After One Year 'Rainbow Lounge' a sign of Unity With The Police
FORT WORTH -- One year after a visit by law enforcement officers to a near-south-side bar triggered a storm of protests, Police Chief Jeff Halstead, other officers and members of the gay community returned to share a barbecue dinner.
On June 28, 2009, Fort Worth police and Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission officers made five arrests during an inspection at the newly opened Rainbow Lounge on South Jennings Street. One patron suffered a serious head injury and was hospitalized.
It happened on the 40th anniversary of the Stonewall Riots, a raid on a New York gay bar that has become a touchstone in the gay-rights movement.
Now people on both sides say the incident was a turning point for Fort Worth.
David Schrock, Rainbow Lounge owner, said he could not have predicted last year the unity that the gay community and the police showed Monday.
Back then, "all I could see was the war, the battle," Schrock said. "I never would have believed that it would have turned out this way."
Halstead said he was seeing a "new togetherness" and "a new respect for one another."
Last June, the chief said, he had been hired only recently and was unpacking his belongings at his new home when he got the call from City Councilman Joel Burns about the trouble at the lounge.
Burns was distressed about the way the bar inspection had turned out, Halstead said. The incident immediately ended any honeymoon the chief might have had in his new position.
"This was a good learning curve for all of us," Halstead said. "And it goes to show that it takes all the people involved to come together and join the process to work through these issues."
Halstead said it would not be appropriate for him to talk about pending criminal cases against the bar patrons who were arrested during the inspection. Monday was a day for celebration, he declared.
Others seemed to agree.
"This past year has been a journey for me," said officer Sara Straten, whom Halstead named to be a liaison to the gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender community.
"I'm proud of our Police Department for the progress we've made, and I'm proud of my community for the progress it has made.
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