Victim of Stonewall Anniversary Raid in Ft. Worth still Hospitalized

By Bill Miller
Fort Worth Star-Telegram

Joint operations between Fort Worth police and the Texas Alcohol Beverage Commission have been suspended during investigations into an inspection early Sunday that resulted in the injury of a man at a new gay club near the city’s hospital district.

Chief Jeff Halstead on Thursday announced a series of actions relating to the early-morning incident Sunday at the Rainbow Lounge on Jennings Street, which has drawn protests from the gay community.

Halstead also said he would conduct a review of “multicultural training” for police officers to ensure that the information is “up to date” on issues that concern the gay community.

Meanwhile, the man who was hurt, 26-year-old Chad Gibson, was still in fair condition at John Peter Smith Hospital in Fort Worth where he was being treated for a head injury. . . .

By Tammye Nash
Senior Editor, The Dallas Voice

. . . Some reports have indicated that Gibson was taken into custody inside the nightclub and then taken outside where he began vomiting, and that he injured his head when he fell due to extreme intoxication.

Several eyewitnesses inside the club at the time, however, had described seeing Gibson grabbed by officers and thrown to the floor in a hallway at the back of the club. The witnesses said that Gibson hit his head at that point, and that several officers were holding him down, one kneeling on his back and another placing his foot on Gibson’s head or neck. . . .

By Paul E. Scott
Executive Director, Equality Texas

Late Saturday evening, June 27th, Fort Worth Police Officers and Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission (TABC) officers entered into the Rainbow Lounge in Fort Worth for an alcoholic beverage code inspection. What resulted was the arrest of seven (7) patrons, one being critically injured during the raid.

With the raid happening on the 40th anniversary of the Stonewall Riot, we are reminded that we need to advocate for the equal treatment of all citizens and this case, we call for an immediate and public investigation into the circumstances surrounding this raid, including the apparent large number of police and TABC officers and paddy wagon. With one patron currently in ICU as a result of injuries sustained during the raid and arrest, the investigation needs to cover the use of excessive force and whether these injuries were the result of excessive force or were incidental to the arrest.