The Southern Voice reports that now that the police department and city officials have had a chance to respond, and have done so without integrity or accountability, the civil rights group Georgia Equality is now demanding answers.
Their completely reasonable questions include:
• What concrete steps (such as written policies) will the Police Chief take to ensure that the APD’s LGBT Liaison Offer Dani Lee Harris is notified in advance and involved in the coordination and execution of future police actions affecting the LGBT community?
• How is the city any safer since the raid?
• What percentage of the officers on duty the night of Sept. 10 participated in the raid?
• Why were so many officers needed to investigate non-violent dancing when violent crimes are occurring all over the city?
• How much did this raid cost taxpayers? What is the cost per charge/violation? How many work hours went into the investigation leading up to and the execution of the raid?
• What specific evidence led to the initiation of the raid? What documentation exists detailing that evidence? Why has the reasoning for the raid shifted over time?
• What actions were taken and what language was used by police during the raid and how were patrons treated?
• What training, if any, had the officers who participated in the raid received regarding LGBT community sensitivity and did they follow such training, written procedures, or policies?
• Why were individual arrested and held in custody 19 hours for ordinance violations?
Meanwhile up in Nashville, at times a considerably less progressive town than Atlanta, the Metro City Council, after MUCH strife, passes a measure protecting Metro employees from discrimination on the grounds of sexual orientation and gender identity.
Now we just need to extend that protection to all employees within the City, or with whom the city has contracts, not just city employees.
Update: Protest planned at Atlanta City Hall this Saturday (tomorrow).
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