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Loading ...Fort Worth mayor apologizes for raid on gay bar
07.15.2009 8:09am EDT
(Fort Worth, Texas) Forth Worth’s mayor has apologized for a June raid on a Texas gay bar that sparked claims of brutality and procedure violations.
About 250 people packed City Council chambers Tuesday and another 150 watched on televisions in the hallway or overflow rooms as officials briefly discussed the June 28 raid that left one man hospitalized with a serious head injury.At one point during Tuesday’s meeting, someone in the audience called out for an apology.
Mayor Mike Moncrief then said: “If you want an apology from the mayor of Fort Worth: I am sorry about what happened in Fort Worth.” The crowd erupted in applause and stood.
The Texas Alcohol Beverage Commission and Fort Worth Police Department are investigating the raid, which was conducted jointly by their agencies.
It’s as good as we’re ever going to get
from a Texas politician. That man was
and is afraid of a GLBT boycott of his
fair city.
NOT GOOD ENOUGH. If nobody lost their job over this, how do you expect it to change?!?!?
“The Texas Alcohol Beverage Commission and Fort Worth Police Department are investigating the raid, which was conducted jointly by their agencies.”
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Isn’t this not unlike the “fox guarding the hen house?” The people will always suspect the outcome of this type of investigation when a person “polices” themselves. An independent investigation would be most appropriate.
Thank you, Mayor Moncrief. Now it’s time for the police and the ABC agents to be held to account. This wasn’t–isn’t–representative of Fort Worth, and those of you who say it is are only giving the wingnuts leeway to continue with bad acts. If the Mayor knows better, then there’s no reason for the police chief and the state attorney general not to know better. The pressure is working. Instead of demonizing everybody in Fort Worth and Texas in general, keep pushing on the point that the raid caused an uproar because it’s NOT representative. Don’t give ground you already hold.
Apology accepted BUT the city should pay
all of the medical expenses for the man who suffered a head injury. The investigation should continue and the officers involved in the beating should be fired. Welcome to real world Fort Worth mayor and police chief!
Well, it wasn’t much, but it was something. Not so very many years ago, the Mayor of Ft. Worth (or any other city in Texas besides Austin or maybe Houston) not only wouldn’t have apologized, he’d have been leading the attack on the bar.
An independent investigation of police atrocities? You must be kidding. America the police state is just that, a police state, where law enforcement brutilizes, tasers, kicks, punches and murders innocent civilians(who pay their saleries)and are never held accountable. It is a good old boy network and until Their Punishments fit Their Crimes, A police state we shall remain.
An apology from either the Fort Worth Police Dept or the Texas Alcohol Berverag Committee would mean more than one from an elected official who only apologizes to pacifiy someone in the audience. A token apology isn’t worth a wooden nickle.
Fort Worth? Wondering where I last heard the name and I recalled that they had one of the “break away” parishes from the Episcopal Church who chose to align themselves with the hyper-Conservative African churches. This incident, with this other tidbit, is starting to paint a clearer picture for me of Ft. Worth and not a good one.
Good! He has admitted the police engaged in wrongdoing, but as my Mother always said: “Talk is cheap; costs money to buy whisky.” What are the Mayor and other city officials going to do to ensure this does not happen again and that the rights of LGBT citizens of Fort Worth are protected?
It does qualify as an apology. He did not qualify it with any attempt to lessen it, he simply stated it. From what I have read, and the emails I have received, authorities in Ft. Worth are trying to resolve this matter. That it should never have occurred goes without say, but we can hope that this will be the last such incident. Nationally, we have learned that when we stand up to bigotry and intolerance, we do not stand alone and attitudes are changing. It will take time to investigate this matter and discover the truth, but with so much scrutiny, I believe it will happen.
This is much bigger than investigating the officers involved. Who ordered the raid? What was its purpose? Do cops normally storm into straight bars?….what were the patrons allegedly doing……was there probable cause (is it needed…given alcohol involved and our country’s histeria about it, the government gets special powers….).
Wasn’t this on Stonewall’s anniversary? We need to find out who ordered this raid and the motivation. If anything other than following up on a legitimate report of wrong doing, that person should be fired.
Worse? Who’s investigating this crime? The police. Why are they allowed to investigate themselves? Why is there no independent investigation???
I suppose this is a start, but as quoted above, it sounds a bit forced and insincere. I would hope that the powers-that-be will take things a step further and punish the officers involved in the raid.
I guess that barely qualifies as an apology.