Fort Worth police and agents from the Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission raided a gay bar June 28—the 40th anniversary of the Stonewall Riots—and roughed up several patrons, including one who is hospitalized with a life-threatening blood clot on his brain.
The reason for the raid: To be sure no one was too drunk. Seven people were arrested for alleged intoxication.
Patrons of the Rainbow Lounge say four or five officers tackled Chad Gibson, who patrons say wasn't drunk, and banged his head on the wall and on the floor for no reason. The police have said Gibson fell down later outside and hurt himself, because he was drunk.
Police Chief Jeff Halstead also says Gibson groped one of the officers, yet Gibson was not charged with any sort of assault.
"You're touched and advanced in certain ways by people inside the bar, that's offensive," Halstead said. "I'm happy with the restraint used when they were contacted like that."
That Gibson groped a uniformed cop is, of course, improbable. As Rainbow Lounge owner J.R. Schrock put it: "The groping of the police officer—really? We're gay, but we're not dumb. That is a lie, and I am appalled by it."
The Police Department also has said that other patrons "made sexually explicit movements" toward uniformed officers. Patrons have said that nothing of the sort occurred, and that the notion is asinine.
At press time, the Police Department remained under heavy fire for the raid—from news reporters, newspaper columnists, bloggers, activists and local politicians.
"Jeff Halstead can't be allowed to use the Gay Panic Defense," wrote gay syndicated columnist and frequent national-TV talking head Dan Savage. "His officers weren't groped, no one was 'touched and advanced.' Homophobic cops raided a gay bar, roughed up the patrons, and a young man is in the hospital and may die."
"This is exactly the kind of state-sponsored violence that gays and lesbians fought back against at Stonewall 40 years ago," Savage said. "Gay men all over the country are going to have to speak up and defend the patrons of the Rainbow Lounge. We can't allow the chief of police in Fort Worth to use the Gay Panic Defense or exploit stereotypes about gay men—so sexually reckless that they can't even keep their hands off cops during a raid!—to get away with violating the civil rights of gay men in Fort Worth."
Dallas freelance writer John Selig reported June 30 that President Barack Obama is aware of the raid.
"Jesse Garcia, who has been active in Stonewall Democrats for years and was recently head of Stonewall Democrats of Dallas, mentioned the incident to the president and asked him to pray for Chad Gibson," Selig wrote. "President Obama told Jesse that he was aware of the situation and that he would pray for Chad."
The exchange occurred at Obama's June 29 White House gathering with 300 LGBT leaders to mark the 40th anniversary of the Stonewall Riots.