July 14, 2011

Ladies and Gentlemen of the LGBT Advisory Committee:

My name is John Patrick Curran. I am one of the plaintiffs in the Eagle Raid case against the city of Atlanta.

After the meeting yesterday evening I sat in my car for forty-five minutes and cried.

Perhaps it was long over due, sheer frustration, or emotional exhaustion.

But mostly, it was defeatism. I had found strength within myself that I never knew I had, but it’s starting to wear thin.

I understand moving forward is an essential part in all of this and that finding peace and mending fences between the LGBT community and the Atlanta Police Department is of equal importance.

But for nearly two years myself and the other 61 patrons of the Eagle on the night of the raid have waited for a resolution, and I implore you to not lose sight of that.

Molly Simmon said last night: “The problem is that now when a lesbian person, a gay person, a bisexual or transgender person sees a cop coming they don't know if this is a good cop there to protect them or whether this is a bad cop there to hurt them…”  — that goes double, if not triple for me. I do not know which APD officer is behind me in traffic, or which officers are setting up the roadblock near my house as they often do. Panic attacks at the sight of an APD officer have become a way of life.

I applaud all of you for speaking out last night at the lack of action the mayor has taken. But I am disheartened and dismayed to have learned that you need more time to make a decision, or to take action. For me, and I think for most of the community, the answer is obvious. The mayor and the chief of police have simply not lived up to their word, nor kept their promises.

I ask that you view my recorded account of what happened to me that night in September 2009 at the following and understand that I and others have been living with this for every day since.