Monday, July 6, 2009

Injured Patron from Ft. Worth Bar Raid Speaks: "I'm Just Appalled."

Chad Gibson, injured victim of the Ft. Worth police raid on the gay bar Rainbow Lounge, says he wants the officers responsible prosecuted and calls the response from the city of Ft. Worth a cover up.

"I was at the bar buying drinks for my friends and I. The next thing I remember is waking up in the ICU," Gibson told CBS 11. "I'm just appalled that they took it to the level that they did."

The Ft. Worth police are claiming that Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission (TABC) officers are responsible for Chad's injuries, saying they're the ones that manhandled him and not the Ft. Worth police. But Chad finds that inexcusable. In a taped interview with WFAA, he said they just stood their and watched, making them equally responsible.

"They have blamed it on me, that I was drunk [and] that I hit my head," he said. "I groped the officer. I did this. I did that. You know what, no ... Accept responsibility."

Gibson said he is also frustrated at the city pointing the blame at the TABC.

"Even if the Fort Worth Police didn't touch me, they watched it," he said. "They watched other people do that to me."

"A lot of the doctors I've talked to say you can't get this kind of blow to the head from just falling, if I had just fallen like they said I did," Chad said.

After a week in the hospital, Chad has been discharged, though a blood clot in his brain behind his right eye still exists.

The TABC officers are on desk duty during the internal investigation. The city of Fort Worth is still asking eye witnesses to come forward for their internal investigation. Any findings will be independently reviewed by the U.S. Attorney General.

1 comment:

  1. I hope that Chad Gibson has a complete and speedy recovery. I also hope that he has a good lawyer and that the thugs who assaulted him (and other patrons of the bar) are removed from their jobs and prosecuted. The cowboy police chief who defamed Gibson should also lose his job.

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