Carlos Campos, an APD spokesperson, said in a statement that it was an “honest mistake based on a communication failure,” but Woolard expressed doubts about that. At least one event was hosted as part of Black Gay Pride. “It is clear that the officers failed to exercise sound judgement by choosing to ignore the city ordinance extending the allowable hours of operation on Labor Day and dismissed the objections of business owners who carried physical copies of the ordinance in their hand.”Ītlanta police forced TEN, Blake’s on the Park, 10th and Piedmont and G’s Midtown were to end events, despite having permits that allowed them to operate past normal closing hours. “I was deeply disturbed to learn that Atlanta Police Department officers chose to force several gay bars to close nearly two hours early on Labor Day as people celebrated Black Gay Pride weekend,” Woolard said.
Woolard issued a statement Tuesday afternoon following media reports about the early Monday morning incident. Atlanta mayoral candidate Cathy Woolard – the former Atlanta City Council president and first openly LGBT elected official in Georgia – is expressing doubts about the Atlanta Police Department’s claim that the early closure of four gay bars during Black Gay Pride was a “miscommunication.”
