Comedians Eric André and Clayton English settle lawsuit over drug search program at Atlanta airport

Comedians Eric André and Clayton English settle lawsuit over drug search program at Atlanta airport 1 of 2 | Comedian Eric André, right, speaks at a news conference outside the federal courthouse in Atlanta on Oct. 11, 2022, as his attorneys Allegra Lawrence-Hardy, left, and Richard Deane watch. (AP Photo/Kate Brumback, File) 2 of 2 | Comedians Clayton English, center, and Eric André, right, speak with their attorney, Allegra Lawrence-Hardy, outside the federal courthouse in Atlanta on Oct. 11, 2022. (AP Photo/Kate Brumback, File) 1 of 2 | Comedian Eric André, right, speaks at a news conference outside the federal courthouse in Atlanta on Oct. 11, 2022, as his attorneys Allegra Lawrence-Hardy, left, and Richard Deane watch. (AP Photo/Kate Brumback, File) 1 of 2 Comedian Eric André, right, speaks at a news conference outside the federal courthouse in Atlanta on Oct. 11, 2022, as his attorneys Allegra Lawrence-Hardy, left, and Richard Deane watch. (AP Photo/Kate Brumback, File) Add AP News on Google Add AP News as your preferred source to see more of our stories on Google. Share 2 of 2 | Comedians Clayton English, center, and Eric André, right, speak with their attorney, Allegra Lawrence-Hardy, outside the federal courthouse in Atlanta on Oct. 11, 2022. (AP Photo/Kate Brumback, File) 2 of 2 Comedians Clayton English, center, and Eric André, right, speak with their attorney, Allegra Lawrence-Hardy, outside the federal courthouse in Atlanta on Oct. 11, 2022. (AP Photo/Kate Brumback, File) Add AP News on Google Add AP News as your preferred source to see more of our stories on Google. Share Updated [hour]:[minute] [AMPM] [timezone], [monthFull] [day], [year] Atlanta (AP) — Comedians Eric André and Clayton English have reached a settlement in a lawsuit they filed challenging a police program at the Atlanta airport that they said used racial profiling and coercive searches just as airline passengers, particularly Black passengers, were about to board their flights.The lawsuit, originally filed in October 2022, alleged that the two men were racially profiled and illegally stopped by Clayton County police at Atlanta-international-airport" class="entity-link entity-location" data-entity-id="16281" data-entity-type="location">Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport. The pair’s lawyers announced the settlement agreement Tuesday, saying the county publicly confirmed that it has ended the program at issue.Both men said officers at the airport singled them out because they were Black and grilled them about drugs while other passengers watched during separate stops about six months apart. In an interview when the lawsuit was filed, André called the experience “dehumanizing and demoralizing.” The stated purpose of the program was to fight drug trafficking, but the lawsuit said drugs are rarely found, criminal charges seldom result, and seized cash provides a financial windfall for the police department.“It’s a major victory that Clayton County has confirmed that it has ended this program and is now taking steps to prevent this type of abuse from happening in the future,” André said in a press release.