Protesters promise political pressure to curb cops

Downpour didn’t dampen the anger of about 60 demonstrators who stood under umbrellas on the steps of an empty Atlanta City Hall on Saturday to protest a police raid on a gay nightclub.

“We were mugged by the police,” said Mike Alvear, 50, of Midtown, a community activist and the host of HBO’s ‘The Sex Inspectors.’ “They stole our dignity the same way crooks steal our wallets.”

Danni Lynn Harris, the Police Department’s liaison to the gay community, asked the crowd to let the internal affairs unit investigate the Sept. 10 raid of Atlanta Eagle on Ponce de Leon Avenue.

Officers detained 62 patrons who said they were handcuffed, placed on the floor for more than an hour and illegally searched.

“When I was deciding whether to come out in the rain, I thought of those people who had to lie on the ground,” said Paul Wellons, 43, of Grant Park. “This water is nothing compared to what they had to go through.”

Eight employees of the bar were initially arrested. Police cited four dancers, saying they were performing without a permit. Three employees and a co-owner were cited with operating an adult business without a license.

Police Chief Richard Pennington said after the raid that undercover officers had seen illegal drug transactions and open sex at the club.

Saturday’s crowd suspected homophobia drove the police, and the demonstrators said they would continue to exert political pressure — especially during the mayoral election.

“Get rid of Pennington,” shouted David Zecca, 46, of Midtown. “Crime is going up, and they’re more concerned with what is going on in a nightclub.”

Patti Ellis, the mother of two sons, one who is gay, said she was mortified when she heard about the raid.

“This is not about the Eagle,” she told the crowd. “I live in Midtown. I can’t even walk down the street to a restaurant anymore. There is something very sick happening here.”

As she praised the Atlanta Police Department for the tough jobs they have, Ellis said there is a lot of investigating that needs to take place.

“Our streets are not safe,” she said.

The emphasis on the recent amount of crime taking place in the city seemed to be the theme of the rally.

In the past few months a number of armed robberies of students at Georgia Tech and Georgia State have taken place, in addition to the shooting death of a boxing champion, the car jacking of a city council member and the killing of an elderly laundromat owner.

“With all of the rapes, murders and robberies that have been happening in this city, why would you take police off of the street,” said Alvear. “So that you could arrest eight people in their underwear without a license?”

Alvear, who posted an account of the raid on The Huffington Post, questioned how “people enjoying a drink on a Thursday night could be a threat.”