Last weekend, five black youths were video taped beating a white youth. (You can view the video here but let me warn you that it is very graphic.) The comparisons to the Jena 6 case will no doubt be made. The investigation is not yet complete but Norfolk Police, at this point, believe the attack was not racially motivated. They released a statement yesterday in connection with the announcement that charges had been brought against the five, who are all juveniles:
Investigators have determined that a non-race related altercation took place prior to the assault. Investigators believe that this earlier altercation escalated to the assault caught on videotape. Investigators have further determined that this incident was not gang-related in nature.
I don’t know what is going on here, having no other information other than what has been produced in the newspaper. Some folks have claimed it was a racist attack, while the police has almost from the beginning said it is not. Now, I’m not one to necessarily believe everything I read, mainly because I know how sensitive the City of Norfolk is on issues of race, not to mention the City’s desire to minimize anything bad that goes on in Ocean View. If this was a racist attack, it should be treated as such and the perpetrators punished accordingly.
But wait. In her column today, Virginian-Pilot writer Kerry Dougherty urges us to sit tight until the facts come out.
The public would be wise to hold its fire. Details may emerge in the courtroom to explain what happened before the teenage cameraman hit the “record” button, [Norfolk Police spokesman Chris] Amos said.
Let’s hope so. Because something about this case doesn’t pass the smell test.
Maybe it was the camera running the whole time. Or the giggling voice in the background.
This budding Quentin Tarantino was on “Hannity & Colmes” Tuesday night.
“It was supposed to be a funny one-on-one fight between two friends,” the kid told host Sean Hannity. “… A friendly fight.”
The boys planned to post the staged tape on MySpace or YouTube, he said.
If this was a staged fight, then it is a horse of a totally different color. (Of course, that’s not the story that the kid told the Norfolk Police, according to Doughtery.)
So I’m taking Dougherty’s advice here and sitting tight until more details emerge.
VIVIAN J. PAIGE | All Politics is Local 
Vivian Paige and Kerry Dougherty, two peas in a pod.
I believe Armageddon is upon us.
People should *definitely* go watch the video. I’ll take bets on everyone involved being friends, and this being the brainiac move typical of 15 year old kids.
(Also, though I’m less certain about this, I didn’t see one actual hard hit (i.e., everything clearly looked like screwing around) until the kick to the head near the end. Which is what I’m guessing took this from being a joke to the kid getting pissed (which, of course, is par for the course)).