaving the bar drunk? That isn't the bar's fault and shouldn't that only be a local law enforcement issue?

TABC considered it an issue because the bar's responsibility to cut people off who are to drunk. In letting people get that far and serving them drinks is against their liquor licenses

[thegoldenmackid]

I mean, to go back to the other thread on this. Every bar, especially in DFW, most definitely in Ft. Worth that TABC checks bars for: selling to underage, enforcing the "no selling to drunk people" and not letting people drive home intoxicated. More importantly, every new bar knows that in the first month they should expect a visit from TABC. The bar owner acknowledged that he knew TABC would come, he just was not expecting it to be within the first week. It does not excuse anything that happened inside the bar, but it is not as if this "bar raiding" is out of the ordinary, because it is the ordinary.

To clarify, when I say, "bar raiding." I am talking about the inspection, not the beating of people, etc.

[leekohler]

Hey- any of our Texas members hear anything more on this?

EDIT- nevermind, I found something interesting:

http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/news/localnews/stories/DN-rainbow_22met.ART0.State.Edition1.4c134ea.html

The Fort Worth City Council took the unusual step Tuesday of requesting a federal investigation into a police raid at a gay bar last month that sent one man to intensive care for several days with a brain injury.

If the U.S. attorney's office in Dallas agrees to conduct the inquiry, it will be the fourth review of the early-morning raid of the Rainbow Lounge on June 28, the 40th anniversary of the Stonewall Riots in New York City.

The Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission is investigating the conduct of two of its officers, and the Fort Worth Police Department has launched two parallel probes – one by the internal affairs department and one by the major case unit.

Speaking in favor of the resolution Tuesday, Mayor Mike Moncrief said he continues to support local officers.

"I am very pleased with the way the Police Department's investigation is progressing," he said. "I continue to be very confident in Chief [Jeff] Halstead and our department that they will resolve this issue in an open, timely and unbiased manner."

Hours after the request for federal intervention, Fort Worth officials released hundreds of pages of personnel records on five of the seven officers involved in the raid. The release came in response to an open records request. Officials said they accidentally left out the records on the other two officers and planned to release them soon.

At least one of the officers involved in the raid has a documented history of misconduct, according to the records.

Officer Jason R. Ricks, 32, was disciplined multiple times in 2006. In the most serious case, New Braunfels police arrested him on an assault charge in July of that year after he punched a bus driver in the face during a fight, the records show. Ricks was off-duty and had been drinking for a few hours, he told investigators.

The charges were later dropped, but one of Ricks' supervisors, Captain W.A. Read, wrote in a September 2006 letter to a deputy chief that Ricks had "shown a history of poor decisions and bad judgment."

"I have to ask myself, when will this officer mature to the level that is required of him and can we afford to allow him to keep making bad decisions that can affect the department and the community," Read wrote. He added that a lieutenant "has put forth a valid argument that Officer Ricks does not show the maturity level that is required of a Fort Worth police officer."

And predictably:

David Mack Henderson, a member of Fairness Fort Worth, told City Council members Tuesday that key witnesses are refusing to speak to investigators for fear of retaliation.

"These are people who can speak to the chronology of events and the levels of force employed during the arrest," he said.

"Despite our best efforts, they're scared to death of sharing information about what they saw."

[Tomorrow]

I caught a little blurb about it, but it seems like it's being presented fairly quietly, under the circumstances. I'm sure we haven't seen the last of the fallout from this.

On a slightly-related note, I caught this article (http://www.star-telegram.com/804/story/1508521.html?storylink=omni_popular) today as well. The bartender from the Rainbow Lounge died in a car wreck - police suspect alcohol played a role.

[leekohler]

I caught a little blurb about it, but it seems like it's being presented fairly quietly, under the circumstances. I'm sure we haven't seen the last of the fallout from this.

On a slightly-related note, I caught this article (http://www.star-telegram.com/804/story/1508521.html?storylink=omni_popular) today as well. The bartender from the Rainbow Lounge died in a car wreck - police suspect alcohol played a role.

I'm sure it was just a coincidence. :rolleyes: Expect more. A lot more.

[Gelfin]

I'm sure it was just a coincidence. :rolleyes: Expect more. A lot more.

I love (in the way that's a lot like hating) the ambiguity of "police suspect alcohol played a role." Even if it's retaliation, it's technically true.

EDIT: By the way, everyone should keep in mind that "retaliation" doesn't have to take the form of police officers doing their own dirty work. Once "the undesirables" of whatever stripe start "making trouble" by pretending they're actually a part of a community, all the police need to do is not be too thorough looking for evidence when the local good ol' boys take care of business.

[leekohler]

I love (in the way that's a lot like hating) the ambiguity of "police suspect alcohol played a role." Even if it's retaliation, it's technically true.

EDIT: By the way, everyone should keep in mind that "retaliation" doesn't have to take the form of police officers doing their own dirty work. Once "the undesirables" of whatever stripe start "making trouble" by pretending they're actually a part of a community, all the police need to do is not be too thorough looking for evidence when the local good ol' boys take care of business.

Seen it happen before. I wonder who's next? Gotta make sure to keep the uppity homos in their place now...

[barkomatic]

This crap happens all over. In one incident that I was actually present for, nothing was going on except a bunch of guys having a drink and the place was not crowded at all. Suddenly, fire dept officials enter with several police officers and tell everyone to leave because the place was over capacity. Of course we all complied, but as we were leaving we passed a straight bar that was literally so crowded people were spilling out onto the street drunk.

The NYFD still owes me that nearly full beer I had to leave behind.

[BPresley321]

This issue has died here I'd say...too many other things to worry about.

Unfortunately, rainbow lounge made the news again...sad story.

http://www.star-telegram.com/news/story/1508521.html

[leekohler]

This issue has died here I'd say...too many other things to worry about.

Unfortunately, rainbow lounge made the news again...sad story.

http://www.star-telegram.com/news/story/1508521.html

We already covered this on the previous page. ;) Thanks for posting though.

[thegoldenmackid]

The TABC Further Admitted its wrongdoing today.

News Story (http://www.myfoxdfw.com/dpp/news/Agents_Cited_for_Gay_Bar_Raid)

Report here. (http://media2.myfoxdfw.com/PDF/Rainbow%20Lounge%20P&P%20Investigation.pdf) It definitely raises questions as to why the bar was investigated, however, it definitely appears that Ft. Worth Police have some explaining to do. The TABC will have a further report about the excessive force coming later this month and FWPD is expected to testify in front of city counsel.