Atlanta Eagle police raid

The Atlanta Eagle police raid was a police raid targeting the Atlanta Eagle, a gay bar in Atlanta, Georgia, United States. The raid occurred on September 10, 2009, due to anonymous tips alleging that illegal drug use and sex was occurring at the bar. Several dozen officers were involved in the raid, including members of the Atlanta Police Department's vice squad and the "Red Dog Unit", a SWAT-like unit typically used in high drug use areas. None of the 62 bar patrons that night were arrested, although eight employees were. Seven of these employees were either found not guilty or had charges dropped against them, while one was not present at the trials and had a bench warrant issued against him.

During the raid, bar patrons and employees were subject to anti-gay slurs, derogatory language, and both threats of and actual physical violence. Several lawsuits were later filed on behalf of patrons, alleging that their constitutional rights had been violated by the police. In the resulting court cases, which lasted until 2012, the city of Atlanta paid out over $1 million in settlements to the victims and instituted changes to police policies designed to prevent a similar situation from happening. Several involved officers were either reprimanded or fired and the Red Dog Unit was disbanded and replaced with another unit. Additionally, Atlanta chief of police Richard Pennington, already under pressure, resigned shortly after the raid.