Former Strip Club Owners Sue Louisville Police
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Security Footage Of SWAT Raid At Center Of Allegations
LOUISVILLE, Ky. -- Security footage of a SWAT team raid at a local strip club is at the center of a lawsuit filed by the former owners of the club against the Louisville Metro Police Department.
In that lawsuit, the former owners of Phat's Bar and Grill claim that their business was "persistently and unnecessarily harassed" by the police. Their main complaint is over a SWAT team raid conducted on the morning of April 20, 2008, and much of the raid was caught on tape by the club's security cameras.
"I get extremely emotional -- even to this second, even talking about it, I get emotional," said Bert Williams Jr., one of the former owners of the club.
The lawsuit Williams filed against the LMPD flatly calls the raid "illegal." It alleges that officers "improperly and unnecessarily physically and verbally assaulted" people inside the club. It also accuses officers of tampering with security cameras to conceal their actions.
"One officer turning a camera to the wall, one officer putting women's panties on the lens," said J. Fox Demoisey, one of the lawyers representing Williams. "When you see the active destruction or attempted destruction of the security cameras, what you're talking about is the purposeful destruction of evidence."
The lawsuit also alleges that police seized cash from the strip club, in excess of $30,000.
"One particular police officer put money in his pocket, and in most search protocols, officers go in with no extraneous materials," Demoisey said.
Phat's went out of business about a year ago. The former owners said the raid is the reason why.
"Our business dropped off majorly, and the police knew what they were doing. It was all a strategy from the very beginning," Williams said.
"This was a long, ongoing attempt to get Phat's off of Broadway, from across the Federal Building, because some people think that venue was an eyesore that should be removed," Demoisey said.
Williams is suing for damages -- both economic and emotional.
"I think that our reputation and credibility needs to be re-established -- that's the main objective," Williams said.
Another objective for Williams' lawyers is to send a message.
"SWAT teams perform a valuable function to the community, but that's not a license to do anything you want," Demoisey said.
The lawsuit also alleges that one of the club's owners was arrested on the night of the raid for possession of drug paraphernalia, but Demoisey said the videotape proves he could not have committed that crime.
An LMPD spokesman declined to comment on the lawsuit, citing a policy of not commenting on pending litigation.
June 7, 2010
http://www.wlky.com/news/23824587/detail…
LOUISVILLE, Ky. -- Security footage of a SWAT team raid at a local strip club is at the center of a lawsuit filed by the former owners of the club against the Louisville Metro Police Department.
In that lawsuit, the former owners of Phat's Bar and Grill claim that their business was "persistently and unnecessarily harassed" by the police. Their main complaint is over a SWAT team raid conducted on the morning of April 20, 2008, and much of the raid was caught on tape by the club's security cameras.
"I get extremely emotional -- even to this second, even talking about it, I get emotional," said Bert Williams Jr., one of the former owners of the club.
The lawsuit Williams filed against the LMPD flatly calls the raid "illegal." It alleges that officers "improperly and unnecessarily physically and verbally assaulted" people inside the club. It also accuses officers of tampering with security cameras to conceal their actions.
"One officer turning a camera to the wall, one officer putting women's panties on the lens," said J. Fox Demoisey, one of the lawyers representing Williams. "When you see the active destruction or attempted destruction of the security cameras, what you're talking about is the purposeful destruction of evidence."
The lawsuit also alleges that police seized cash from the strip club, in excess of $30,000.
"One particular police officer put money in his pocket, and in most search protocols, officers go in with no extraneous materials," Demoisey said.
Phat's went out of business about a year ago. The former owners said the raid is the reason why.
"Our business dropped off majorly, and the police knew what they were doing. It was all a strategy from the very beginning," Williams said.
"This was a long, ongoing attempt to get Phat's off of Broadway, from across the Federal Building, because some people think that venue was an eyesore that should be removed," Demoisey said.
Williams is suing for damages -- both economic and emotional.
"I think that our reputation and credibility needs to be re-established -- that's the main objective," Williams said.
Another objective for Williams' lawyers is to send a message.
"SWAT teams perform a valuable function to the community, but that's not a license to do anything you want," Demoisey said.
The lawsuit also alleges that one of the club's owners was arrested on the night of the raid for possession of drug paraphernalia, but Demoisey said the videotape proves he could not have committed that crime.
An LMPD spokesman declined to comment on the lawsuit, citing a policy of not commenting on pending litigation.
June 7, 2010
http://www.wlky.com/news/23824587/detail…
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Taking a SWAT team on a strip club raid is like using Marines to chaperone a middle school dance-it's too much. I hope the attorneys for the SC owners point out the aggressiveness of SWAT and hammer home the fact that cameras were tampered with.