Mayor Pro Tem Kathleen Hicks said she was "very concerned" after hearing from patrons and others in the community about what happened. to reassure folks that the police are not singling out any group," Burns said Monday. "I've asked for as thorough a report as possible.
“And they're trying to cover it up now."Ĭarter said a neurologist told her that her son's injury could not have been caused by a simple fall.Ĭouncilman Joel Burns, the first openly gay elected official in Tarrant County, said he is also looking into what happened. "I think they made a big mistake when they did what they did,” Karen Carter said. "A good 30, 45 minutes before they even called the ambulance,” Croker said.Ĭhad's mother said her son will remain in the hospital at least a week as doctors try to control bleeding on his brain. Gibson’s friends say his head injury occurred even earlier. Police wrote Gibson a ticket for public intoxication and assaulting an officer at 2:10 a.m., noting he couldn't sign the ticket because he was "at the hospital."īut Medstar ambulance service reported it didn't get the call for “an assault” outside the bar until 2:22 a.m., 12 minutes later. Other questions involve the police timetable.
"If anyone was a witness to something they feel was unprofessional, they need to come forward," the chief said. The chief said police check bars all the time looking for drunken patrons, and were not targeting this one. "In the police report, it stated he was handcuffed and showed signs of over intoxication, possible alcohol poisoning, and he fell face first," Halstead said. "They had him down like this with his knee in his back,” Meador said.įort Worth Police Chief Jeffrey Halstead said he ordered an internal investigation after learning a patron in police custody was seriously injured. They said a TABC agent later held him down outside. Officers tied Gibson's hands behind his back before they threw him to the ground, hitting his head on a step, the witnesses said. "After they pulled his head back, he had time to ask, ‘What's going on?’" said Rocky Croker. Two other witnesses also insisted Gibson had done nothing, and was not resisting when two other officers and a TABC agent jumped in. Meador said a Fort Worth officer shoved Gibson against the wall without provocation, apparently offended the two men were holding hands. "We were walking this way to the bathroom,” said Gibson’s friend, Matt Meador, pointing to the back of the bar. Police said Gibson groped an officer, was extremely drunk, and hit his head when he fell on his own.
GAY BARS IN DALLAS FORT WORTH FULL
Fort Worth’s police chief on Monday promised a full investigation into the weekend raid of a gay nightclub after witnesses accused officers of roughing up a man who suffered a serious head injury.Ĭhad Gibson, 26, of Euless, was at the Rainbow Lounge on South Jennings Street Saturday night when seven Fort Worth officers and two Texas Alcoholic Beverage agents entered.