Comedian Eric Andre alleged that he was racially profiled by police officers at Atlanta Hartsfield–Jackson International Airport where he says he was stopped and searched for drugs.
“@Atlanta_Police I was just racially profiled by two plain clothes Atlanta PD police in @Delta terminal T3 at the Atlanta airport,” he tweeted. “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.”
@Atlanta_Police “I was just racially profiled by two plain clothes Atlanta PD police in @Delta terminal T3 at the Atlanta airport. 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.
— Eric Andre (@ericandre) April 21, 2021
He later tweeted that he was able to get on the plane but wants answers from Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms.
“They let me go. I’m on the plane in the air. I’m fine now but I want this reported,” Andre said in another tweet. “Please any Atlanta lawyer reach out to me. @KeishaBottoms #racialprofiling #jimcrowgeorgia terminal T3 Atlanta airport.”
The APD denied any involvement: “Once APD learned of
@ericandre’s complaint, we began investigating & learned APD was NOT involved. Multiple law enforcement agencies operate from @ATLairport & this involved another agency. APD does not randomly search travelers without evidence/indication of criminal activity,” they tweeted in response.
Once APD learned of @ericandre's complaint, we began investigating & learned APD was NOT involved. Multiple law enforcement agencies operate from @ATLairport & this involved another agency. APD does not randomly search travelers without evidence/indication of criminal activity. pic.twitter.com/f3cbqB36yt
— Atlanta Police Department (@Atlanta_Police) April 21, 2021
Responding to @ericandre tweet this afternoon. pic.twitter.com/seRJPszHFi
— Atlanta Airport (@ATLairport) April 22, 2021