Expanded History of the 2010 Dallas Bath House Raid. Updated.
Places it in a larger context and also how the Dallas Voice erased it from history.
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The petition for “Justice for the victims of the 2010 Vice Squad Club Bath raids” is at this link: https://chng.it/YSPVcT5H7p . The petition demands at the end of this post.
The Forgotten Dallas Bath House Raid of 2010, Revised May 2024
On Friday night, from 9:30 pm to 10:15 pm, October 8, 2010 the Dallas Police raided The Club baths on 2616 Swiss Avenue and arrested eleven men. Seven patrons were arrested for public lewdness and three on charges of indecent exposure, and a manager of The Club was charged for interfering with police. The employee was a manager who “refused admittance to uniformed police officers responding to assist the undercover officers.”
The police forced open the door to break into the bathhouse. Two undercover plainclothes detective officers purchased day memberships, rented private rooms, and changed into towels and went into the common areas of The Club to gather evidence, and then called for the additional police to make arrests. The uniformed officers showed up with plastic handcuffs. The patron mentioned by the Dallas Voice as being present at the arrest accused the police of harassment and intimidation and stated that one of the officers said, “I’m going to have nightmares forever after this,” because it was a Gay bathhouse. The patron present also stated that the Fire Marshal showed up the next day for an inspection.[1]
The heroic bathhouse manager hasn’t ever been honored for his resistance against police oppression nor is he recognized as heroic by the Dallas Voice.
The raid was conducted supposedly in response to a citizen complaint on Oct. 5, 2010, according to a statement sent to the Dallas Voice on Oct. 20, 2010 by Laura Martin which is as follows:
On October 5, 2010, the Vice Unit received a complaint from a citizen regarding an alleged sexually oriented business violation at 2616 Swiss Avenue. The citizen stated that the management was renting out rooms for the viewing of adult movies and use as motel rooms. The rooms were allegedly being used for sexual activities.
On October 8, 2010, undercover officers entered the location to investigate the allegations articulated in the citizen complaint. Officers purchased a day membership and entered the location. Officers observed a large number of individuals engaging in sexual activity. These acts were occurring in the public areas of the spa, which include the pool area, hallway, and other common areas.
Ten arrests were made for the Texas Penal Code violations of Public Lewdness and Indecent Exposure. These acts were occurring in a public place. Arrests were not made for the acts taking place in the private rooms. One arrest was made for interference with Public Duties, Peace Officer, when the manager refused admittance to uniformed police officers responding to assist the undercover officers.
As a result of the investigation it was determined the allegations made in the citizen’s complaint were accurate. There has been no vice investigative activity or complaints received at this location in several years.
The Dallas Police Department is charged with the duty of investigating, enforcing, and responding to citizen complaints regarding sexually oriented businesses throughout the city. The Vice Unit is committed to being responsive to community concerns and thus conducts its investigations in an equitable and just manner.[2]
The Club Bath had a one-sentence statement on October 14, 2010 about the raid quoted in the Dallas Voice, 10/14/2010.
The Club Dallas management is committed to pursuing justice for and defending the rights of each of its members.
The Club baths was reported as helping bond out arrested members from jail and offer them legal representation. The same article reports, “Martin, meanwhile, warned that additional police activity at the business is possible,” threatening the Gay community. [3]
Who was the citizen that complained was never revealed by the Dallas Police.[4] The same citizen who complained on Oct. 5, 2023, filed another complaint on Oct. 13, 2023, but The Club baths weren’t raided or visited by the police.[5]
The Dallas Police Dept. official liaison to the Gay community, Martin Lauren, justified the raid and threatened The Club baths with raids in the future in a snide comment. From the Oct. 15, 2010 Dallas Voice article on the raid.
Martin said she believes it marked the first time since 2003 vice officers have gone in to the 34-year-old establishment…
“We’ve done operations in that club since the late 70s. There just hasn’t been one in a while because there hasn’t been a complaint,” Martin said. “They [officers] were in their for a legitimate reason, and obviously there was illegal activity going on or that many arrests wouldn’t have been made.”
And:
“When somebody complains we have to go in, just like when someone calls 911 we have to go to the call,” Martin said. “Now that so much activity was found there, they can probably expect more vice operations there … I’ve certainly never been there, but I’ve that public lewdness does go on in the club. All you have to do is keep your ears open.” [Elision in the original.] [6]
What we learn from this interview is that there have been raids on The Club Baths and was one in 2003. However, review of the Dallas Voice for 2003 and Jan. 2004 using search terms “police” and “arrests” finds no mention of a raid.
There haven’t been any additional raids on The Club baths since Oct. 8, 2010, but at the time Martin was interviewed for this Dallas Voice, Oct, 15, 2010 article she thought that another raid was likely. Given that the unknown citizen complainer had filed a complaint on Oct. 13, 2010, there were people, included the Dallas Police Dept. Vice Dept., who thought that the Oct. 8, 2010 raid was going to be the basis of an ongoing campaign against The Club.
Bizarrely, people thought that the complaint might have come from a member of The Club in Dallas. From a Dallas Voice blog post:
The statement doesn’t specifically say whether the citizen was a Club Dallas member, and Martin declined to confirm this. However, given the details in the complaint about what was going on inside the club, a reasonable person might conclude that it came from a member.[7]
Dallas is home to major homophobic Christian churches and members of homophobic denominations make up a large fraction of the Dallas population. Further, the Mayor of Dallas at the time was Tom Leppert, who was a member of the notoriously homophobic First Baptist Dallas church and involved with its development. He had called the nationally prominent homophobic minister of 1st Baptist, “a good guy.” [7B] Dallas is known as the “Buckle of the Bible Belt.” Leppert resigned as mayor and ran for the U.S. Senate running a campaign which emphasized his anti-Gay stances. [7C]
Homophobic Christian leaders were calling for the shutdown of Gay bathhouses in 2010, as reported by the Dallas Voice itself, July 28, 2010. [7D]
The Dallas Police Department at the time only released records of three of the eleven arrests and said that a Freedom of Information request would need to be filed to get the rest of the records.[8]
The Dallas Voice blog reported Nov. 5, 2010, that Online Editor John Wright did file a freedom of information request #2010-9657, and in response Dallas Assistant City Attorney J. Middlebrooks had written on Nov. 2, 2010 Texas Attorney General for an opinion as to what information they had to supply and what information they could withhold and gave reasons as to why not to supply it.
One very concerning reason by the Dallas Police given is that giving out certain pieces of information would impair their ability to conduct additional bath raids in the future. [9]
(Note the above letter to the Texas Attorney General gives the address of the Club Baths differently than the addresses in The Baths advertisements in 2011 or 2023.)
What were the consequences to the persons arrested isn’t known. When these individuals were arrested and I assume jailed and bailed how long did that take? Did they miss days of work? How did they explain that to their boss? Did they lose their jobs? Was the arrest expunged from their records, or for every job application, which usually has a question about arrests, that they did for the rest of their lives did they have to mention this arrest for lewdness? Did they have to leave Dallas? Did they end up unemployed? Did they end up homeless? What was their experience of this? Did any of them have to get divorced? Did any of them get expelled from their church? Did they lose friends? Did they end up living with angry homophobic relatives? Did they have trouble sleeping? Were their sex lives affected? How was it to worry for months that you might be sent for trial?
The Dallas Voice only had a brief account of one of the persons arrested, stating that he wasn’t out to family and he had to call relatives from jail and explain what happened.[9] What has happened to this particular member since he and the other ten persons arrested were released and the charges dropped isn’t known. Also, it doesn’t seem that anyone has attempted to find out. Though to some extent this might be explained by the Dallas Police Department blocking access to information about the arrests.
Though Dallas County District Attorney Craig Watkins ultimately dismissed all the cases, the Dallas Voice struggled to find out how Watkins was handling the cases.
In a Jan. 19, 2011 Dallas Voice blog the defense attorney for nine of the eleven defendants is David Hill. David Hill reports that the District Attorney is dismissing charges against all eleven men, though charges haven’t been dismissed for two of the defendants. Hill also reports that The Club Dallas has a Dallas City certificate of occupancy indicating it is a private facility. However, the same article states that the District Attorney would only confirm that charges had been dropped for “at least six of the men,” but declined to comment further. The blog entry states:
“Due to the fact that these cases are so closely related, commenting on the dismissed cases would affect the prosecution of the pending case,” Dallas County District Attorney Craig Watkins said in a statement.
Hill declined to say whether it was safe to visit The Club Dallas. [11]
The difficulties in getting information from the District Attorney’s office was reported by the Dallas Morning News regarding their own cases, by the Dallas Voice commenting on the problems that the Dallas Morning News had, and the Dallas Morning News commenting on the problems the Dallas Voice was having.[12]
In the Dallas Voice blog post, “More on Club Dallas,” Jan. 19, 2011, the Dallas Voice expresses frustration on not being told why the charges are being dropped.
It seems as though when the Dallas Police Department goes out of its way to raid a gay bathhouse and arrest 11 people — then the DA’s office declines to prosecute — there ought to be some sort of public explanation.
Defense David Hill says they are being dropped in the interest of justice, but that is his statement and not the official record or statement of the District Attorney, further it isn’t that clear what that means.
Further they report on not getting a response from the Dallas Police Dept. what they think about the District Attorney’s decisions regarding the bathhouse raid charges after contacting Dallas Police Chief David Brown and LGBT liaison officer Laura Martin. [13]
In a Dallas Voice blog post on Jan. 24, 2011, 12:19 they report that over the weekend Laura Martin had responded to their inquiry about what the Dallas Police Dept. thought of the District Attorney dismissing the bathhouse raid charges. The blog post quotes what Lauran Martin had commented on the Dallas Voice Jan. 20, 2011, 7:21 pm post.
“We are in the process of gathering accurate information regarding the facts of the dismissal of the charges against some of the men arrested. We are being asked to make a comment regarding future enforcement at Club Dallas. Due to the large number of arrests, and the fact that several cases are still pending prosecution, we are notable to make that determination at this time. I will continue to update the community when we are able to add to this story.”
Then there is an official statement from the Dallas Police Department Monday afternoon (1/24/2011).
“The Dallas Police Department recently learned that many of the charges involving activities at The Club Dallas in October 2010 were dismissed. The department plans to meet with the Dallas County District Attorney’s Office as soon as possible regarding these cases. The purpose of the meeting is to determine the cause of the dismissals, and to determine what, if any, procedural changes may be needed. An update will be provided following the meeting.[14]
In a Dallas Voice blog post of Feb. 2, 2011, 12:43 pm the count of those dismissed is now seven of the eleven. Three of the men arrested never had charges filed. However, the District Attorney has filed a new charge against one of the eleven men. The blog posts that the latest dismissal was Jan. 27, 2011. The latest charge was filed on Jan. 28, 2011 against one person. The Dallas Voice expresses frustration as to why they can’t find out why a new charge was filed. The Dallas Voice speculates that the new charge protects the District Attorney Watkins from having to comment on the case.[15]
In a Dallas Voice blog post of Feb. 16, 2011, 5:47 pm, it is announced that the District Attorney has “now dismissed or rejected charges against all 11 …” Jamille Bradfield confirmed that 10 of the cases have been dismissed and one charge was rejected. The District Attorney is unavailable for comment. Also, reported is that the Dallas Police Department has “declined to comment on whether they’ll conduct vice operations at Club Dallas or other gay bathhouses in the future.” [16] The subsequent print version of the article didn’t have any additional information. [17]
The Dallas Voice blog post of Feb. 17, 2011, 6:25 pm, reports that District Attorney Craig Watson states “today” (Feb. 17, 2011) dismissed the charges stating:
“Based upon the U. S. Constitution and the applicable Texas statute, the elements of the offense were unprovable,” Watkins said.
Watkins didn’t specify which portion of the Constitution he was referring to, but undoubtedly it’s the right to privacy.
The assertion that it is, “undoubtedly it’s the right to privacy,” is simply a speculation and not necessarily true. In the end Watkins is side stepping the question.[18]
The reporting ends at this point by the Dallas Voice. It is unknown whether the Dallas Police Dept. ever met with the District Attorney and what was the outcome of that meeting. It is unknown if the Dallas Voice ever finally get information from the District Attorney as to why the charges were dropped or other information which was requested. It is unknown whether the Dallas Voice ever finally got all the information they requested from the Dallas Police Department. Nor is it clear that the Dallas Police Department had decided not to raid Gay bath houses in the future.
At this time it is unclear that the City of Dallas would not raid a Gay bathhouse again.
There were no protests and the effort to find out what happened seemed to have stopped. This is despite that this was a raid in the year 2010, when raids of bathhouse were thought to be a thing of the past. This was despite it never was learned who or what was behind it.
Prior to the raid, the Dallas Voice published warnings by Laura Martin in 2007 to not use the city parks and other places for assignations. In 2007 the Dallas Voice has an article, “Cruisers beware: Vice officers are watching,” with a picture of Laura Martin. Martin explains how the arrest process works. Patti Fink, chair of the Dallas Gay and Lesbian Alliance’s Political Action Committee warns the Gay community, “It’s those very stereotypes that, if we could overcome those, really would help to advance our equality.” [18B]
The patrons of The Club baths weren’t out in public places, and still got arrested. As criminal defense attorney Tim Menchu states:
“They didn’t go to the freakin’ park. They’re not out in the mall in the bathrooms. What the hell is wrong with that?” said Menchu, who’s straight.
Article also reported:
Menchu said he once successfully fought indecent exposure charges against five men who were arrested at Midtowne Spa, another gay bathhouse in Dallas. He said it’s hard for prosecutors to argue that the activity is recklessly offensive when all club members typically sign waivers saying they acknowledge it takes place.
In the same article, a person who was present during the raid points out, “There’s real crime going on in the city, and they don’t need to be harassing a private club.” [18C]
Part of the crime in Dallas was attacks on the Gay community as reported in the Dallas Voice. The police were unable to provide protect, but had resources to raid The Club.
This 2010 raid made the 2015 list of 30 infamous raids by The Advocate and has a world historical rank along in a list of raids from the Ariston Bathhouse 1903 in New York City to the BlueBoy in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia in 2016.
https://www.advocate.com/politics/2018/2/02/30-infamous-police-raids-gay-bars-and-bathhouses
The persons behind the raid were never held accountable for terrorizing eleven Gay men.
Contrast this to the response to the police raid of the Rainbow Loung in 2009 in Forth Worth, Texas. Two police officers were fired.
A movie was made. This is the trailer for the “Raid of the Rainbow Lounge.”
You can watch it on Amazon Prime.
https://www.amazon.com/Raid-Rainbow-Lounge-Meredith-Baxter/dp/B06XYHL78F
You can watch on Vimeo for a small rental.
https://vimeo.com/ondemand/raidoftherainbowlounge
Fort Worth has had a human rights commission since 1967, but Dallas doesn’t have a human rights commission and the so-called LGBT leadership in Dallas finds this tolerable.
The raid on the Rainbow Loung is remembered.
https://www.cbsnews.com/texas/news/14-years-since-police-raid-fort-worth-gay-bar/
Three Fort Worth officers were suspended because of the raid.
https://www.nbcdfw.com/news/local/three-officers-suspended-in-rainbow-lounge-raid/1861859/ The Gays in Fort Worth protested. From the above report.
Officers are supposed to write arrest reports by the end of every shift, but in this case their supervisors called them in the next day – after gay groups had launched protests, Halstead said.
Gay bar patrons got compensated for what was done. Dallas Morning News, “Fort Worth to pay $400,000 to Rainbow Lounge patron injured during raid on gay bar.”
There haven’t been any reparations at all for the victims of the 2010 The Club Dallas bath raids, or even an investigation on how their lives were impacted.
The Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission fired three agents and disciplined two others.
https://www.dallasobserver.com/news/tabc-fires-agents-supervisor-involved-in-the-rainbow-lounge-raid-disciplines-two-others-7117695 There was a 32-page report issued. Ed Sebesta has started his struggles with the City of Dallas for information.
There was no penalty or any discipline for those behind the raid on The Club Dallas baths unlike those who conducted a raid on The Rainbow Lounge in Fort Worth.
In both Calgary, Albert, Canada, and Toronto, Ontario, Canada there has been apologies for raids there. No apologies have happened here in Dallas.
https://calgary.citynews.ca/2022/12/12/calgary-goliath-bathhouse-raid-police/
What also is interesting is that while going through the reports, you learn that there were other raids and what happened appears to be lost to history.
In the Dallas Voice blog post of Oct. 14, 2010, 8:42 pm, an attorney Tim Menchu said that when the Dallas Police Dept. raided the Midtowne Spa and arrested five men, he successfully defended them. Laura Martin says that the last time they were at The Club Dallas was in 2003.[14]
How many bath houses have been raided? How many other cases are there we don’t know about where the LGBT have been victimized?
Forgetting the 2010 Bath house raids
With the blog post by the Dallas Voice on Feb. 17, 2011, the reporting stops.
During the period of time from the first report by the Dallas Voice on Oct. 12, 2010 to the last report, Feb. 17, 2011, the bath house raid is neither a cover story or in the table of contents for its print editions. No community organizations are reported protesting or issuing a resolution.
One reason that this would be deemphasized would be that the Dallas Voice didn’t identify as being a Gay publication, but a publication which had lots of Gay readers and aspired for a heterosexual audience.
In discussing the history of the Dallas Voice in a 5/16/2014 article in the Dallas Voice, about when Robert Moore became sole owner of the Dallas Voice in 2001, how Moore conceived of the Dallas Voice is mentioned.
Although not on the editorial side, Moore had a vision for Dallas Voice to reach a more mainstream audience, to push outside of niche advertisers and readers, and to grow the Voice. In 2000, Moore launch Qtexas, a statewide glossy publication that most would call a “bar rag,” with stories about DJs and singers, drag shows and circuit parties, gossip and pictures of pretty boys. In 2004, when the long-running statewide competitor Texas Triangle went on the sales block, he bought it, merged it with Qtexas and created TXT Newsmagazine, which published throughout 2005.
Moore’s vision was to make the Dallas Voice a publication read by heterosexuals, “mainstream audience,” rather than LGBT, “niche … readers,” and marginalizes his Gay readers, by seeing them as a less valued audience. A publication which serves Gay interests is denigrated as a “bar rag.” Further to do this he removes Gay oriented content out of the Dallas Voice into another publication. Front page reporting on a bath house raid, would be a “niche” concern that would make the Dallas Voice too Gay.
The introduction of the same article informs the readers:
(in 1984, virtually no straight people — and some gay people — would be caught dead seen reading a gay newspaper; now, straight readers warmly embrace us). [14B]
The Dallas Voice sees having “straight readers warmly embrace us” is a great accomplishment, and front-page articles about a raid on a bath house and arrests for having sex in a bath house might interfere with getting warmly embraced by straight readers. Not reporting on it at all would mean losing credibility with the Gay community so it is in the Dallas Voice, but it isn’t indicated on the cover of the publication and it isn’t in the table of contents. The subject is dropped once the charges are dropped, and has will be shown, erased from memory by the Dallas Voice.
In a history of the Dallas Voice, “Dallas Voice: A timeline,” published 5/16/2014 to accompany an article “3 Decades of Progress,” about the Dallas Voice, the raid is omitted, while events of lesser importance are included.
For the 2007 the entry is as follows:
Gay businessman Ed Oakley gets into a run-off for Dallas mayor. He loses, but the winner, Tom Leppert, hires a gay man, Chris Heinbaugh, as his chief of staff.
For 2010 the entry is:
Kevin Thomas joins the staff as a graphic artist, and Jesse Arnold comes onboard as office manager.
For 2011 the entry is:
Anti-bullying legislation passes, the first time any pro-gay legislation passes in Texas in a decade.[20]
In an article in the same issue of the Dallas Voice, “The Over 30 Club: Club Dallas,” a history of The Club baths in Dallas is given, and the raid is omitted and the relations with the Dallas Police are supposed to be wonderful.
It also needed cleaning up in another way. Club Dallas has a reputation for illicit drug use, and Smith has teamed with the Dallas Police Department to rehabilitate that image. Signage states clearly that those using — and especially dealing — in drugs will be kicked off the premises. …
“We’ve worked to get that element out of here,” he says. “I’ve [committed] to building bridges — with the Dallas P.D., with Midtowne — to ensure the success of the community.”
The attitude of the Dallas Voice and its Respectability Politics and how it sees Gay bathhouses as somewhat illicit is clear in this article also.
Saturday nights, you can find a local DJ spinning during the after-hours, creating a party atmosphere. And since it is open 24/7 — yep, even on Christmas and Thanksgiving —there’s never a time you can’t go in for a steam, a swim … or, well, let’s face it. A hookup.
It’s the image of a “sex den” that branded many bathhouses with a stigma, and that hasn’t changed. It did, however, get worse for a while. [21]
In a 2019 Dallas Voice article, “Our place in history” the 2010 raid is omitted again.
2009
Agents with the Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission and officers with the Fort Worth Police Department conduct an early-morning raid at the newly-opened Rainbow Lounge bar in Fort Worth on the 40th anniversary of the Stonewall Riots, making headlines around the world.
The Dallas Mayor’s LGBT Task Force is formed.
Dallas Voice celebrates its 25th anniversary. …
2010
The Dallas Way is founded.
Cathedral of Hope’s Interfaith Peace Chapel opens.
2011
Anti-bullying legislation passes in the Texas Legislature.[22]
The 2010 bath house raid is mentioned in a 2016 Dallas Voice article about The Club baths, when a way is found to make the raid not about homophobia and a way is found to blame The Club baths itself for the raid.
In 2010, police raided Club Dallas and arrested 11 people for lewd behavior. District Attorney Craig Watkins ruled that the facility was a private club and threw out all the charges.
But Club Dallas was on the verge of being labeled a nuisance business.
Since then, Smith has worked with police especially in the area of drug enforcement.
“I’ve never viewed the police as an adversary,” Smith said.
He said he’s called LGBT police liaison Laura Martin at 4 a.m. a number of times and she’s been very helpful to him.
“That raid wouldn’t happen now,” Smith said. [23]
During the 2010 Dallas bath house raid, no one was arrested for drugs. Drugs weren’t mentioned in the reporting. Laura Martin wasn’t helpful in 2010, but snide. The Club baths had been visited by police going back to the 1970s.
Since 2016 there has been no reporting in the Dallas Voice about the 2010 bath house raid.
Despite what Laura Martin said after the 2010 bath house raids, she is represented not as adversarial by the Dallas Voice, but a friend, in reporting afterwards and with a picture of her smiling. [24]
What might be called the leadership of the Dallas LGBT have pride in what they call the Dallas Way, unlike the politics of the LGBT then.
An article in D Magazine, “The Pink Mafia,” is about how the leadership in Dallas rejects what they feel is the radical activism of LGBT elsewhere to have a respectability politics in Dallas where they work behind the scenes.
https://www.dmagazine.com/publications/d-magazine/1996/november/the-pink-mafia/
In the article we learn they drive Lexus cars, pin-strip Armani suits, and are the:
The reality is this: Like Dallas itself, Dallas’ gay and lesbian community has a conservative, white-collar, churchgoing, well-connected, white-male core.
And:
Nationally, the gay rights movement has been characterized by a strong Them-vs,-Us attitude. In San Francisco, New York, Miami, even Houston, the approach has been radical, on-the-fringe, in your face, unDallas. Believing “we wouldn’t be successful if we didn’t do it the Dallas way,” as Craig McDaniel says, the Dallas gay and lesbian community has charted a higher course, aligning itself with the city’s mainline establishment. [Italics in the original.]
It is also online at the Univ. of North Texas online collections. It is much preferable to the online article at D Magazine, given the illustrations and also a boxed supplement article, “The Ins and Outs of Gay Power.”
https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc947403/
Until recently Dallas didn’t have its Pride Parade in June, but in September, avoiding association with an unDallas thing like the Stonewall Riots. Dallas doesn’t have a human rights commission; Fort Worth has had one since 1967. The lack of a human rights commission, something found in most cities is a non-agenda item of the local LGBT political groups. The author has reviewed the Dallas ordinance against discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and it is a sham, requiring a lengthy attempt to seek arbitration under the direction of a city official.
As explained by Karen Wisley in her Univ. of North Dallas thesis, “The ‘Dallas Way’ in the Gayborhood,” 2011, there is something called the Dallas Way which previously was the slogan of the Citizens Council which was a powerful body of white men who had run the city of Dallas for decades. Their historical record is appalling, but this is who the leadership of Dallas models itself after. [25]
The LGBTQ archives of Dallas calls itself The Dallas Way, and was founded in 2011. The collective historical memory of the Dallas LGBT+ is still shaped by a powerful group of rich white racist men of the 20th century.
Of course when you have a raid on a Gay bathhouse in 2010, when the last previous one in the United States was in 1983, it has to be asked how successful is the Dallas Way.
The solution has been to erase the raid from history as if it never happening, or if you have to admit it happened, it was a raid about drugs, not homosexuality, and it was the fault of the bath house owners and the Gay men that went there.
Refusal of the City of Dallas to release records.
A Freedom of Information request was made and initially they were going to charge the author $67.50 and when the author mailed in the check by certified post and also paid for the records online with his credit card, the release of the records was then denied.
Refusal of the Dallas District Attorney to release records.
Dallas County District Attorney John Creuzot was written about releasing the District Attorney records for the cases but there has been no response as of 5/6/2024.
2010 Bath house raid posts directory. Links to all the posts about the 2010 Bath house raids here.
FOOTNOTES:
[1] Wright, John, “11 arrested in raid at Club Dallas,” Dallas Voice, Vol. 27 No. 22, 10/15/2010, pages 4, 12; The time range, police comment about “nightmares,” and Fire Marshal visit was reported by a patron who said he was detained while the arrest was made. Dallas Voice blog post, Oct 12, 2010, 12:05pm, https://dallasvoice.com/11-arrested-public-lewdness-charges-raid-club-dallas/, downloaded 12/24/2023; Reasons for arrest of the manager, Dallas Voice blog, “Oct. 20, 2010, 12:53pm, https://dallasvoice.com/dpd-complaint-led-raid-club-dallas-citizen/, downloaded 12/24/2023; forcing open the door, and specific details about the uncover police officers, and breakdown of charges, Wright, John, “Rare bathhouse raid sparked controversy,” Dallas Voice, Vol. 27 No. 33, Dec. 31, page 14. This article reports that they have obtained information through a reply by the Dallas Police Dept. of their freedom of information request.
Details of the raid and arrests were spread over several articles and blog posts and this report is assembling them into a more coherent report. Some of the information the Dallas Voice didn’t have until they got a response to their freedom of information request. The address of The Club baths was different than it is now. This was the address as advertised in the Dallas Voice, Vol. 27 No. 21, 10/8/2010, page 53. Whether the property had more than one legal address and if so, which was the address they were doing for legal filings at the time isn’t known. Currently The Club has as its advertised address 2614 Swiss Avenue. Dallas Voice Market Place Directory, https://dallasvoice.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/108-2022_OUT.pdf, on page 131. Downloaded 12/30/2023.
The Dallas Voice print issues can be found here at the Portal to Texas history, https://texashistory.unt.edu/explore/collections/DALVO/. The blog posts which are still online were all saved at the Internet archive.
https://archive.org/
[2] Wright, John, “InstaTEA: Complaint in bathhouse raid came from citizen, DPD, says,” Dallas Voice, Vol. 27 No. 23, Oct. 22, 2010, page 4.
[3] Dallas Voice blog, Oct. 14, 2010, 8:42pm, https://dallasvoice.com/11-arrested-raid-club-dallas/, downloaded 12/29/2023.
[4] Dallas Voice blog, https://dallasvoice.com/11-arrested-raid-club-dallas/, Oct. 14, 2010, 8:42pm, downloaded 12/29/2023. The citizen who made the complaint wasn’t revealed in any of the Dallas Voice reports on the raid. D Magazine, Dallas Observer, and Dallas Morning News didn’t report on the raid. Who the citizen was hasn’t been reveal by the City of Dallas nor discovered by anyone else. The author has sent in a Freedom of Information request for information concerning the raid.
[5] Wright, John, “Rare bathhouse raid sparked controversy,” Dallas Voice, Vol. 27 No. 33, Dec. 31, 2010, page 14.
[6] Wright, John, “11 arrested in raid at Club Dallas,” Dallas Voice, Vol. 27 No. 22, 10/15/2010, pages 4, 12.
[7] Dallas Voice blog, Oct. 20, 2010, 12:53 pm, https://dallasvoice.com/dpd-complaint-led-raid-club-dallas-citizen/, downloaded 12/29/2023.
[7B] From the Dallas Morning News: Hodges, Sam, “First Baptist has $130M building plan,” 11/2/2009, page 1A, calls Jeffress “good guy”; “Flock pledges #115 million to revamp First Baptist,” Young, Michael E., 5/17/2010, page 1; “Downtown implosions Saturday,” Clark, Cassie, 10/29/2010, page B3.
[7C] From the Dallas Morning News: “Leppert leads with his right,” Jeffers, Gromer Jr., 3/1/2011, page B2; “Oakley: Leppert abandoned gays,” Hoppe, Christy, 4/20/2021, page B1.
[7D] No author, “‘Pro-family activist,’ calls on Obama to close bathhouses to stop the spread of AIDS,” 7/28/2010, https://dallasvoice.com/pro-family-activist-calls-on-obama-to-close-bathhouses-to-stop-the-spread-of-aids/, downloaded 12/29/2023.
[8] Wright, John, “11 arrested in raid at Club Dallas,” Dallas Voice, Vol. 27 No. 22, 10/15/2010, pages 4, 12.
[9] Dallas Voice blog, Nov. 5, 2010, 11:35 pm., https://dallasvoice.com/city-asks-ags-office-release-records-related-raid-clubdallas/, downloaded 12/29/2023.
[10] Dallas Voice blog, Oct. 14, 2010, 8:42pm, https://dallasvoice.com/11-arrested-raid-club-dallas/, downloaded 12/29/2023.
[11] Dallas Voice blog, Jan. 19, 2011, 12:45 pm, https://dallasvoice.com/attorney/, downloaded 12/29/2023.
[12] Emily, Jennifer, “DA forbids prosecutors from speaking to media,” Dallas Morning News, Jan. 18, 2011, page B03; Dallas Voice blog, Jan. 19, 2011, 10:02 am, https://dallasvoice.com/club-dallas-2/, downloaded 12/24/2023; Emily, Jennifer, “The DMN isn’t the only media outlet having trouble getting information from the Dallas County District Attorney’s office,” Dallas Morning News, https://www.dallasnews.com/news/crime/2011/01/19/the-dmn-isn-t-the-only-media-outlet-having-trouble-getting-information-from-the-dallas-county-district-attorney-s-office/, downloaded, 12/29/2023, respectively.
[13] Dallas Voice blog, Jan. 19, 2011, 10:02 am, https://dallasvoice.com/club-dallas-2/, downloaded 12/24/2023.
[14] Dallas Voice blog, Jan. 20, 2011, 12:19 pm, https://dallasvoice.com/dpd-determination-future-enforcement-club-dallas/, downloaded, 12/29/2023.
[15] Dallas Voice blog, Feb. 2, 2011, 12:43 pm, https://dallasvoice.com/das-office-file-case-avoid-talking-club-dallas-issue/, downloaded, 12/29/2023.
[16] Dallas Voice blog, Feb. 16, 2011, 5:47 pm, https://dallasvoice.com/das-office-confirms-charges-dismissed-rejected-11-club-dallas-cases/,
[17] Wright, John, “Club Dallas cases closed,” Dallas Voice, Vol. 27 No. 40, Feb. 18, 2011, page 4.
[18] Dallas Voice blog, Feb. 17, 2011, 6:25 pm, https://dallasvoice.com/da-craig-watkins-issues-statement-dismissal-charges-stemming-club-dallas-raid/, downloaded, 12/29/2023.
[18B] Wright, John, “Recent case involving prominent gay Democrat illustrates consequences associated with public lewdness arrest,” Dallas Voice, 7/12/2007, https://dallasvoice.com/cruisers-beware-vice-officers-are-watching/, downloaded 12/29/2023.
[18C] Wright, John, “11 arrested in raid at Club Dallas,” Dallas Voice, 10/14/2010, https://dallasvoice.com/11-arrested-raid-club-dallas/, downloaded 12/29/2023.
[19] Dallas Voice blog, Oct. 14, 2010, 8:42 pm, https://dallasvoice.com/11-arrested-raid-club-dallas/, downloaded 12/29/2023.
[20] Jones, Arnold Wayne, “3 decades of progress,” Dallas Voice, 5/16/2014, https://dallasvoice.com/3-decades-progress/, downloaded 12/29/2023.
[21] Jones, Arnold Wayne, “The Over 30 Club: Club Dallas,” Dallas Voice, 5/16/2014, https://dallasvoice.com/30-club-club-dallas/, downloaded 12/29/2023.
[22] No author, “Our place in history,” Dallas Voice, 5/10/2019, https://dallasvoice.com/our-place-in-history/, downloaded 12/29/2023.
[23] Taffet, David, “Club Dallas celebrates 42 years in business,” Dallas Voice, 8/5/2016, https://dallasvoice.com/club-dallas-celebrates-42-years-business/, downloaded 12/28/2023.
[24] For example: Dallas Voice: No Author, “DPD’s gay liaison moves to Northwest Division, where she can keep a close eye on Oak Lawn,” 5/29/2011, https://dallasvoice.com/laura-martin/, downloaded 12/29/2023; No author, “Laura Martin is now a senior corporal,” 12/12/2011, https://dallasvoice.com/lgbt-liaision-laura-martin-promoted-senior-corporal-receiving-highest-score-400-officers-test/, downloaded 12/29/2023; No author, “DPD details stepped-up efforts in Oak Lawn,” 11/20/2015, https://dallasvoice.com/dpd-details-stepped-up-efforts-oak-lawn/, downloaded 12/29/2023.
[25] Wisely, Karen S., “The ‘Dallas Way’ in the Gayborhood the creation of a Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Community,” thesis, Univ. of North Texas, August 2011.
Please sign our petition.
Justice for the victims of the 2010 Vice Squad Club Bath raids.
Link to the petition. https://chng.it/tGXrYkTtTQ
We demand the following.
1. An apology be issued by the City of Dallas Police Dept.
2. There be a full release of the records about the raid on The Club Dallas bathhouse, and the citizens’ complaints about The Club Dallas on Oct. 5, and Oct. 13.
3. Reparations for those arrested at The Club Dallas baths on Oct. 8, 2010.
4. A historical commission to investigate all raids on LGBT establishments by Dallas Police and to propose reparations.
5. Explicit policies to prevent raids in the future.
6. A human rights commission for Dallas with advisory boards for different groups including an LGBT advisory board.
