Girls face charges after fight recording

Saturday, July 14, 2012

POPLAR BLUFF, Mo. (AP) — Authorities in southeast Missouri’s Butler County say two teenage girls whose fight was captured on a video that went viral are expected to face charges, and so are two men, including the father of one of the girls.

KFVS-TV reports the girls, ages 18 and 19, fought in the parking lot near a flea market last weekend, apparently over a boy. The violent fight was posted on Facebook.

Authorities say that in the video you can hear a man who is allegedly the father of one of the girls cheering her on.

Earlier this week in Caruthersville, also in southeast Missouri, two teens were charged as juveniles, accused of beating up a mentally disabled man and posting the video on Facebook.

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kentheco 11 months, 1 week ago

This article first appeared on Friday, July 13 and based on that article, I posted the following comment.

I read the referenced article and have some questions/observations. First, if the girls agreed to meet to fight, where is the assault? How can two (a father of one of the girls and another male) of a “group of people” be charged with assault? Second, Deputies stated that they wished there was a law against posting this type of video on Facebook, yet Sgt. Waggoner said, “Facebook is changing the way they do their jobs.” and "It can help us find out a lot more about people and situations and directions we should go." Why would one deputy want it against the law while his superior says it can help them? Third Sheriff Dobbs is quoted as stating “he's still baffled people continue to glamorize fighting by posting videos like this online.” Where has he been? Fights have been broadcast since the days of radio and before that, people were willing to pay to watch people fight. My thoughts are, if people are dumb enough to be “filmed” committing a crime, they deserve to be appropriately punished, which, in my opinion base on what was published, is not what will occur in this instance. Charging willing participants and bystanders with assault, how about disturbing the peace or public intoxication (if alcohol was involved) would be more appropriate. Probably the biggest concern I have is with law enforcement wanting the filming of police officers to be illegal and punishable by incarceration. If it hadn’t been for the video, what happened in California would never have been known and the responsible officers never punished. Isn’t “serve and protect” in most law-enforcement mottos? When filming police becomes illegal, who will protect us then, those who aren’t open to public scrutiny?

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