Clayton police to end drug search program at Atlanta airport after lawsuit
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Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport on March 28, 2026. Photo: Courtesy of Megan Varner/Getty Images
The Clayton County Police Department has agreed to disband one of its units at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport nearly four years after two comedians alleged the unit coerced passengers to undergo unconstitutional searches.
The latest: Clayton County has settled the lawsuit brought by Eric André and Clayton English, who in 2022 accused officers of using the department's Airport Interdiction Unit to compel passengers — most of whom were people of color — to consent to searches between fall 2020 and spring 2021, lawyers for the two men said Tuesday.
- Along with scrapping the program, Clayton County will outfit all officers stationed at the airport with body cameras.
- Officers will also undergo training on constitutional police encounters at airports.
What they're saying: English said in a press release that what happened to him was wrong and he "wasn't willing to let it happen to other people."
- "We held Clayton County accountable, and now the county has confirmed that the program is gone and new protections are in place to protect travelers’ rights," he said.
Catch up quick: On Oct. 30, 2020, English said, he was walking on the jet bridge to board a flight to Los Angeles when two plainclothes officers emerged and asked if he was carrying any illegal drugs.
- The officers, who also inspected English's ticket and ID, also asked why he was going to LA and how long he would stay and conducted a search of his carry-on bag while other passengers "gawked" at the encounter, he said.
- After he asked what was going on, the officers returned his bag and allowed him to board the flight, the lawsuit said.
Zoom in: André, who lives in LA, said he experienced a similar run-in at the airport.
- On April 21, 2021, he said, he was on the jet bridge to board a flight when he was pulled aside by plainclothes officers who asked if he was carrying illegal drugs and inspected his ID and ticket.
- Neither man was charged with a crime.
The other side: The Clayton County Police Department told Axios it has no comment on the settlement.
The intrigue: Of the 402 documented jet bridge stops made between Aug. 30, 2020, and April 30, 2021, race was recorded for 378 passengers, according to the lawsuit.
- 56% of those passengers were Black and 68% were people of color.
- The lawsuit also noted that the Airport Interdiction Unit reported only three seizures during that period: 10 grams of drugs from one passenger, 26 grams of what were thought to be THC gummies from another, and six prescription pills from the third.
- Only two of those passengers were charged with a crime.