Comedians Eric André and Clayton English have reached a settlement with Clayton County, Georgia, regarding a lawsuit that challenged a police interdiction program at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport. Legal representatives for the two men announced the resolution on Tuesday, following a legal claim originally filed in October 2022. The settlement includes a financial payment and the permanent termination of the law enforcement program in question.
The lawsuit alleged that André and English were unlawfully stopped and racially profiled by Clayton County officers during separate encounters six months apart. Both men stated they were singled out because they were Black and were questioned about drugs in view of other passengers while preparing to board flights. The operation was intended to combat drug trafficking, but the lawsuit claimed it resulted in coercive searches and disproportionately targeted Black travelers.
As part of the settlement, the Clayton County Board of Commissioners authorized a $30,000 payment to be split equally between André and English, according to minutes from an August 4 meeting. Although the agreement contains no admission of fault or liability, the county has permanently shut down the airport program. Additionally, the county agreed to require police officers assigned to the airport to wear body-worn cameras and undergo training on the constitutional limits of police encounters in airport settings.
The scale of the program's financial impact was also detailed in the legal filings. While the 402 stops resulted in only three drug seizures and two sets of charges, they yielded over $1 million in cash and money orders from 25 passengers. Only two of those individuals were charged with crimes. For a typical passenger among those 25, the average seizure amounted to approximately $40,000. Before the program was ended, eight individuals had challenged these confiscations, which resulted in the police department settling and returning the majority of the funds in every instance.
The resolution sets a precedent for how local law enforcement agencies conduct searches within federal airport facilities and emphasizes the use of body-worn cameras to document interactions. By requiring specific constitutional training for officers, the settlement establishes new protocols for police conduct during traveler encounters. The program is now permanently closed and county authorities stated they have no intention of reviving it. A county spokesperson did not provide additional comment on the settlement as of Tuesday.