Liquor board: Agents didn't use excessive force

FORT WORTH, Texas — Texas' liquor board said Thursday that an internal investigation has found no evidence agents used excessive force during a controversial raid at a gay bar. But the agency also said it will change a number of operating procedures, including the manner in which internal affairs cases are handled.

The bar check at the Rainbow Lounge last June left a customer with severe head wounds and sparked protests from the gay community.

In announcing the results of its internal affairs investigation into whether excessive force was used, the TABC said the charges against agent Chris Aller and agent trainee Jason Chapman were unfounded. The agency also said it could not find that the two men targeted the bar because of its customer base.

At the same time, however, the agency said it will revise its policy regarding excessive force cases so that all are investigated by internal affairs. The change comes after The Associated Press reported in September that most of the excessive force cases handled by the agency haven't resulted in disciplinary action and that nearly every one was investigated by the accused agents' supervisors.

Six people were arrested for public intoxication duirng the Rainbow Lounge raid, and one, Chad Gibson, suffered a severe head injury while in the agents' custody.

Aller and Chapman were dismissed in August after the TABC determined they had violated agency policy during the raid.

TABC administrator Alan Steen said that, even though there was no finding of excessive force, the fact that policy was violated still is a concern.

"I want to take another opportunity to say that this is not how we treat people, and we have been looking at this from every angle to find ways to make sure it does not happen again," he said in a prepared statement.

Fort Worth police, who assisted during the raid, also announced Thursday that its internal affairs investigation didn't find evidence of excessive force, but that it would institute new policies on bar checks and public intoxication arrests.

Speaking at a news conference across from the bar, chief Jeffrey Halstead acknowledged officers were overaggressive, creating an atmosphere of "fear and confusion" in the bar. But he said none crossed the line in how they handled people or went into the bar because of its clientele.

"It was very clear from this inquiry that there was no malice or ill will on the part of any officers who entered the Rainbow Lounge," he said.

The department announced that three of the eight officers involved in the raid will receive brief unpaid suspensions for violating policy. Two were suspended for one day, the other for three days.

The suspensions were immediately criticized by some close to the case as being far too lenient.

"The claim that excessive force was not used is not plausible and contradicts the sworn testimony of countless eyewitnesses ... I can only assume that this is an attempt to admit some mistakes while hoping to avoid liability," Don Tittle, an attorney for Gibson, said in a statement.

The police chief said some of the witness statements were conflicting.

Jon Nelson of Fairness Fort Worth, an interest group formed in the wake of the raid, compared the disciplinary action to a child being called to the principal's office and being told, "Don't do that and have a nice day."

"That's a joke, a slap on the hand," said Randy Norman, the Rainbow Lounge's general manager.

Halstead said his action followed an investigation that came up with conflicting accounts of what happened in the bar. He also noted that the inquiry looked at whether excessive force was used from the perspective of law enforcement, not the public.

"I did what I thought was fair, what I can prove and what I can live with," he said.

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Associated Press Writer Anabelle Garay in Dallas contributed to this report.

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