Atlanta Progressive News

(APN) ATLANTA — After a vigorous debate, the City Council of Atlanta voted to send the resolution by Council Member Michael Julian Bond–seeking to ask the court to drop the charges against the “Eagle 8″–to the Public Safety and Legal Administration Committee.

The vote to refer the resolution to committee was 13-2 in favor. Council Members Felicia Moore (District 9) and Joyce Sheperd (District 12) voted no. Moore’s opposition to the bill was surprising given her progressive stance on other issues.

Bond had offered the bill for immediate action by the Council during the first meeting of the new Session, yesterday, January 04, 2010. According to a video of the meeting, the motion to outright approve the resolution was seconded. It sounds like a female member of Council made the motion to second, but it is unclear which member it was.

However, due to concerns raised by Members and the City’s legal department, Bond agreed to accept a motion to refer to committee instead.

The PSLA Committee is being chaired by Councilman Ivory Lee Young (District 3). Council President Mitchell announced the new Committee appointments during the meeting.

Other members of the new committee are Natalyn Archibong (District 5), Yolanda Adrean (District 8), Keisha Lance Bottoms (District 11), Sheperd, and CT Martin (District 10).

The Committee will be considering the bill at the PSLA’s next meeting, Tuesday, January 11, at City Hall, Young told Atlanta Progressive News today. The time for the meeting has not been finalized but is expected to be 3pm.

There will be opportunity for the public to make comment at the meeting, Young said. Eagle co-owner Robby Kelley said he expects to attend and is asking supporters to also attend and speak out.

Possible outcomes for the bill are that it could be held for later action, it could be filed for no later action, or it could be voted up or down.

Some Council Members and the legal department raised concerns with the fact that the bill would also issue an apology on behalf of the City Council to the patrons of the Atlanta Eagle who allege they were mistreated by the Atlanta Police Department, when some patrons have already filed a lawsuit against the City.

“In speaking with our City attorney, the City has just been served as of today with a lawsuit regarding this very matter and so it would be deemed I think very inappropriate for us as fiduciaries of this city to take an action that could be contradictory to the City’s position without having all of the facts weighed out in court and in a proper forum,” Councilman Lamar Willis (Post 3-at-large) said. “And so I would like to make a motion we send it to Committee and evaluate it there.”

Attorney Dan Grossman, the Southern Center for Human Rights, and Lambda Legal previously sent a press release stating they had filed suit on behalf of several patrons weeks ago. It is not clear why the City would just be receiving its copy of the suit only yesterday.

However, the pending charges against the Eagle 8–four dancers who were arrested for dancing in their underwear without a permit, and four staff members who allowed it–are completely separate from the lawsuit against the City.

Therefore, asking the court to drop the charges against the eight would not have any impact on the other patrons’ lawsuit against the City.

In fact, Kelley told Atlanta Progressive News that the Eagle 8 are literally not part of the lawsuit against the City, which has 19 other plaintiffs. He added that if the court finds them not guilty–or if the court issues a $1,000 fine but says they were wrongfully arrested–the eight could then turn around and sue the city at that point.

Kelley said that in that situation they could sue the City for legal defense costs, the cost of having the bar closed the evening of the raid, and perhaps other costs.

Thus, Kelley argued that having the charges dropped would prevent the city from facing additional legal damages and costs, rather than exposing them to costs.

As previously reported by Atlanta Progressive News, a club having a stripper without a license typically results in a $1,000 fine through the municipal court process. It is unclear why the APD arrested the Eagle staff and dancers in an apparently discriminatory move, although Kelley believes it is because the APD was expecting to find drugs or sex during the raid, and having found none, did not want to leave empty-handed.

Kelley said he would be delighted to have the charges dropped against the Eagle 8 and that doing so would save the City legal fees and the possibility of facing additional legal action from the Eagle in the future regarding the issue of wrongful arrest.

It did not appear that Council Members were aware yesterday of the fact that the Eagle 8 were not a part of the lawsuit against the City, and it is not clear whether that would change Members’ opinions about the legislation, particularly if the controversial language regarding the apology were removed at this point.

“I am following this very closely and want to make sure appropriate actions are taken as the investigation is completed and the legal case ends,” Councilman Alex Wan (District 6) told Project Q Atlanta. Wan is openly homosexual and the Eagle is located in District 6. “I am keenly aware of it, but I do think it was premature to ask for an apology from the City Council and to have the charges dropped. That may be the right outcome, but it wasn’t something we could act on yesterday.”

When asked about the resolution at a press conference today, Mayor Kasim Reed added the following: “I have not read it, but I am certainly supportive of the idea that if at the conclusion of the investigation by the city of the raid on the Eagle–after all of the facts are known and the investigation is over and the litigation is over–I believe as mayor I will take appropriate action if it is determined that the City of Atlanta behaved inappropriately. After the investigation, I will certainly personally get involved in making my feelings known about it.”

Councilwoman Moore had made a motion to file the bill, which was not voted upon because the motion to refer passed first.

Councilwoman Archibong had made a motion to send the bill to Committee with instructions to hold the bill pending the outcome of the 19 patrons’ lawsuit against the City. However, the attorney advised that the Council cannot instruct a committee whether to hold a bill. Archibong withdrew the amendment.

In any event, it is likely that the charges against the Eagle 8 will be settled long before the lawsuit against the city is settled. The latter legal proceeding could take years. Therefore, waiting until the lawsuit is settled before asking to drop the charges would likely be making a moot point.

Council Members also said that they wanted all the facts to be sorted out in court. However, the facts in the case of the Eagle 8 are not in dispute. The City alleges four men were dancing in their underwear without a permit, and the Eagle is not disputing those facts.

However, Councilman Bond argues that to pursue the case at continuing legal expense to the city, when people are out committing violent crimes, is not in line with the city’s fiscal and policy priorities (see full text of the resolution below).

Atlanta Progressive News broke the news yesterday that Bond would introduce the resolution.

RESOLUTION FULL TEXT

A resolution by Council Member Michael Julian Bond, a resolution directing the City of Atlanta to apologize to the patrons and employees of the Atlanta Eagle for the alleged violations of human and civil rights suffered as a result of a police raid carried out on September 10, 2009 and for other purposes.

Whereas the City of Atlanta has a long and distinguished history of championing civil and human rights,

Whereas Atlanta is a mosaic of ethnicities, races, religions, and sexual orientations,

Whereas Atlanta is committed to upholding the words and deeds of its heralded son, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.,

Whereas Dr. King’s vision of a beloved community where injustice anywhere threatens justice everywhere requires that as the elected representatives of the citizens of Atlanta we the Atlanta City Council acknowledge and respond to the grievances of any and all of our citizens,

Whereas on September 10, 2009, the Atlanta Police Department and Red Dog Unit raided the Atlanta Eagle, a gay bar in Midtown,

Whereas some 48 members of the APD entered the premises and handcuffed patrons and employees of the Atlanta Eagle, ordering them to lay face down on the ground while they and the premises were searched for almost one hour,

Whereas no criminal activity was found on the premises or persons therein,

Whereas as the city faces a significant rise in property crimes and high-profile murders, it appears this action was a poor use of police resources at this time,

Whereas it is imperative that all members of Atlanta’s varied communities, be they African American, Hispanic, Asian, Lesbian, Gay, or Bisexual, Transgender, youth, or senior citizens, feel their freedoms are respected,

Whereas the City Council requests also that as the court reviews the facts of this case that it contemplates dropping charges brought against 8 employees,

Now therefore the City Council of the City of Atlanta, Georgia, hereby resolves and offers an apology to the patrons and employees of the Atlanta Eagle Bar for the indignities which they experienced as a result of the September 10, 2009 police raid,

Be it finally resolved that all resolutions or parts of resolutions in conflict herewith are hereby waived to the extent of the conflict.

About the author:

Matthew Cardinale is the News Editor of Atlanta Progressive News and is reachable at matthew@atlantaprogressivenews.com.

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