Comedian Eric André WILL be able to sue over 'dehumanizing' search by cops at airport

Daily Mail​

2 days ago

Happy Gilmore 2 actor Eric André has received good news in a lawsuit he's involved in against Clayton County, Georgia over a 2021 incident at an Atlanta airport.
The American actor-comedian, 42, and fellow entertainer Clayton English, 43, said in a legal complaint officers with the Clayton County Police Department breached their rights in separate incidents - André's in April 2021 and English's in October 2020.
Both of the plaintiffs, who are Black, claimed in their complaint that race factored into why they were illegally stopped at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport, according to legal docs reviewed by the Daily Mail.
In each instance, André and English told the court that they were making their way through jet bridges connecting them to Los Angeles-bound Delta planes when police stopped them.
The case was thrown out of court nearly two years ago in Atlanta, but on Friday, the United States Court of Appeals for the 11th circuit revived it.
Daily Mail has reached out to André's publicists for further comment on the story.
The court ruled on Friday that André and English had their rights violated by the county, in terms of not having to deal with searches and seizures that do not have proper cause behind them.
The appeals court threw out the racial discrimination claim filed by English and André, who formerly dated Blurred Lines beauty Emily Ratajkowski.
An attorney for the entertainers, Barry Friedman, spoke about the latest development with The Atlanta Journal-Constitution on Tuesday.
Friedman said that he looks forward 'to returning to the trial court to learn even more about the Clayton County Police Department's unconstitutional jet bridge stop program.'
At the time of the incident, André said he was in line for his flight when the officers asked for his consent to search his person, which he declined.
This past March, Clayton County attorneys said that both André and English had consented to voluntary searches. The lawyers noted that neither man was detained, as they both were able to board their flights to California with their identification cards and airline boarding passes.
The appeals court ruled that 'common sense and the Supreme Court both refute this theory,' as the 'plaintiffs' paths were blocked by officers, the officers held onto plaintiffs' IDs and boarding passes during questioning.
The court noted that 'the officers did not inform plaintiffs of the voluntary nature of the questioning or that plaintiffs were free to leave until after officers finished their questioning.'
The American actor-comedian and fellow entertainer Clayton English said in a legal complaint officers with the Clayton County Police Department breached their rights in separate incidents - André's in April 2021 and English's in October 2020. The airport pictured in 2014
André took to Twitter to detail the harrowing experience, eventually alerting then-Vice President Kamala Harris and then-Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms to what had happened to him.
'I was just racially profiled by two plain clothes Atlanta PD police in @Delta terminal T3 at the Atlanta airport,' he wrote, tagging Atlanta Police.
André continued: 'They stopped me on the way down the bridge to the plane for a "random" search and asked they could search me for drugs. I told them no. Be careful.'
Andre said that he was the only 'person of color' who had been in the airport line when he was confronted.
The Bad Trip actor wrote: 'They let me go. I'm on the plane in the air. I'm fine now but I want this reported. Please any Atlanta lawyer reach out to me. @KeishaBottoms #racialprofiling #jimcrowgeorgia terminal T3 Atlanta airport.'
Bottoms replied to Andre's tweet, informing him that the incident had not taken place in the purview of the Atlanta police.
'Sorry to hear about your experience,' Bottoms said. 'It's my understanding that this was not APD, but another one of the many agencies working in the airport. We are working to confirm.'
The Atlanta Police Department said on social media that it was not the agency that was involved in the incident with the actor-comic.
'The Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport is somewhat unique in that multiple law enforcement agencies operate there,' the department said. 'It appears this incident involved members of another agency.
'Additionally, members of APD's Airport Drug Interdiction Unit do not randomly approach travelers and ask to search them. Searches are conducted based on some type of evidence or indication of criminal activity.'
The Clayton County Police Department at the time issued a statement acknowledging it was their agency that had stopped Andre, claiming he had consented to speak with the officers and let them search his belongings.
'On April 21, 2021, the Clayton County Police Department made a consensual encounter with a male traveler, later identified as Eric Andre, as he was preparing to fly to California from the Atlanta Airport,' the statement read. 'Mr. Andre chose to speak with investigators during the initial encounter.
'During the encounter, Mr. Andre voluntarily provided the investigators information as to his travel plans.
Clayton County officials continued, 'Mr. Andre also voluntarily consented to a search of his luggage but the investigators chose not to do so. Investigators identified that there was no reason to continue a conversation and therefore terminated the encounter.
'Mr. Andre boarded the plane without being detained and continued on his travels. The Drug Enforcement Administration and the Atlanta Police Department did not assist in this consensual encounter.'
Andre called the statement 'sad and full of misinformation' and denied that he gave officers consent to search him and said he was 'detained ... with no probable cause except for racism.'
'I did NOT volunteer to a search and I did not volunteer to talk,' Andre said on Twitter. 'You guys flashed your badge and detained me with no probable cause except for racism. This is JIM CROW RACISM @ClaytonCountyPD I DID NOT VOLUNTEER TO A SEARCH. YOU ARE HARASSING ME. THIS IS RACISM! @KeishaBottoms.'