Sunday Paper
Some readers may be thinking, “This sounds like the raid of the Atlanta Eagle last September,” and they would be right. In all likelihood every cop at the Eagle did exactly what he or she believed to be within the bounds of the law at the time. Even being kept face down on the floor for an hour isn’t a violation of anybody’s civil rights if there is a legal reason for keeping them there. But the reason the patrons were kept there for so long is because that’s how long it took to do criminal background checks on them, and not all of them were suspected of criminal activity. Some of them were just playing pool and listening to music, and that’s according to documented statements by an undercover APD officer.