The ACLU of Georgia, along with a wide range of groups and individuals – including several high-ranking current and former law enforcement officials; a group of prominent Black actors and directors including Tyler Perry, Jamie Foxx, Taraji P. Henson, Sterling K. Brown, and Jean Elie; several empirical scholars; the Cato Institute; the NAACP Legal Defense Fund; and the Institute for Justice – have filed amicus briefs in support of Erice André and Clayton English in their lawsuit alleging a program of racial discrimination and unconstitutional jet bridge stops by the Clayton County Police Department (“CCPD”) at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport.
This case is being led by The Policing Project at NYU School of Law, the global law firm Jones Day, the law firm Lawrence & Bundy, and Canfield Law LLC.
Through their counsel, Mr. André and Mr. English filed their lawsuit in October 2022, after both men were profiled and unlawfully stopped in nearly identical incidents several months apart. The officers singled out Mr. André and Mr. English—who were not suspected of any criminal conduct—on the jet bridge as they were attempting to board their flights, blocked them from continuing down the jet bridge, interrogated them about their travels, and peppered them with questions about whether they were carrying illegal drugs.
Legal documents from the case, including all amicus briefs, are available on the Policing Project's case page.