The Levon Jones Incident ...
This continues our consideration of a recent article from the Los Angeles Times entitled "Big Easy Is Uneasy After Death of Black Clubgoer."
"We have the illusion of assimilation," Lee said. "The reality is that we have a strong undercurrent of social and racial tension in this community. It's always on the verge of erupting, and any incident could set it off. Levon Jones was one."
Early on the morning of Dec. 31, Jones, a senior at Georgia Southern University visiting New Orleans for an annual flag football tournament, tried to enter Razzoo Bar & Patio with a friend and teammate, Anthony Williams.
There was a crowd outside guarded by half a dozen bouncers — large, strong men, black and white, known in the French Quarter for their confrontational style. Williams was denied entry — why is unclear — and an argument broke out. When Jones tried to intervene, three bouncers pinned him to the ground.
A passerby captured the altercation on video and gave the tape to local television stations, which aired it repeatedly this spring. The tape, and an ensuing investigation, show that as New Orleans police officers stood nearby, one bouncer held Jones' legs, another sat on his back and a third held him in a headlock. The coroner said Jones, who was legally drunk with a blood-alcohol level of 0.12, suffocated.
Jones' family has filed a wrongful-death lawsuit against the club, seeking unspecified damages and claiming that race was a factor in the incident. The bouncers have been charged with negligent homicide and freed on bond. They have not entered pleas.
The club said its employees acted appropriately and said Jones and Williams assaulted the bouncers.
"Uninformed accusers who do not know us, and who are blindly crying racism against Razzoo and its staff, do not serve the cause of racial justice, because their emotion-driven accusations are based on a foundation of sand and not on fact," said Razzoo lawyer Steve Witman.
Next time we will conclude.
"We have the illusion of assimilation," Lee said. "The reality is that we have a strong undercurrent of social and racial tension in this community. It's always on the verge of erupting, and any incident could set it off. Levon Jones was one."
Early on the morning of Dec. 31, Jones, a senior at Georgia Southern University visiting New Orleans for an annual flag football tournament, tried to enter Razzoo Bar & Patio with a friend and teammate, Anthony Williams.
There was a crowd outside guarded by half a dozen bouncers — large, strong men, black and white, known in the French Quarter for their confrontational style. Williams was denied entry — why is unclear — and an argument broke out. When Jones tried to intervene, three bouncers pinned him to the ground.
A passerby captured the altercation on video and gave the tape to local television stations, which aired it repeatedly this spring. The tape, and an ensuing investigation, show that as New Orleans police officers stood nearby, one bouncer held Jones' legs, another sat on his back and a third held him in a headlock. The coroner said Jones, who was legally drunk with a blood-alcohol level of 0.12, suffocated.
Jones' family has filed a wrongful-death lawsuit against the club, seeking unspecified damages and claiming that race was a factor in the incident. The bouncers have been charged with negligent homicide and freed on bond. They have not entered pleas.
The club said its employees acted appropriately and said Jones and Williams assaulted the bouncers.
"Uninformed accusers who do not know us, and who are blindly crying racism against Razzoo and its staff, do not serve the cause of racial justice, because their emotion-driven accusations are based on a foundation of sand and not on fact," said Razzoo lawyer Steve Witman.
Next time we will conclude.
posted by John V at 7:45 AM
2 Comments:
What's the purpose of reprinting an LA Times article (and in serial form?) instead of just quoting relevant sections of the article and providing a link? Does this blog provide any original material?
Sometimes I come across an article in a source that our readers may not follow, like the L.A. Times in this case. I aim for 300-400 words per column, and felt that this article was best in the whole.
Your comment about original material is well taken. I hit a very busy period, and felt like just bringing interesting articles to your attention would be enough. You will find more original as the summer wears on.
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