Rainbow Lounge raid fallout continues to unfold

Just over two months after the Forth Worth Police Department and the Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission raided the Rainbow investigations are either finalized or in the process of being concluded. Three TABC officers have been fired and the Fort Worth chief of police has issued a series of apologies and acknowledgments.

Sergeant J.D. Moore, who supervises the Major Case Unit of the FWPD, said the department is currently conducting two investigations. And one of these is from the Major Case Unit.

"The parameters of its investigation only concern finding out how Chad Gibson was injured," Moore said. "That's our entire focus."

Although the Major Case Unit's investigation is complete, it will be awhile before its contents and conclusions become available to the public. Internal Affairs continues to conduct the other investigation. And Moore said its focus will be on "everything about the incident; from the time the officers got there until they left."

Moore added Internal Affairs projects the report will be done by mid-October. When done, it will also include the Major Case Unit's findings. And at that point, recommendations will be made and actions will be taken.

Jonathan Nelson, the co-founder of Fairness Fort Worth who also sits on the recently formed City Manager's Diversity Task Force, is eagerly awaiting the findings of both Fort Worth Police Department investigations. He said he hopes appropriate disciplinary action and policy changes will mirror those of the TABC. Nelson noted he feels that report shows "a lot of integrity."

"They were totally forthright in taking the actions they did," he said as he noted the termination of the three officers involved and the changes he hopes the TABC will make. "It's not just a reaction to the actions of the agents; it's an assessment of much broader issues."

Embattled Fort Worth police chief Jeff Halstead did not wait for his department's two investigations to conclude before he commented publicly. He issued a series of apologies at the Fort Worth City Council's Aug. 18 meeting for the language, tone and intent of numerous comments he made following the raid. These enraged local LGBT activists, who called for an investigation immediately before the incident-and long before either TABC and FWPD began to conduct their own inquiries.

Halstead also acknowledged "flawed policies" which led to the raid itself as well as the methods of implementation.

City Councilmember Kathleen Hicks, in whose district the Rainbow Lounge is located, called Halstead's admission as well as his apology "a step forward."

"Frankly, that needed to be stated by the police chief," she said. "I was quite pleased by what he had to say."

Hicks continued.

"I hope people understand that many of us in Fort Worth are not going to let this one go," she said. "We will continue to monitor it."