Eric André and Clayton English Reach Landmark Settlement Confirming End of Controversial Airport Policing Program in Atlanta
The Clayton County Police Department confirms it has ended its controversial airport interdiction program at Atlanta’s Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport and agrees to reforms designed to protect travelers' constitutional rights.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
August 18, 2026
Media Contact: Josh Gordon, Policing Project at NYU School of Law, press@policingproject.org, (217) 801-2009
Atlanta, GA — Four years after entertainers Eric André and Clayton English filed a federal lawsuit challenging a program of coercive and discriminatory policing at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport, the Policing Project at NYU School of Law and lead counsel Jones Day announced a landmark settlement with the Clayton County Police Department. Canfield Law LLC and Krevolin & Horst LLC served as co-counsel.
For the first time, the Clayton County Police Department has publicly confirmed that it has ended the airport interdiction program at the center of the lawsuit—a program through which Clayton County police officers targeted hundreds of travelers for encounters without reasonable suspicion, including Mr. André and Mr. English.
"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,” said plaintiff Eric André.
"What happened to me was wrong, and I wasn’t willing to let it happen to other people," said plaintiff Clayton English. "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."
As part of the settlement, the County has also agreed to require all Clayton County Police Department officers assigned to the airport to wear body-worn cameras and to receive training on the constitutional limits governing police encounters in airports, including the standards articulated by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit in its 2025 decision in this case.
"This settlement is exactly the kind of outcome that Jones Day's Constitutional Policing and Civil Justice Reform Initiative was created to achieve — ending policing practices that unfairly target individuals and securing meaningful and lasting reforms that protect the rights of all,” said Rick Deane, retired Jones Day partner and overall team leader. “The airport interdiction program demanded resolution, and our goal from the outset was to bring it to an end. Janine Metcalf led our trial team with tenacity and precision. Her ability to marshal the facts and deliver a result of this magnitude is a testament to her extraordinary skill as a litigator and her commitment to our clients."
Originally filed in October 2022, the lawsuit alleged that both men were unlawfully profiled and stopped in nearly identical incidents several months apart as part of a program operated by Clayton County police’s “Airport Interdiction Unit.”
In August 2025, the plaintiffs won an important appellate victory when the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit held that the complaint plausibly alleged violations of the Fourth Amendment, allowing the case to proceed. The appeal drew broad bipartisan support through amicus briefs filed by actors and entertainers including Tyler Perry, Jamie Foxx, Taraji P. Henson, Sterling K. Brown, and Jean Elie; current and former law enforcement officials; the Institute for Justice; the Cato Institute; and the NAACP Legal Defense Fund.
“Today’s settlement is a major victory for constitutional rights and public safety,” said Barry Friedman, founder and faculty director of the Policing Project at NYU Law. “The data we have shows our clients and many others were singled out for unconstitutional stops because of their race. This happens often when officers are encouraged to stop individuals, receive inadequate training, and have too much discretion. Public safety and democratic legitimacy both depend on police exercising their authority in a manner that is lawful, transparent, and worthy of public trust.”
For more information, including legal documents from the case, appellate briefs and amicus briefs, visit our case page.
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The Policing Project at NYU School of Law promotes public safety through transparency, equity, and democratic engagement. Learn about the Policing Project at www.policingproject.org.