Operation Readi-Rock

In November 1990, the Town of Chapel Hill Police Department led an unconstitutional raid on an entire block of Graham Street. Join Chapel Hill Public Library and Orange County Community Remembrance Coalition, along with eyewitness panelists, for a community conversation about the events of that day.

Moderator: Leoneda Inge, Race and Southern Culture Reporter/Co-Host, "Tested" Podcast

Panelists: 

• Bill Massengale, Criminal Defense Attorney
• Burnice Hackney, Chapel Hill Community Historian
• Carl Fox, retired Superior Court Judge for Orange and Chatham Counties
• Chris Blue, Town of Chapel Hill Chief of Police
• Jessie Alston, Police raid victim
• Jessie McLeod, Police raid victim
• Scott Holmes, Associate Clinical Professor of Law at NC Central University

About Operation Readi-Rock

Beginning at 9:00 p.m. on 16 November 1990, Chapel Hill law enforcement, assisted by the special response team of the State Bureau of Investigation, executed a search warrant on the one hundred block of Graham Street in Chapel Hill. The raid, known as "Operation Readi-Rock, "was conducted to locate and identify a small number of individuals suspected of drug trafficking and culminated from several months of surveillance on Graham Street. In executing the warrant, officers, and agents, many outfitted in camouflage and black masks, surrounded and sealed off the block. According to plaintiffs, they ordered all people congregating on Graham Street and inside a club known as the Village Connection to either lie face down on the floor or stand against a wall with their hands up. During the raid, sixty to one hundred people were searched and detained until one of three detectives who could identify the targets of their search determined they were not one of the individuals being sought. 38 people who were among those searched brought a lawsuit against the Town of Chapel Hill and the individuals who authorized this raid. Many plaintiffs claim they were fully searched during the raid. Many also complained that officers failed to identify themselves, leading them to believe they were being robbed or attacked. Others reported injuries at the hands of officers. All of those detained were African-American and many stated that whites were allowed to leave the area during the raid. During the raid officers seized approximately $700.00 to $2,000.00 in cash, $1,000.00 to $2,000.00 in cocaine, and some weapons. Several arrests were made but none were prosecuted.