Area Around Rainbow Lounge Prospers After 2009 Raid, City OKs Settlement
FORT WORTH (CBSDFW.COM) - The City of Fort Worth will pay the man who was injured during a 2009 police raid of the Rainbow Lounge $400,00 to avoid further lawsuits, Mayor Mike Moncrief said Tuesday.
The settlement is in addition to mandatory gay, lesbian, transvestite, and transgender training implemented for city staff and police following the raid in June 2009.
"I'm very pleased with the steps that were taken and I think it leads us to another strong statement that the diversity in this city is our strength. It is not a weakness and we can't afford to let it become one," Moncrief said.
The city's lawyers made it clear, the $400,000 settlement with Rainbow Lounge patron Chad Gibson is not an admission of guilt, but a way to avoid even costlier court actions.
Gibson suffered a severe head injury when state alcoholic beverage commission agents and Fort Worth police officers raided the Rainbow Lounge in 2009.
No legal action was taken against the law enforcement officers, but two state agents were fired and three Fort Worth officers were suspended.
The aftermath of the raid has reflected well on the area.
Two years ago the Rainbow Lounge was a single new business in a decayed, crime ridden corner of Fort Worth on South Jennings Avenue.
"The area was a little bit dirtier," said Anthony Reale, who opened a hair salon across the street from the lounge a year ago. "A lot more crime, outside of the nightlife it was a ghost town during the day."
The raid created an outpouring of support for the lounge. Since then, the Rainbow Lounge has flourished. The owners were instrumental in knocking down two abandoned buildings next door. They opened a cafe. Other clubs have moved in.
And Reale has styled his own business across the street.
He took a gamble a year ago on an upcoming neighborhood -- a gamble that's paying off thanks to The Rainbow Lounge's expansion and its lure to other businesses.
"Our business has gone up 35 percent in this year just from support from Rainbow Lounge, Randy Bee's (Cafe), Crossroads and Percussions," Reale said. "And all those companies it's just kind of been their people. It's become a real neighborhood. Its just awesome!"
