By JEFF LIPTON
The group, 100 Blacks in Law Enforcement Who Care, is calling on the U.S. Department of Justice to take control of the case against the suspect, Aloysius Staton, 24, of Uniondale, because, the group says, Nassau County District Attorney Kathleen Rice appears to be ignoring crucial evidence that proves Staton is innocent. The group claims that a videotape of the racially tinged brawl clearly shows that as many as eight white teenagers were at fault in the fracas at the McDonald¹s, at 3135 Atlantic Ave.
³There¹s a videotape of the entire incident, and it¹s clear in terms of who the aggressors are and who the victims are,² said Noel Leader, co-founder of the group.
Leader said that the videotape captured by the fast-food restaurant¹s security cameras shows Staton and a 17-year-old Hispanic friend being surrounded by the white youths, who then hit Staton¹s friend in the head with a baby¹s highchair.
On the tape, according to Leader, a full-scale brawl breaks out, with Staton and his friend being punched and kicked. Staton¹s white girlfriend is also assaulted when she tries to help him, Leader said. The fight, he added, ends with Staton striking an 18-year-old in the face with a beer bottle, which shatters on impact.
Staton, who was the only person charged in the melee, was arrested by police after he fled the restaurant, police said. The 18-year-old was transported to South Nassau Communities Hospital, where he was treated and released for a cut on his upper lip, a concussion and other cuts suffered during the fight, police said.
Leader said the law allows a victim to act in self-defense, which is what Staton was doing when he used the beer bottle.
Leader said that at this point, it appears the district attorney is not going to drop charges of first-degree assault and third-degree criminal possession of a weapon against Staton. If he is convicted of the charges, Staton faces five to 25 years in prison.
³It¹s evident the district attorney is not interested in doing the right thing,² Leader said. ³This incident happened on June 1 and it¹s September, and none of the white youths have been arrested at this time.²
He said the Justice Department is being urged to take the case because it has ³typically been responsible and given fair and impartial treatment in similar cases. I¹m more confident in the Justice Department prosecuting the case.
³It¹s preposterous,² Leader added. ³This is 2007 in a progressive state and we still have things like this going on.²
Members of his group, joined by the National Latino Officers Association, held a press conference on Saturday outside the McDonald¹s, calling the incident a bias attack and demanding a Justice Department investigation. ³There may have been other victims of this particular group [of white youths] ‹ a group that may be a pariah in that community,² Leader said.
In addition to the video evidence, Staton¹s lawyer, Bill Shanahan, said, a statement from the manager of the restaurant that Staton was a victim was also not strong enough evidence to persuade the district attorney to dismiss the charges against his client. ³The district attorney still has not offered to dismiss the case,² said Shanahan, who has said the white youths directed racial epithets at his client, which ignited the fracas. ³The videotape and the eyewitness statements were still not good enough for them. I guess they just don¹t want to admit that they made a mistake.²
Eric Phillips, a spokesman for the district attorney, responded by saying, ³Our office provided the defense with a copy of the McDonald¹s videotape, not the other way around. The defendant was indicted by a grand jury for his role in this fight, and the investigation is continuing into the actions of others that were involved.²
Shanahan said that the involvement of 100 Blacks in Law Enforcement Who Care ³... shows that the community is upset over the case.²
He explained that Staton¹s next court appearance was scheduled for Sept. 28, when, Shanahan said, he would make another motion to dismiss the charges.
According to the group¹s Web site, 100 Blacks in Law Enforcement Who Care was founded in 1995 by a group of concerned African Americans representing a variety of professions in law enforcement. ³The number of those men and women who wanted to participate in being part of a social solution instead of a passive problem quickly grew to 100 and beyond,² the Web site reads. ³These individuals all shared a sense of community, cultural and professional pride. This pride was accompanied by an unfulfilled desire to Œgive back¹ in some meaningful way.²
Reached at their homes, some members of the white youths¹ families refused comment. At the time of the incident, the youths were all 18 or younger and students at Oceanside High School, according to those familiar with the group.
Comments about this story? JLipton@liherald.com or (516) 569-4000 ext. 287.
