Aug 14, 2009  |  By: Staff & Wire Reports  | COMMENTS     

FORT WORTH, Texas (AP) — Two Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission agents who took part in a June police raid on a gay bar failed to report they used force when arresting a patron or that he suffered a serious head injury, according to a report released last week.

Agent Christopher Aller and agent trainee Jason Chapman also are accused of participating in the June 28 raid without their supervisor’s approval, disrupting the business during the raid and wearing improper attire, according to the report obtained by the Associated Press under the Texas Open Records Act.

The investigation found that one of the agents’ supervisors, Sgt. Terry Parsons, failed to ensure the agents submitted a report on using force during the arrest, did not take appropriate action after learning they didn’t wear proper attire during the raid and did not notify supervisors that multiple arrests had been made that night, the report states.

Aller and Chapman have been placed on desk duty pending the investigation’s outcome, and Parsons decided to retire. All three could face disciplinary action ranging from a verbal warning to job termination for numerous policy violations, but no decision has been made on any penalties, agency spokeswoman Carolyn Beck said.

Aller and Chapman accompanied six Fort Worth police officers on a raid of the just opened Rainbow Lounge in what police initially billed as a routine liquor license inspection for a new business. The raid led to several arrests and one patron, Chad Gibson, was hospitalized with a severe head injury he suffered while in the agents’ custody, the agency and police have said.

Gay rights groups have protested the raid and demanded independent investigations, saying the bar was targeted because it catered to a gay clientele. Police have denied the accusation.