There have been a few times since I quit getting a daily local paper when I have found I missed an item of local news. Usually I learn this when someone makes mention of something with me having no clue what they are talking about.The latest instance of me being in the dark is in regards to an incident in Fort Worth that has turned into a national story that has Fort Worth not looking so good, with me learning about it via the New York Times.
A few weeks ago a new gay bar called the Rainbow Lounge opened in Fort Worth. On June 28, about an hour after midnight, the bar was raided by Fort Worth Police and agents from the Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission.
June 28 was the 40th anniversary of the infamous Stonewall riot in New York City that sparked the gay rights movement.
The Fort Worth raid turned violent, leaving one man in a hospital with a serious head injury. The man with the head injury is Chad Gibson, 26, from Euless. He has a concussion, a fracture to his skull and internal bleeding. Another man had his ribs broken and another had his thumb broken.
The police entered the bar without saying who they were or why they were there. Witnesses described the police as acting "hyped up." More than 20 men were rounded up and taken outside where they were handcuffed and forced to lie face down on the parking lot.
The police continued their harassment for about a half hour. When Gibson was attacked he was sitting on steps at the back of the bar, holding a bottle of water. The cop tapped him on his shoulder, Gibson then turned and asked, "Why?" The cop then twisted Gibson's right arm behind his back, grabbed him by the neck, swung him off the steps and slammed his head into a wall. Then the cop threw Gibson to the floor.
One witness, Lindsey Thompson, said she saw the cop slam Gibson's head onto the floor after his hands were cuffed.
Reaction to the police brutality was swift. Within hours 100s were protesting at the Tarrant County Courthouse. When the police report came out it drastically did not match what observers say actually happened. This further inflamed the protesters. After a week of bad publicity, making Fort Worth look worse than usual, Mayor Mike Moncrief called for a Federal Investigation.
That's an awful shame and despicable!
ReplyDeleteWhen we moved out to West Texas in the 80's they had just desegregated the schools over in Odessa and Midland. That was extremely foreign to me...growing up even in South Ms, our schools had been desegregated in the 60's. The last church I attended (and will be my final attempt) the guest pastor said from the pulpit, "Homosexuals are an abomination to God, they're no better than animals." With that type of leadership in some churches, schools and other places in Texas...as a parent you have to ensure that you're teaching your children just the opposite of what they hear and see almost daily.
Mayor Mike should do more than just call for a Federal Investigation...every police officer present at the scene should be suspended without pay until the matter is cleared. Effect a person's pocket book...and things move swiftly. :)