Eric Andre was stopped by Clayton County Police Department officers just as he passed through security at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport, handed his boarding pass to the gate agent and was about to board the plane.
Officers questioned Andre, who is black, about whether he was selling drugs and what drugs he was in possession of, Andre said in an interview and court filing.
They asked him to inspect his bag.
While interacting with the police, other passengers had to pass Mr. Andre and the officers on the jet bridge, the narrow passageway that connects the gate to the plane when boarding. He said he was cleared to board the plane but was left shaken by the interaction.
“I knew it was wrong,” said Andre, creator of The Eric Andre Show, a stand-up comedian, actor, producer and author. “It was humiliating, dehumanizing and traumatic. Passengers glaring at me like I was the perpetrator as they pass me on this claustrophobic jet bridge. “
Andre’s encounter in April 2021 was the same as another at the same airport by another black comedian, Clayton English, in October 2020.
André and English filed a lawsuit this month against the police, alleging they were targeted for drug tests. according to the complaintTheir attorneys said the agency’s practices discriminate against black travelers who are already licensed by Transportation Security Administration agents.
According to the complaint, the Clayton County Police Department implemented a jet bridge interception program at the airport that was suspended from August 30, 2020 to April 30, 2021.
A total of three seizures resulted from the stop, according to court documents. “About 10 grams (less than the weight of one AAA alkaline battery) of drugs from one passenger, 26 grams (about the weight of four grapes) of ‘suspect his THC gummies’.” Another he from one he took six prescription drugs (allegedly no valid prescription existed) but he from one third.”
Two passengers were charged with having about 10 grams of drugs and pills, the complaint said.
A total of 402 stops were made during that time. If the race was recorded, more than half of the 378 passengers stopped were black.
Clayton County Police declined to comment, citing pending lawsuits. In April 2021, Andre shared his experience on Twitterthe department denied any wrongdoing.
“This type of interaction occurs frequently during the course of our officers’ duties and is supported by the laws of Georgia and the U.S. Constitution,” a 2021 department statement said. Our preliminary research has revealed that Mr. Andre is not racially profiled.
The Atlanta Police Department, not the Clayton County Police Department, is the airport’s primary law enforcement agency, according to a statement from the airport. “APD has a strong drug-interdiction program, but will not be involved in stopping passenger jet bridges unless requested otherwise,” the statement said.
Between September 2020 and April 2021, police seized approximately $1 million from passengers, according to a lawsuit filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Georgia.
Richard Dean, an attorney involved in the lawsuit, said the purpose of the suspension was to seize money and that the suspension was based largely on race.
The lawsuit alleges that police violated constitutional protections against unjustified searches and seizures, as well as the Equal Protection Clause, which guarantees racial equality and prohibits racial discrimination. Barry Friedman, Founding Director of Police Projects at New York Universityand another lawyer.
“We have great concerns about police behavior in the absence of policies, especially democratically explainable policies that guide police discretion,” he said. Press conference of the month“If there is too much discretion, we get what you have here. This is serious racism.”
The drug-interdiction program at the airport began with US Drug Enforcement Administration operations in Detroit in 1975 and expanded to other airports, he said. Beth A. Colgan, Professor of Law, University of California, Los Angeles.
“I think it’s a strong suit,” she said. It will be difficult.”
Civil property confiscation allows law enforcement to seize cash, property or vehicles based on the probable cause that the parties involved are involved in criminal activity, Professor Colgan said. . This is a low standard and people often do not contest the forfeiture because the process of getting their money back is costly and time consuming.
Courts have said they have favored law enforcement in cases of consent rather than coercion. Gloria J. Browne-Marshall, Fellow and Visiting Professor, Harvard Kennedy School.
“People may feel the need to say yes. It’s a compelled sense of giving consent as opposed to the freedom to say no, and not everyone thinks they’re on drugs.” I have a feeling you’d be suspicious,” she said.
Based in Atlanta, Mr. English won NBC’s “Last Comic Standing” contest in 2015 and has headlined clubs, colleges and festivals.
He said he spent a three-and-a-half-hour flight in 2020 wondering what he had done wrong and that he would be arrested upon landing. When the police took his boarding pass and ID and searched his bag, he felt compelled to comply.
“I felt completely helpless,” he said at a press conference. “I felt raped. I felt cornered. I felt like I couldn’t stay on the plane. I did.”
André lives in Los Angeles, but frequently uses the Atlanta airport for work. For fear of repeating last year’s experience, it recently adopted a service that takes passengers directly to the plane after they pass through security.
“It’s not just about me or what I’ve been through,” he said. “It’s about communities that I identify with. Blacks and browns who are discriminated against, treated like second-class citizens, already suspected and treated by their own governments as if they don’t belong in this country.” about the trauma that comes with it.”