Restoring Reason

One of the earliest labels attached to the bar check at the Rainbow Lounge is the word "raid." In this interview, bartender Jamie C., who has worked at a large club in Fort Worth for three years, shares her experience of an actual raid.

Many people have said that the Rainbow Lounge was targeted by police because it caters to a specific demographic. Does your bar also cater to a specific demographic?

I don't believe my bar ONLY caters to certain demographics. Any patron is welcome, no matter race, sexuality, or gender. It just so happens that my bar is mostly Mexican and African American but in no way would we ever discriminate against anyone.

Yes. I have personally been arrested and there have been dozens of citations given out and arrests made of certain patrons who were publicly intoxicated.

No, my bar was NOT targeted because of a certain demographic. We were visited a lot because there had been complaints of minors drinking and the crime rate in that area.

Yes, I can tell the difference between TABC and FWPD. FWPD has their actual police uniform on and TABC agents wear a state police shirt or suit and tie and have a badge on the belt buckle. Their methods are somewhat different. TABC mostly comes in to make sure you're not serving to minors or intoxicated patrons, you are discarding of your bottles properly (scratching your TABC stickers off), and to make sure the bartender and wait staff are following the guidelines you were taught in the TABC course. The Fort Worth PD are there to make arrests of publicly intoxicated people, bartender or wait staff who serve to minors, and to make sure if you are intoxicated that you are not getting in your vehicle to drive and put yourself and others at risk. At all times their attitudes are the same - they are there to make sure people are doing their jobs properly and to protect the citizens.

The night my bar was raided, about 20 police officers and 2 TABC agents came in. They turned off our music, they came behind the bar and looked around, they checked people's IDs and from there they ESCORTED people outside that were either publicly intoxicated or acting out in violence. We had already been through many walk throughs where they had already arrested several people.

No, I did not see any of the TABC agents or FWPD use excessive force on anybody!! They were simply there to protect the citizens and they made the arrests they made off of the probable cause that they were either intoxicated or using violence inside the club.

My experience with the officers who arrested me was good. Of course, no one enjoys being thrown in jail but they simple escorted me outside and patted me down and then read me my rights and put me in handcuffs. I had even left my cell phone behind my bar out in the open and the police officer went back upstairs and got it for me!!

My feelings have always been the same. I respect them and what their job is. Of course, I was upset when I got arrested but not at them. I was upset at myself for making the mistake that I had made. They were there doing their job.

I learned that I needed to be more aware of what was going on around me and that certain laws are set in place to protect us.

The protesters at the Rainbow Lounge have no reason to be protesting!! No one witnessed this patron getting hit, they just ASSUMED that's what happened when they saw their friend being taken away in an ambulance. It does not matter your race, gender, or sexuality - NO ONE is above the law!!

Well 1: A raid is more than just 6 cops and 2 TABC agents. And all of those arrests may have not been made if people's attitude about them being there was better!! 2: It has already been stated that it was NOT a raid, it was simply a walk through to let the new owner know the laws and regulations and to look for any obvious violations!

Don't go to bars and get drunk to where you don't remember what happens. Be courteous to the people that are around you even if they are there doing their job. No one likes it when people go into their work place and disrespect them.