Lawsuit revealed Clayton County police's airport jet-bridge unit disproportionately stopped Black travelers, seized over $1M in cash
A federal lawsuit filed October 11, 2022, against Clayton County, Georgia, revealed that the county police department's airport "jet bridge interdiction" unit had disproportionately stopped Black travelers at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport. Drawing on open-records data, the suit found that of 402 documented jet-bridge stops between August 2020 and April 2021, 56% fell on Black passengers -- versus roughly 8% of U.S. air travelers nationally -- while the program produced only three drug seizures against more than $1 million in cash and money orders seized. After a district court dismissal was partly reversed on appeal, Clayton County settled the lawsuit for $30,000 on August 18, 2026, confirming the program had already been terminated.