Comedians are suing over drug-hunting programs at Atlanta airport

Attorneys for Eric André and Clayton English filed a federal lawsuit Tuesday alleging they were racially profiled and illegally stopped by Atlanta airport police.

Comedians Eric André and Clayton English challenge an Atlanta airport policing program they say violates the constitutional rights of airline passengers, particularly black passengers, through racial profiling and forced searches just before boarding their flights.

The two men, well-known comedians and actors, say officers singled them out at separate stops about six months apart for being black and grilled them for drugs while other passengers looked on.

“People were staring at me and I looked suspicious even though I hadn’t done anything wrong,” André said in an interview, calling the experience “dehumanizing and demoralizing”.

(Associated Press)

While the program’s stated purpose is to combat drug trafficking, the lawsuit states, drugs are rarely found, criminal charges are rare, and cash seized is a financial boon for the police department.

Clayton County police officers and county attorney’s office investigators selectively stop passengers in the narrow jet bridges used to access aircraft, the lawsuit alleges. Officers take passengers’ boarding passes and IDs and interrogate them, sometimes searching their bags before boarding their flights, lawyers say in the lawsuit.

Clayton County police officers and county attorney’s office investigators selectively stop passengers in the narrow jet bridges used to access aircraft, the lawsuit alleges. Officers take passengers’ boarding passes and IDs and interrogate them, sometimes searching their bags before boarding their flights, lawyers say in the lawsuit.

The police department calls the stops “consensual encounters” and says they are “accidental,” but in reality the stops are “forced, and targets are disproportionately selected on the basis of race,” the lawyers argue.

Clayton County Police spokeswoman Julia Isaac said the department is not commenting on pending lawsuits.

Police records show that from August 30, 2020 to April 30, 2021 there were 402 jet bridge stops and the passenger race was listed for 378 of those stops. Of those 378 passengers, 211, or 56%, were black, and blacks made up a total of 258 stopovers, or 68%, the lawsuit says.

Those 402 stops resulted in three reported drug seizures: about 10 grams of drugs from one passenger, 26 grams of “suspect THC gum” from another, and six prescription pills without a prescription from a third, the lawsuit says. Only the first and third person were charged.

Those 402 stops also raised more than $1 million in cash and money orders from a total of 25 passengers. All but one were allowed to continue their journey, and only two – those who also had drugs – were charged, the lawsuit says. Eight of the 25 challenged the seizures, and Clayton County Police closed each case and returned much of the money seized, the lawsuit says.

Carrying large amounts of cash does not mean someone is involved in illegal drug deals, the attorneys argue in the lawsuit, noting that people of color are less likely to have bank accounts and are more likely to carry large sums of money when they travel.

English was stopped while flying from Atlanta, where he lives, to work in Los Angeles on Oct. 30, 2020, the lawsuit says. André had finished filming for HBO’s The Righteous Gemstones and was traveling from Charleston, South Carolina to his Los Angeles home on April 21, 2020 when he was pulled over after a stopover in Atlanta.

Officers blocked them as they entered the boarding bridge and asked if they were carrying illegal drugs, the lawsuit says. Both were asked to hand over their boarding passes and ID cards. An officer said he wanted to search English’s bag, and English agreed, not believing he had a choice.

“I felt completely powerless. I felt hurt. I felt cornered,” English said at a news conference outside federal court in Atlanta. “I felt like I had to comply if I wanted everything to go smoothly.”

Shortly afterwards André complained about his stop. Clayton County Police said it was “consensual” at the time.

“Mr. Andre chose to speak to investigators during the first encounter,” the department said in a statement posted to Facebook. “During the encounter, Mr. Andre voluntarily provided investigators with information about his travel plans. Mr. Andre also voluntarily agreed to one.” search of his luggage, but investigators decided against it.”

André said he felt a “moral imperative” to file the lawsuit “so these practices can stop and these cops can be held accountable for it because it’s unethical.”

“I have the resources to bring national and international attention to this incident. This is not an isolated case,” he said. “If black people don’t stand up for each other, who will?”

One of the attorneys who filed the lawsuit, Barry Friedman, co-founder of the NYU School of Law Policing Project, encouraged anyone else who has had similar experiences to come forward.

The lawsuit names Clayton County and the police chief, as well as four police officers and a prosecutor’s investigator. She alleges violations of constitutional rights that protect against unreasonable searches and seizures and against racial discrimination.

The comedians are seeking a jury trial and are demanding that the Clayton County Police Department’s jet bridge prohibition program be declared unconstitutional. They are also seeking compensatory and punitive damages, as well as legal costs.

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