Comedians Eric André and Clayton English are suing Clayton County, Georgia, police following separate incidents of alleged racial profiling at Atlanta’s Hartsfield-Jackson airport.
The complaint, filed on Oct. 11, 2022, alleges that André was singled out on the jet bridge and was questioned about drugs on his way home from Los Angeles on April 21, 2021, while White passengers were allowed to take their seats on the plane.
During a news conference on the morning of Oct. 11, André said it was “humiliating and dehumanizing” when the officers questioned him.
“I was the only person of color on the jet bridge at the time,” André said. “They singled me out. They asked me if I was selling drugs, transporting drugs, what kind of drugs I have on me. It was clearly racial profiling.”
The lawsuit also says that English was stopped as he was flying to Los Angeles from Atlanta for work on Oct. 30, 2020. Police officers blocked him as he entered the jet bridge, and asked him if he had illegals drugs as they examined his boarding pass and ID. English says they asked to search to his bag and he consented to it, since he didn’t realize he had the option to refuse.
“I felt completely powerless,” English said during the news conference. “I felt violated. I felt cornered. I felt like I had to comply if I wanted everything to go smoothly.”
The lawsuit says that André and English are seeking a declaration that the Clayton County police’s jet bridge interdiction program is unconstitutional.
