APD Targets Another Gay Leather Party

http://www.sovo.com/2007/11-23/news/localnews/7753.cfm

Atlanta police target gay leather party
Tactics similar to ’06 raid that led to three arrests


By RYAN LEE
NOV. 23, 2007


Atlanta police recently raided a local gathering of gay leather enthusiasts for the second time in 12 months, even though organizers of the second event took specific steps to avoid attracting the police attention that shut down a leather party at the same location in 2006.

Organizers of last month’s “Blackout” party hosted by Onyx Southeast, a black gay leather group, said they are considering filing a complaint against the Atlanta Police Department officers who “threateningly” broke-up the private party without providing a sufficient reason. No one was arrested and there is no police report from the Oct. 7 incident.

An undercover police officer attempted to enter the “Blackout” party at the Spring 4th Center at 726 Spring St., but was told by the doorman that it was a private party and no one could pay to get inside, according to Ejay Session, president of Onyx Southeast.

“No sooner than the security guard left [the front area], that’s when the police came in,” Session said. “The police came in and were being very disrespectful to what was going on. Nobody got arrested because nobody was doing anything — it was just the way they went about it.”

The half-dozen officers that raided the party allegedly made sly comments about there being “a lot of cakes and pies in here,” and them “never having seen motorcycle riders look like that,” said Session, who added that his brother allegedly heard officers calling more police to the scene.

“He heard them on their radio, calling other officers, saying, ‘Oh, you gotta see this,’” Session said. “It wasn’t like they were calling for back-up, but instead, ‘Come and see this freak show.’”

Police searched Spring 4th supposedly looking for the venue’s capacity certificate, although with only about 20 people present, the Onyx crowd was “well under the occupancy,” Session said. But before Spring 4th owners arrived at the club with the capacity certificate, Onyx organizers decided to close their event.
“We ended up shutting down the party,” Session said.

There is no official paperwork on the incident, said APD spokesperson Officer E. Schwartz.

“I don’t know the circumstances because there’s no report on it,” said Schwartz, who added that police could have been responding to “noise complaints.”

Officer Darlene Harris, LGBT liaison for APD, could not be reached for comment by press time.

APD raided a different gay leather social at Spring 4th in October 2006, shutting down the party and arresting three organizers for collecting money for a cover charge and for drinks.

“Which is why I stressed it will be a dry party, just water —we didn’t even get a chance to buy juice,” Session said of the “Blackout” event, which also didn’t have a cover charge.

“They were looking to see if we had money on the premises, or if we had been charging at the door,” Session said. “The only people who were there were invited guests.”

“You could just hear comments flying,” Session said of the officers. “I find it a shame that there’s not a space were you can be yourself and practice your craft.”



this poem might provide an interesting context:

"First they came…"
by: Martin Niemoller


When the Nazis came for the communists,
I remained silent;
I was not a communist.

When they locked up the social democrats,
I remained silent;
I was not a social democrat.

When they came for the trade unionists,
I did not speak out;
I was not a trade unionist.

When they came for the Jews,
I remained silent;
I wasn't a Jew.

When they came for me,
there was no one left to speak out.