According to a 2020 report by the Georgia Trust for Historic Preservation, the bar had become "a place of prominence in the LGBTQ community, significant as a site for public social interaction". The Atlanta Eagle is a gay bar that was established in Atlanta in the mid-1980s. The Kodak Building and the Atlanta Eagle on Ponce de Leon Avenue, 2021 The raid is one of several police raids on LGBT venues and has drawn comparisons to the 1969 police raid on the Stonewall Inn which caused the Stonewall riots, a pivotal moment in LGBT history.
In 2015, the city was subject to further legal action after the police were found to have reverted some of the court-ordered changes they had been required to make following the trials. Additionally, Atlanta chief of police Richard Pennington, already under pressure, resigned shortly after the raid. Several involved officers were either reprimanded or fired and the Red Dog Unit was disbanded and replaced with another unit. In the resulting court cases, which lasted until 2012, the city of Atlanta paid out over $1 million in settlements to the victims and instituted changes to police policies designed to prevent a similar situation from happening. Several lawsuits were later filed on behalf of patrons, alleging that their Constitutional rights had been violated by the police. Seven of these employees were either found not guilty or had charges dropped against them, while one was not present at the trials and had a bench warrant issued against him.ĭuring the raid, bar patrons and employees were subject to anti-gay slurs, derogatory language, and both threats of and actual physical violence. None of the 62 bar patrons that night were arrested, although eight employees were. Several dozen officers were involved in the raid, including members of the Atlanta Police Department's vice squad and the "Red Dog Unit", a SWAT-like unit typically used in high drug use areas. The raid occurred on September 10, 2009, due to anonymous tips alleging that illegal drug use and sex was occurring at the bar. Petersburg geared toward gay people that had closed in 2007.The Atlanta Eagle police raid was a police raid targeting the Atlanta Eagle, a gay bar in Atlanta, Georgia, United States. The Flamingo filled a void left by the Suncoast Resort, one of the first establishments in St. Petersburg's LGBTQ community, which was eager for a large-scale nightlife venue. When it was founded in August 2009, the Flamingo was quickly embraced by St. on Friday, according to its Facebook page.
The Flamingo will celebrate its last weekend with a series of events, beginning with a drag comedy showcase at 9 p.m. Owners Edward Fay and Jack Dougherty could not be immediately reached for comment. Jusino declined to comment for this article.
"They would be looking for a property that's very similar to this, and one that we can re-establish the Flamingo and the entertainment and everything we enjoy here," Jusino said. Jusino insisted that the Flamingo's owners will seek to purchase a new location elsewhere in the city to host a similar gay nightclub in the future, but was unable to provide specifics. Manager Jon Jusino announced that the resort was closing in a Facebook live video Monday. The owners, Edge Partners LLC, were granted a permit from the city in June to begin developing a 215-unit building registered under the name Marina Walk Apartments. City records show the resort's motel-style structure, featuring a swimming pool surrounded by balconies and a cabana bar, will be replaced with a new structure after it closes.