Texas gay bar ‘raided after customer was seen drunk’
Police records have shown that a Fort Worth, Texas, gay bar was raided because a man was arrested for being extremely drunk outside two days earlier.
According to WFAA-TV, police footage showed the man being arrested outside the Rainbow Lounge on Jennings Avenue.
Two days later, on the 40th anniversary of the Stonewall riots, the bar was raided as part of a “routine licence inspection”.
Seven customers were arrested, some of whom were detained for making “obscene gestures” at officers.
Those present said police had used excessive force and aggression, while one man was hospitalised with a severe head injury.
Police tapes also revealed that one officer had called for back-up after a patron blew a kiss at him. The customer then struggled as police tried to arrest him.
The released recordings come just after Fort Worth mayor Mike Moncrief appeared to apologise for the raid.
He later said he was sorry that someone had been hurt, rather than apologising for the raid.
The Texas Alcohol Beverage Commission and the police have not yet finished investigations into the raid, although the mayor said he was asking the US Attorney’s Office to review the department’s findings.
