Equality Texas Calls on Fort Worth Members and Supporters to Contact Mayor Moncrief and Fort Worth City Council Members for Immediate Investigation of Rainbow Lounge Raid on Saturday, June 27th.

Late Saturday evening, June 27th, Fort Worth Police Officers and Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission (TABC) officers entered the Rainbow Lounge in Fort Worth for an alcoholic beverage code inspection.  What resulted was the arrest of seven (7) patrons, one being critically injured during the raid.

With the raid happening on the 40th anniversary of the Stonewall Riots, we are reminded that we need to advocate for the equal treatment of all citizens and this case, we call for an immediate and public investigation into the circumstances surrounding this raid, including the apparent large number of police and TABC officers and paddy wagon.  With one patron currently in ICU as a result of injuries sustained during the raid and arrest, the investigation needs to cover the use of excessive force and whether these injuries were the result of excessive force or were incidental to the arrest.

We ask Mayor Moncrief and all Fort Worth City Council Members to request a Public Investigation and to make a public statement.  City Council member Joel Burns, District 9, has already issued a joint statement requesting an investigation. Statement on Equality Texas Blog HERE.   Equality Texas is in contact with Representative Lon Burnam's and Senator Wendy Davis' offices, and they have scheduled meetings with TABC to address these issues as well.

YOU make equality happen!

1. IF YOU LIVE IN FORT WORTH: Call Mayor Moncrief at 817.392.6118. Leave a message requesting to him to call for a public investigation. A sample message is included in "Talking Points" below.
2. Click on the "Take Action"/"Send this Message" links to send an e-mail to Mayor Moncrief and to your Fort Worth City Council Member and ask them to call for a public investigation.
3. Use the "Tell-a-Friend" feature to ask your friends and neighbors to Take Action to contact Mayor Moncrief and their City Council member.  

Please help NOW. 

Dear [ Decision Maker ] ,

As a concerned citizen of Fort Worth and as your constituent, I request that you call for the immediate and public investigation of the actions of the Fort Worth Police Department and the Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission (TABC) officers in their conducting arrests at the Rainbow Lounge on Saturday, June 27th (morning of June 28th).

With a patron being critically injured that evening during the arrests, I request the investigation of the use of excessive force, whether there was a specific targeting of this establishment and its patrons, and how these arrests were conducted and under what circumstances. Additionally, the investigation should assess whether the actions of the officers require disciplinary action and/or prosecution.

I also request that you make public your request for an investigation.

I believe that all citizens of Fort Worth should be treated fairly and equally, and a public investigation is the only way that citizens of Fort Worth can begin to feel safe in our community.

Sincerely,

Campaign Launched:
June 29, 2009