Comments on: Zero Proof: Why Hasn’t FWPD Produced Evidence That Chad Gibson Was Drunk?

By: Violent Killers Acquitted On Grounds of Self-Defense—Against Alleged Gay Advcances « Camels With Hammers

Mon, 13 Jul 2009 18:00:37 +0000

[...] is most frightening is when even the cops use and get away with this same basic excuse when they hospitalize a gay man during an outrageous raid. This entry was written by Dan Fincke, posted on July 13, 2009 at 1:59 pm, filed under [...]

By: Jim Burroway

Jim Burroway — Fri, 03 Jul 2009 14:49:24 +0000

ebohlman,

Those were my thoughts at first. But since Chad’s sister is quoted as repeating the .08 legal limit while giving Chad’s level at .2 and comparing it to a level of .4 for alcohol poisoning. Since she recited all three numbers, I suspect that she didn’t misspeak by saying .2 when she meant to say .02.

Her report is second hand. Because medical records are private due to patient confidentiality, we can’t rule out that Kristy might have gotten the figure wrong. But without any other countering evidence, this is the best we have. I, for one, would like a lot more clarification on this.

By: ebohlman

ebohlman — Fri, 03 Jul 2009 09:59:37 +0000

I have to wonder if Gibson’s BAC was correctly reported. For a 160-pound male to achieve a BAC of .215 (Gibson didn’t arrive at the hospital until at least an hour after he was arrested, and metabolism reduces BAC by about .015 per hour), he’d have to drink roughly 8 drinks over the period of an hour, 9 over 2 hours, or basically 7 plus one per hour. That’s a whole lot of drinking, and not consistent with reports of people who observed him. No bartender who wanted to keep his job would serve a patron that many drinks in that short a time (it’s of course possible that he had been drinking before he arrived at Rainbow). And someone with that level, which roughly corresponds to “totally smashed” for most people, would have been quite visibily intoxicated for quite some time.

This makes me wonder if the real value wasn’t .02, which would be consistent with around two drinks (which would in turn be consistent with the reports).

Also note that .4 isn’t the threshold for alcohol poisoning; it’s the level that would be fatal to half the population. Levels in the .3+ range could lead to coma. Still, even .20 is nowhere close to the threshold.

By: 7 Anti-Gay Hate Crimes in 11 Days | Asterisk

7 Anti-Gay Hate Crimes in 11 Days | Asterisk — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 20:07:45 +0000

[...] crime’ category because frankly, it was obviously a hate crime. Since yesterday’s post, we’ve learned that the still-hospitalized victim was indeed drunk, with a blood alcohol level of 0.2, over twice the [...]

By: Joe

Joe — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 15:51:15 +0000

I think it necessary to make this VERY public. Everyone should contact departments of Texas Tourism, your Better Business Bureaus, your county and state representatives and tell them you won’t put up with this type of police brutality.

By: Christopher Waldrop

Christopher Waldrop — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 12:59:49 +0000

There’s a lot of explaining the police need to do but they seem to be very little of that. That’s what’s frustrating about this whole situation. The police are refusing to acknowledge that there was anything wrong about their actions and they’re instead trying to put the blame on the victims.

By: Jon

Jon — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 12:24:12 +0000

While .2 is over twice the legal limit for driving, this man was not driving anywhere. I’m in law enforcement and I have always thought it was wrong to give someone a Public Drunk charge if they are inside a bar. I feel like that charge is meant more for intoxicated people wandering down a street or something. If he was in a bar, he wasn’t causing a nuisance by the simple act of being intoxicated.

By: Richard W. Fitch

Richard W. Fitch — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 05:00:56 +0000

Fort Worth – TV CH-11 interview including Chad’s father and sister. They have disclosed that Chad was well under the legal/medical definition of alcohol poisoning:

http://www.facebook.com/ext/share.php?sid=105096176820&h=qYtcD&u=5kkgN

By: David C.

David C. — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 04:38:59 +0000

My guess is his BAC at the time of admission is in his medical records.—John

And there a laws against disclosing that to just anybody.

When this comes under investigation, as it surely will, that information will become material testimony in the investigation. If it turns out that Chad’s BAC was nothing approaching that of intoxication, there will indeed be a lot of explaining to do.

There is a lot of explaining to do no matter what.

By: Richard W. Fitch

Richard W. Fitch — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 04:37:05 +0000

According to other reports, the TABC wears shirts marked “State Police” because most citizens don’t know what the agency is. The difficult part is that the marking is only on the back of the shirt, not the front, so people being approached only see an angry dude in a tan shirt. Also it appears that TABC has the discretion of arresting anyone for suspicion of PI without any kind of breathalyser or sobriety check. Again, it’s shoot first and ask questions later. With regard to the ER tox report, that falls under patient confidentiality and will require release by Chad Gibson when he recovers to the point of being capable. A lot of valuable info is being posted on Facebook “Rainbow Lounge Raid”.
http://www.facebook.com/wall.php?id=109253439840#/group.php?gid=109253439840
The page was started by Todd Camp, artistic director of Q Cinema, who is also facilitating the fund for Chad’s medical expenses. I tried to get info for online donations thru Frost Bank, but the CSR was in Corpus Christi and didn’t have the necessary details. The acct nbr at Frost is 608439230 which belongs to Q Cinema, for tx-exmpt purposes. I’m just about cross-eyed trying to keep up with all the info. People from across the US, Canada, UK, Germany, et al, have reacted to this event. Let’s all keep Chad in our prayers.