Mayor asks for federal review of Rainbow Lounge incident

Fort Worth Mayor Mike Moncrief wants federal prosecutors to independently review the investigations now under way regarding an incident at a gay bar near downtown where one customer was injured and six others were arrested. While the Fort Worth Police Department and the Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission are each conducting their own inquiries into what happened at the Rainbow Lounge last Sunday, Moncrief said he has asked acting U.S. Attorney James Jacks’ office to look over their findings once they are completed. "Members of the City Council and I have confidence that Chief (Jeff) Halstead is leading a thorough and professional investigation," Moncrief said in a statement issued Friday. But once the investigation is complete, Moncrief said he wants Jacks office to make sure that the department "has thoroughly and impartially carried out its obligation to all the citizens of Fort Worth. I encourage the TABC to follow the same course."

[Sacgary]

I wonder if the barrage of email, phone calls and letters had any influence on his request?

[TLC]

Sacgary wrote:

I wonder if the barrage of email, phone calls and letters had any influence on his request?

I doubt it, I honestly dont think he cared one way or the other, he was'nt bothered by phone call's or email's, that's why he has a secretary. A review is standard in a case like this, what will happen is this: there will be a panel in which the members will look at a few pictures, read a few statements, decide there was no violations of either Dept's SOP's, throw the guy some money, release a statement about how "very sorry they all are, both departments will review their cultural diversity training but after an extensive investigation none of the Officers involved have commited a crime nor did any of them violate any SOP's".......Nobody with a lick of sense see's this as anything more than what it really was, Cops doing their job by targeting known area's/bars (3 in fact, all 3 had people arrested out of) that over serve their patrons,(often their under aged patrons), this particular drunken patron acted as so many gay men do, eccentric and obnoxious daring the Cops to arrest him by refusing to comply with their orders (including his attempt at crotch grabbing of the Officer that was trying to put the handcuffs on him), he was taken down to the floor and hit his drunken head on either the wall or the floor. Was'nt because he's gay that he was arrested but because he was a drunken obnoxious jerk.

[tomas]

Texas has a lot of growing up to do, after its fascination with Bushland politics of the far right.

[Rick in Kansas]

Sacgary wrote:

I wonder if the barrage of email, phone calls and letters had any influence on his request?

I think it's become clear that no one in authority is the least bit happy with what happened at the Rainbow Lounge and the Mayor's request to the District Attorney's office to review the findings of the separate internal investigations is just one more sign of that. The FWPD has suspended participation in future TABC "inspections" and has assigned all of their officers involved in the raid to desk duty for the duration, the TABC has done the same to their officers involved. The good thing is we are being assured that the truth will come out and I believe it will.