July 16th, 2009
The Ft. Worth Star-Telegram is reporting on more fallout from Tuesday’s city council meeting. Several members of the audience at that meeting demanded an independent investigation into the June 28 Rainbow Lounge raid that left one patron critically injured and in intensive care for a week. Two council members, Joel Burns and Kathleen Hicks, said they would support an independent investigation, but didn’t all for a vote on the issue. Now it looks like that idea is starting to gain momentum:
On Wednesday, Burns said “movement was afoot” to ask the U.S. attorney\’s office to expand its role from just a review to a more active investigation. Burns said that based on conversations he\’d had with the mayor\’s office, “they are looking at expanding the scope of the U.S. attorney\’s involvement.”
While he believes the Police Department\’s internal-affairs unit is capable of an investigation that yields full and complete answers, Burns said, “there are people who don\’t know our Police Department who may not be so assured.”
He said he believes that an expanded role by the U.S. attorney\’s office, complete with its subpoena power and ability to use the FBI if needed, “reassures everyone watching that the answers are full and complete and accurate.”
They mayor’s office is reportedly working with the U.S. attorney’s office to determine the scope of a possible investigation. There may be a resolution calling for an investigation by next week’s council meeting.
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Richard W. Fitch
July 16th, 2009
There is an on-going discussion of this event on Facebook:
http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=109253439840&__a=1
If you want an in-depth account of what happened and what is being done (and NOT done), join the group and add you perspective as a member of the LGBT community.
Richard W. Fitch
July 16th, 2009
This was published Jul 16, 2009 – 11:06:29 PM in the DallasVoice, which is an LGBT newspaper in North Texas. In essence Alan Steen, administrator of TABC, acknowledges that his agency [quote]: committed multiple “clear violations†of agency policy.
http://www.dallasvoice.com/artman/publish/article_11584.php
The national and global outrage generated by this event precludes the possibility of it being swept away as “just another bar inspection”. As a consequence of Steen’s press release, anywhere from 2-6 suspensions or dismissals can be anticipated.
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