ATLANTA (AP) – Owners of a gay bar in Atlanta claim police unfairly targeted the business and mistreated customers during a late-night raid.

Several customers at Atlanta Eagle told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution they were harassed and witnesses said they were forced to the ground and frisked during the raid Thursday night.

“Our problem is with the way our customers were treated,” said one of the Eagle’s owners, Richard Ramey.

Eight employees of the bar were arrested around 11:30 p.m. and charged with providing adult entertainment without a city permit.

The raid involved more than a dozen police officers, including some in plain clothes.

Atlanta police released a statement Friday evening saying the city “received several complaints with descriptive information about alleged criminal conduct at the Atlanta Eagle Club located at 306 Ponce De Leon.”

The statement acknowledged “allegations of improper behavior by police officers conducting the investigation” but said no official complaints have been filed.

Eagle co-owner Robert Kelley was among those arrested Thursday, and six of the eight remained behind bars until late Friday afternoon. A judge set bail for them after two Atlanta City Council candidates, Miguel Gallegos and Shelitha Robertson, intervened.

Danni Lynn Harris, Atlanta Police’s liaison to the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgendered community, said the raid was a result of a tip sent to Mayor Shirley Franklin’s office alleging “illicit sex” at The Eagle.

Harris said no drugs were found, and none of those arrested face narcotics charges. The officer said several complaints have been made by people saying they received verbal abuse with “anti-gay overtones.”

A series of rallies opposing the raid have already been organized, including one Friday night and another planned for Saturday at 5 p.m.

Ramey, who said The Eagle has never had trouble with police before, said he may pursue legal action following the raid.

“How can I just sit here and let them get away with doing this to my customers?” he said.